“ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL”
MUNICIPALITIES PROJECT
OBJECTIVE: THE STUDENT SWILL BE ABLE TO:
 Develop a better understanding of Municipal Government and of the Lifestyle in
their Local Community
 Create video about life in an NPSD town or borough
 Create a Prezi or other visual demonstrating life in their town OR
 Create a Brochure about Life in their town
At this point, we are examining the organization, power and roles of local municipalities,
such as townships and boroughs. In order to develop a better understanding of life in local
municipalities, my students are going to work cooperatively to create a Visual Presentation OR a
Brochure about life in their local community.
STAGE 1 – RESEARCH FOR BASIC FACTS
Task: The students are to use the Internet to research for basic information about their township
or borough. Use the website below or any other site that provides the following information.
General Municipality Information: Select your assigned township / borough and read the
summary.
http://webapp.montcopa.org/planning/dataportal/introduction.asp
1.
Statistical Information:
 Size in square miles
 Total population
 Median Household Income
 Median Residential Home Price
 Number of Housing Units
 Name of School District and elementary, middle and high school
STAGE 2 – BASIC GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
Use the following websites to find Specific Township / Borough Websites:
http://www.montcopa.org/index.aspx?nid=850
Find the following Information about your Township or Borough:
 Location / Address of the Township / Borough Hall
 Type or Form of Government
 Names and titles of important government officials such as the Supervisors /
Commissioners
 Mayor (if any)
 Police Chief / Sheriff
 Township Manager
 Zoning Officer
 Rate the Schools – Use the following website to rate the schools in your town
- http://www.schooldigger.com/go/PA/search.aspx

Description of services provided by the Municipality (such as parks, pools,
transportation, elderly services, water and sewer)
STAGE 3 – CULTURAL INFORMATION
You are how looking for information about the culture and lifestyle of your township or borough.
You are looking for factual information as well as pictures. Use the Township and Borough
websites above as well as Google (Images Search for pictures) and any other website that you can
think of. In addition, do not be afraid to drive around your town and use your eyes. You can take
pictures with a camera and they can be incorporated into your brochure and prezi.
Ideas of what to put in your Brochure:
 A Map of the Municipality
 Picture of the Township or Borough Hall
 Pictures of the elected and appointed government officials
 2 to 3 Historical facts about the municipality
 Names and pictures of Important Businesses or Organizations in the
Municipality (EX Merck)
 Names, descriptions and pictures of interesting entertainment options
 Names and pictures of important landmarks (EX the Kugel Ball in
Lansdale)
 Pictures and Descriptions of Important Community Events in your town
STAGE 4 – PRODUCT CREATION
Each student group is to create EITHER a visual presentation about life in their town OR a
written presentation / brochure about their local government and community.
1. Visual Presentation – Using the pictures and content that you discovered in your research,
create a video (using https://animoto.com for example) that demonstrates life in your
town or borough.
2. Visual Presentation – Students can use any method of visual presentation from Prezi to
PowerPoint to Google presentations to a Poster. The Visual Presentation must include
pictures as well as content descriptions of each item listed above and should inform about
the municipality government as well as promotes the lifestyle of this community.
Students will answer the following question: What is life like in this Municipality? .
3.
Written Presentation - Once again, students are to use any method of creating a written
presentation about the government and life in their town. This written presentation should
be content oriented with basic information about the government and life in your town.
Once again, answer the question – What is life like in this Municipality?
FINISHED PRODUCT –
 DUE DATE: Thursday 1/16
 TOTAL POINTS: 100 Points