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Vanishing Environment: Exploring Changes in Landscape
To discover the impact of urbanization on the environment, learners compare landscape paintings from the past with contemporary photographs, create found poems from descriptions of artwork, design backyard or public garden spaces,...
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Urban Ecosystems 2: Why are There Cities? A Historical Perspective
Second in a series of five lessons, this lesson encourages preteens to consider cities as urban ecosystems. First, they keep a food diary for a few days. They visit the Natrional Agricultural Statistics Service website for current data...
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Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part I
The concept behind this activity is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make them change...
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Urban Ecosystems 5: In Defense Of Cities
Students explain that while cities have unattractive features, the density of human life enables energy efficiency, mass transit, recycling, and other benefits which are difficult or impossible in rural areas. This is the fifth in an...
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The High Cost of Chemical Dependency
Sixth graders explore, analyze and study the effect and impact that humans have on the environment based on their choices as individuals, businesses and governments. They assess the balance between human activities and aquatic pollution.
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Urban Planning: Plan a City
Students analyze the concept of urbanization by planning the placement of some of the major urban/suburban features that make up most cities. They arrange the cultural features to benefit the people who live there, and maintain respect...
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No More Traffic Jams: Lesson 3
Traffic is a very real concern for any Urban dweller. After watching a video showing various traffic issues and solutions, learners group up to discuss and develop innovative traffic solutions of their own. They explore vocabulary and...
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Conditions of City Life in the Late 19th Century
Students examine tenement life. In this lesson on early urbanization, students research the role of journalism for social change in early American cities. Students write a journal article for themselves that demonstrate an understanding...
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Creating Community - A Function Of Design
Students discuss the physical and human impacts of community design. They identify traditional neighborhood design elements and evaluate them with features of conventional suburban development.
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What Type of Community?
Students compare and contrast suburban, rural and urban communities. They read books such as The Little Red Hen and identify the type of community in each book. Using computer software, they write about each type of community and...
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The Industrial Revolution
Tenth graders explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution. In this Industrialization lesson, 10th graders take notes on a SMART Board presentation and conduct research on urbanization, enclosure, assembly lines, boarding houses, and...
School Improvement in Maryland
Smart Growth
New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and...
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Rural-Urban Migration in the 1990's
Students consider the reasons why people relocate from one area to another. In this relocation lesson plan, students read an article that includes research and statistics on which age, education level, etc., of the population moves...
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The Industrial Revolustion
Middle schoolers create artistic posters to show the differences between key vocabulary words. They show the differences between a rural, agrarian, urban, and industrial lifestyles. They evaluate the benefits and problems, the human...
Global Oneness Project
Exploring Cultural Sustainability
Small groups learn about a present-day nomadic culture in Mongolia and the threats to its existence by exploring a photo essay. The resource includes thoughtful discussion and writing prompts about cultural sustainability, the...
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The Industrial Revolution
Tenth graders analyze the impact (costs/benefits) of the Industrial Revolution on various groups of people in society (gender, children, socio-economic class, etc.). They then evaluate the impact of industrialization on the environment.
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How to Teach the Legacies of the 1960s
Students consider which aspects of world around them have roots in 1960s, research and compare 1960s to today with regards to Civil and Women's Rights, Vietnam, counterculture, music, voting, and economic rights, and explore legacy of...
Gobal Oneness Project
Sports for Social Change
After watching a short online film about a soccer player Nolusindiso Plaatje and his help with the Grassroot Soccer program, a community education effort aimed at spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention, use a lesson...
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Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Students identify and analyze land use changes over time with historical aerial photographs. They classify different land use into categories.
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A Sense of West Virginia
Students consider their perceptions of the world through their 5 senses while visiting the West Virginia State Museum. In this West Virginia history instructional activity, students discover how knowing about the past helps with their...
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The New Segregation
Students use census data to analyze the racial and economic diversity of their community. They discuss the role of diversity within communities and the impact that land use decisions can have on the composition of a community.
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The Wildland/Urban Interface Dilemma
Students examine all sides of the issues surrounding wildland fire. Groups assume the roles of different people who must decide what to do about a fictitious wildfire. They have a discussion to analyze the issue. A good, real life...
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"Heritage" - "Hey, That's the Name of Our School!"
Seventh graders gain a better understanding of the canal period in U.S. History, and more specifically, discern the importance of the Illinois and Michigan Canal on the development of Illinois as a state and Chicago as a prominent city.
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Location, Location, Location: Civilization's Ultimate Advantage
High schoolers discover how geographical advantages, locational and regional, ultimately led to western Eurasian societies' disproportionate accounting of world power and innovation. They utilize a workbook which can be downloaded within...