The booklet describes the local history component of an interdisciplinary high school course on American Studies. The program involves students over a three-year period in collecting, recording, organizing, interpreting, and disseminating the history, culture, and tradition of Scituate, Rhode Island. The booklet is presented in six chapters. Chapter I stresses that local and state history should be taught in high school and discusses how this project can be adapted to the needs of other school systems. Chapter II emphasizes the need for teaching about historiography and outlines a unit on historical method. Chapter III suggests sources of information for local history projects, including local libraries, social organizations, newspaper files, town clerk's offices, family records, state or local historical societies, recorded interviews, and local historical sites. Chapter IV suggests student activities such as field trips, interviewing local citizens, workshops, and disseminating information about the project in the community. Chapter V recommends equipment and materials such as cameras, film, slide projectors, and cassette tapes. The final chapter offers suggestions for evaluating local history projects. Evaluation procedures should include pre- and posttests on historiography and local history, standardized tests on U.S. history and American literature, and questionnaires dealing with student interest in the project. (Author/DB)