Getting Ready
Communities honor important people in many ways, such as by naming things after them.

Activity
See if you can find streets, buildings, schools, bridges, or parks in your community that were named after Revolutionary War heroes. What can you find that is named Washington? Franklin? Jefferson? Madison?

Ask the librarians at your public library if they can help you find the history of your school's name or the street where you live.

Think More About It
Why did people name things after leaders like Washington or Jefferson? What do you think they were hoping to remember? Did they want to honor everything those people did, or only some of their achievements? Does a person have to be perfect to be a hero?

Does your community have historically important people who don't have things named after them? How many things are named after women, former slaves or their descendants, people who didn't have much money or property? Who chooses the names of places in your community?

Words to know: honor, descendants