Maine Memory Network

Middle Street from Monument Square, Portland, ca. 1910

Contributed by: Seashore Trolley Museum Date: circa 1910 Location: Portland Media: Postcard

Middle Street, Portland, ca. 1880

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1880 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print

41 Middle Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Clementina A. Leo Use: Dwelling - Two Family and Store

27 Middle Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Lorenzo Lapomardo Use: Dwelling - Two family

Middle Dutch Church, Lafayette (now Astor) Place, New York, New York City, NY, 1837

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1837 Location: New York City; New York City Client: Middle Dutch Church Architect: Isaiah Rogers

Davis & Cartland Shoes on Middle St., Portland, 1930

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1930 Location: Portland Client: Davis & Cartland Architect: John P. Thomas

Portland Hotels

Since the establishment of the area's first licensed hotel in 1681, Portland has had a dramatic, grand and boisterous hotel tradition. The Portland hotel industry has in many ways reflected the growth and development of the city itself. As Portland grew with greater numbers of people moving through the city or calling it home, the hotel business expanded to fit the increasing demand.

Horace W. Shaylor: Portland Penman

Horace W. Shaylor, a native of Ohio, settled in Portland and turned his focus to handwriting, developing several unique books of handwriting instruction. He also was a talented artist.

Scarborough: They Called It Owascoag - Scarbrough Middle School

"Scarbrough Middle School Jessica Kelly (L) and Middle School students X Jessica Kelly, Gifted and Talented Educational Services (GATES) teacher…"

Historic Hallowell - Hall-Dale Middle School 2009-2010

"Hall-Dale Middle School 2009-2010 Brian Allen Luke Armentrout Clio Barr Brandyn Bechard Amber Bell George Berry Adam Blanche Ashley Boerner…"

Laura Richter - Educator
by MLTI Stories of Impact Project

Laura Richter was a Middle School Educator in Skowhegan, Maine as the MLTI began in 2002.

Anne Macdonald - Middle School Science
by MLTI Stories of Impact Project

Anne Macdonald on the impact of the MLTI providing ubiquitous access to real time science data.

Longfellow Studies: The Exile of the People of Longfellow's "Evangeline"

Grade Level: 6-8 Content Area: Social Studies
Other materials needed: - Copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline" - Print media and Internet access for research - Deportation Orders (may use primary document with a secondary source interpretation) Throughout the course of history there have been many events in which great suffering was inflicted upon innocent people. The story of the Acadian expulsion is one such event. Britain and France, the two most powerful nations of Europe, were at war off and on throughout the 18th century. North America became a coveted prize for both warring nations. The French Acadians of present day Nova Scotia fell victim to great suffering. Even under an oath of allegiance to England, the Acadians were advised that their families were to be deported and their lands confiscated by the English. This event was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem "Evangeline", which was published in 1847.

Longfellow Studies: An American Studies Approach to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was truly a man of his time and of his nation; this native of Portland, Maine and graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine became an American icon. Lines from his poems intersperse our daily speech and the characters of his long narrative poems have become part of American myth. Longfellow's fame was international; scholars, politicians, heads-of-state and everyday people read and memorized his poems. Our goal is to show that just as Longfellow reacted to and participated in his times, so his poetry participated in shaping and defining American culture and literature. The following unit plan introduces and demonstrates an American Studies approach to the life and work of Longfellow. Because the collaborative work that forms the basis for this unit was partially responsible for leading the two of us to complete the American & New England Studies Masters program at University of Southern Maine, we returned there for a working definition of "American Studies approach" as it applies to the grade level classroom. Joe Conforti, who was director at the time we both went through the program, offered some useful clarifying comments and explanation. He reminded us that such a focus provides a holistic approach to the life and work of an author. It sets a work of literature in a broad cultural and historical context as well as in the context of the poet's life. The aim of an American Studies approach is to "broaden the context of a work to illuminate the American past" (Conforti) for your students. We have found this approach to have multiple benefits at the classroom and research level. It brings the poems and the poet alive for students and connects with other curricular work, especially social studies. When linked with a Maine history unit, it helps to place Portland and Maine in an historical and cultural context. It also provides an inviting atmosphere for the in-depth study of the mechanics of Longfellow's poetry. What follows is a set of lesson plans that form a unit of study. The biographical "anchor" that we have used for this unit is an out-of-print biography An American Bard: The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, by Ruth Langland Holberg, Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, c1963. Permission has been requested to make this work available as a downloadable file off this web page, but in the meantime, used copies are readily and cheaply available from various vendors. The poem we have chosen to demonstrate our approach is "Paul Revere's Ride." The worksheets were developed by Judy Donahue, the explanatory essays researched and written by the two of us, and our sources are cited below. We have also included a list of helpful links. When possible we have included helpful material in text format, or have supplied site links. Our complete unit includes other Longfellow poems with the same approach, but in the interest of time and space, they are not included. Please feel free to contact us with questions and comments.