Lesson Title: The Urban Development of Two American Cities
Frank Peter Slotkus
Hamline Elementary School
Focus/Summary:
This lesson is designed for a seventh grade Social Science class.
The purpose of this particular lesson is to teach students about
the geographical term entitled site and situation as it relates
to the urban development of two American cities.
Vital Theme and Narrative:
Human interaction with the environment. The relationship among
geography, technology, and culture and their effects on economic,
social, and political developments.
Habit of Mind:
Understand the relationship between geography and history as a
matrix of time and place and as a context for events.
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to understand
the concepts of relative location and distance decay as they relate
to the physical geography of Washington D.C. and Chicago, Illinois.
At the same time, students will also begin to understand the triad
of cores, zones, and soft borderlands.
Procedures/Activities:
This particular lesson requires a minimum of two class periods
for completion. The first lesson will consist of lecture and note
taking concerning the terms listed in the objectives section. During
the second part of the lesson, the students will complete a hands
on activity that will consist of working in groups while completing
a worksheet that deals with six primary sources that come in the
form of maps, illustrations, and photographs.
Sources:
Abbot, Carl. Political Terrain: Washington D.C. Chapel
Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999.
The Chicago Historical Society. Chicago History. Chicago:
The Chicago Historical Society Press, Fall 1989.
Lessoff, Alan. The Nation and Its City. Baltimore: The
John Hopkins University Press, 1994.
Assessment:
The students will be assessed through implementation of a worksheet
designed to test their higher order thinking concerning the material
discussed during the lecture portion of the lesson.
Lecture Notes:
- Site and situation - Vital to understanding
the geographic influences in the study of history.
- Relative location - All about situation. For
example, New Orleans is well situated due to its accessibility
to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Washington D.C.
was well situated due to its access to the Potomac and ultimately
to the Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, it was poorly situated
to the hinterlands-west of the Appalachians-as it is difficult
to construct canals and railroads through mountains. Bloomington-Normal
has an excellent location situated between Chicago and St. Louis
and in the vicinity of Interstate 55.
- Distance decay - Overcoming distance through
technological means.
- Core - The location in which regional ideas
are at their strongest.
- Zone - The location in which the regional ideas
begin to wane.
- Soft borderland - The location in which regional
ideas are most susceptible to being overcome with new ideas. Example:
"Someplace in the corn belt of Illinois, small-town residents
lose interest in the Chicago Tribune and opt for the St. Louis
Dispatch. Along the same gradient, more and more baseball fans
root for the Cardinals and fewer for the Cubs."--Abbott
Name________________________
Directions: Record the best possible answer
or answers for each question. Use the backside of this ditto
if you require extra space for your answers.
- Describe the development of Washington D.C. and Chicago
as represented throughout the chronology of the six primary
sources.
- How can an individual studying W2 position it for more
efficient comparison to W3?
- What were some of the geographical factors that led to
the establishment of Washington D.C. and Chicago in their
respective locations?
- How are the Potomac and Chicago Rivers similar? How are
they different?
- What do you suppose the "C" stands for on W2?
- Describe distance decay as it relates to the Potomac on
W1,W2, and W3 and Chicago on C1, C2, and C3.
- Describe the features on C1, C2, and C3 as they relate
to industry.
- Propose a theory as to why there is a lack of industry
within the borders of Washington D.C.
- Describe the development of both Washington D.C. and Chicago
pertaining to their locations at the branches of their rivers.
- Concerning Illinois, where could one assume that they
might find a soft borderland? Also, describe some of the
conditions one might find in the cores and zones of Illinois.
|
|
