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My Neighborhood Then and Now

1878 Panoramic Map of Ashland, MA (detail) Source: Library of Congress

  Introduction

This lesson can stand alone or be an introduction to a longer activity developing a self-guided tour of students’ neighborhoods. Whether or not a longer map activity is undertaken, students need a familiarity with the kinds of maps available from their town/city offices and also online. The teacher educates himself//herself in advance by contacting the local town or city Engineer’s office about the resources available for students. Usually the Engineer or assistant can provide the information in display and digital form. For contact information see the Commonwealth Communities website maintained by the Mass. Department of the Secretary of State. Select your town or city from the list, and then click on the link "Helpful Phone Numbers."

Another good source for maps is the Library of Congress Panoramic Maps Collection, which includes maps from virtually every community in Massachusetts.

For the purpose of this lesson, you will want to reproduce three maps for student study: the earliest possible map of your community, a late 19th century map, and a current map. If the community was once part of another early town, the earliest map will be listed under the original town.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students to understand that neighborhoods change through time because of natural and physical development.. In this lesson, students will:

• To make comparisons between different maps of the same community over time;

• To identify particular neighborhoods in the community, then and now;

• To observe and note changes in the street and place names and land use of the neighborhood;

This lesson is geared toward students in grades 3-5.

Language Arts:

Composition strand – organizing ideas in writing (through Venn diagram)

History and Social Sciences

Gr 3, CS #4 4. Use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, and titles to locate places on contemporary maps of New England, Massachusetts, and the local community. (G)

Gr 3, CS #5 5. Describe the difference between a contemporary map of their city or town and the map of their city or town in the 18th, 19th , or early 20th century. (H, G)

Gr 3, LS #14 3.14 Give examples of tax-supported facilities and services provided by their local government, such as public schools, parks, recreational facilities, police and fire departments, and libraries. (E)

LS 3.1 On map of Mass. locate class’s home town or city and its local geographic features and landmarks (G)

Gr 4, CS #1 1. Use map and globe skills to determine absolute locations (latitude and longitude) of places studied. (G)

Gr 4, CS #2 2. Interpret a map using information from its title, compass rose, scale, and legend. (G)

Mathematics:

Grades 7-8: 8.D.2. Select, create, interpret, and utilize various tabular and graphical representations of data, e.g., circle graphs, Venn diagrams, scatterplots, stem-and-leaf plots, box-and-whisker plots, histograms, tables, and charts. Differentiate between continuous and discrete data and ways to represent them.

1) Students receive copies of the newest community map. They are asked to identify their neighborhood today and underline street and place names. If students are bused from another community, they should identify the neighborhood of the school)

2) The two older maps are handed out and students are asked to study them closely and compare the earlier place names and features of their neighborhood or vicinity with the current one.

3) Students use a Venn Diagram to make a comparison of differences and similarities of neighborhood places over time. See Venn Diagram worksheet and example.

4) Students discuss their findings and turn in their diagrams.

Old and new maps of your community
Venn Diagram Worksheet (My Neighborhood PPT)

Community Engineer (or assistant) office for local maps

Templates on Neighborhoods and Maps MSP website
Other websites

Evaluation Rubric (Spreadsheet XLS)

Younger students can make pictures of their neighborhood, drawing or cutting out pictures of the community printed from the website, from newspapers or photos. A neighborhood bulletin board display results.

Older students become familiar with map-making requirements. A self-guiding tour exercise could be added that would require students to survey their block or neighborhood, prepare a map, and write a narrative. This would include an overnight assignment.

To advance computer skills, students can improve the self-guided tour through software imaging programs included in Microsoft Word or Photo Shop, etc.