Third Grade Portland Walking Tour
Posted September 28, 2012
On September 25, the 3rd grade class went on a walking tour of downtown Portland to learn about the past and present of our city, and to delve deeper into their PYP Unit of Inquiry: Origins Are Important to Identity. The Portlandia walking tour started at Pioneer Courthouse Square. The kids got to look for bricks in the square that had the names "Mickey Mouse" and "Elvis Presley" on them, and learn how each of these named bricks cost $15 to help raise money to build the square. Walking alongside the MAX, the tour continued past the animal statues towards Pioneer Place and then up to the Portlandia Statue on the Portland Building. Our guides challenged students to find rose emblems on city vehicles, signs, and manhole covers. At the Oregon Historical Society, our guides related the story of the Portland Penny coin toss and how it decided whether our city was going to be named after Portland, Maine or Boston, Massachusetts. Students got to drink from our now exactly 100-year-old city street fountains. Headed toward the riverfront, we passed by The World Trade Center and ended up at Tom McCall Waterfront Park near the Hawthorne Bridge.
