Samantha Fox, Belmont High School 

Description of the Project or the Essential Questions: 

1. How do maps reveal the values of their creators and the society from which they come? 
2. How do human needs shape community settlement patterns? 
3. How does geography shape community settlement patterns? 

Grade Level: This lesson can be adapted for grades 7-12 

State Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards Addressed: 

English Language Arts - not applicable 

History/Social Science 
This lesson requires students to reason and reflect, to become familiar with the settlement and land use patterns in their own community, to compare their community with one from an historical era or from anywhere around the globe. This lessons touches on all of the strands for the social studies curriculum: history, geography, economics, government and economics. However, the focus is on understanding historical context, the effects of geography, human alteration of environments, and the organizing structures of human society translated on a local scale. 

Arts - not applicable 

Comprehensive Health - not applicable 

Mathematics - not applicable 

Science & Technology - not applicable 

World Languages - not applicable 

Local District or School Curriculum Objectives: 
- this could easily be used to introduce the early colonial settlements in the Chesapeake and Massachusetts Bay colonies in the 8th grade 
- this could be used in the 9th and 10th grades to address the shape of ancient communities on other continents in the Global Studies curriculum 
- this could be used in any of the curriculums to address concerns of citizenship 

Enabling Activities: 
- creation of map of ideal community by student 
- analysis of student maps and of historical maps 
- class discussion 

Skills: 
- drawing maps with a key 
- analyzing maps with a key 
- analyzing the interface of technology, economy, government, and social values with the geography in a community context 

Products or Performances: 
- student map 
- analysis worksheet 
- class vote 
- civics project 

Criteria for Assessment Based on Standards 

- students will be assessed on the detail and depth of their maps as well as the detail and depth of their responses on the analysis worksheets 

Sample Scoring Guide or Rubric Based on the Learning Standards Used: 

student map 

-student(s) has provided for basic human needs in community (water, food, shelter, clothing, protection from inclement weather, companionship, clean air etc.) (0-20 points) 

-student(s) has clearly identified different structures of community by providing a clear key (0-10 points) 

-student(s) has clearly identified geographical features of local area 

(0-10 points) 

-student has written a paragraph supporting the claim that his/hers is an ideal town (0-10 points) 

analysis worksheet (2 per student or group) 

-16 questions completed (0-10 points) 

-depth of answers (0-10 points) 

student presentations 

-clearly explain design of community as shown on map (0-5 points) 

-clearly assess advantages and disadvantages of community organization (0-10 points) 

student civics project 

grading will depend on the amount of time spent and the way in which it is integrated into the class curriculum 

Lesson Plan: 

Materials: 
- blank paper or blank outline maps 
- crayons, markers, or colored pencils if available 
- student worksheet 
- maps: local town hall has current and historical town maps 
- internet 

Historical maps of the US and connects to other historical map sites http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/histus.html 

Historical map of Shanghai in 1907 and connects to other historical maps of Asia 
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_china.html 

Maps of the early Southern colonies 
http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/colamer.html 

Procedure: 

1. Discuss: While certainly we can identify changes in human organization and societies over time, we are connected over time and space by our humanity. Brainstorm with class what all humans need to survive and write responses on the board. (Consider: food, water, clothing, shelter, protection, companionship, continuation of genetic line) 

2. Discuss as class or brainstorm in groups: How is an ideal human community organized? When humans gather together to form a community they must address these basic needs, the physical features of the land they wish to settle, the population which is being served, as well as other less tangible aspects of culture. Ask students to work alone or in groups to create an ideal community, one which addresses the basic human needs and acknowledges the way a particular climate and geographical landscape will shape the way people live and organize their community. Consider the needs of people for organization--economic organization (occupation, production, trade), political organization (type of government, how does the community make decisions of concern to all?), and social organization (are there levels of wealth and status, are people organized by age, gender, race, ethnicity, wealth or status?) 

3. Create maps: Hand to students either a blank piece of paper or an outline of the town in which you teach. Ask them to draw their ideal town which addresses the ideas discussed above on the paper provided. (This can be accomplished alone or in groups.) At the same time, hand out the grading rubric or guide for students (they should draw a clear map with a key). If they are working in groups of 4, they should first make a list of everything they need in their community and then add everything they want. Then two may begin drawing the community and two may begin to write a paragraph explaining why theirs is the ideal town. 

4. Switch maps: Once they have finished, ask them to switch maps with another student or group in class or you may wish to collect and hand them back randomly. 

5. Analyze maps: At this point, ask them to analyze the maps handed to them, to decipher and discover the values embedded in the map and accompanying paragraph. They will be answering the larger question of what kind of town or community does the creator of the map value? Depending on the age of your students, you may wish to hand them a worksheet guiding their analysis with questions such as: 

Looking at the map: 

What is at the center of the map? 
What is labeled on the map or in the key?

What geographical features have shaped the town? 
What natural resources are available to townsfolk? 
How have the human inhabitants used or altered the geography to serve their own needs?

How has this community met each of the basic human needs? 
What other human needs and/or desires has this community addressed?

Who lives in this town? 
Does the map reveal information regarding the gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, class, political persuasion etc of the inhabitants? If so, how does the map show this? 
Who is important in this community? How does the map show this? 
What can you tell about the economy of the town from the map? 
What are the major occupations of the townsfolk? 
What does the map reveal about the technology available to the community? 
What can you tell about the government of the town from the map? 
What does the map tell you know about the social life in the community? 
Does the map reveal a tight-knit or dispersed community? How is this shown on the map?

What does the map reveal about the relationship of nature and business in this community? 
What does the map reveal about the relationship of order and freedom in this community? 
After examining the map,what do you think the creators of this map value in a community? 
Do you think this is an ideal or near-perfect community? Why or why not?

6. Group presentations: Have each group present the map they analyzed to the class and assess whether it is indeed an ideal community. 

7a. Class discussion: Discuss what each of these maps have in common and where they differ. Try to decipher from the maps a set of core values shared by the class regarding what the class as a whole values in a community. After writing the answers to this question on the board, you may compare that to what actually exists in the town and turn this into a civics lesson. if so, have them brainstorm one or more projects for improvement of the community and begin work. 

- OR- 

7b. Analyze maps: You may wish to use this as a history lesson to introduce a new era. If so, hand out a map of their town or of any community from any era and have the class, again, individually or in groups, analyze the this historic community. This might work well for a colonial town but can be applied to any community in any time or place. 

8. Class discussion: The class could then compare the values of an historic community with those they currently hold by creating a chart of similarities and differences in a class discussion. You may want to focus on the causes of the differences or similarities or the way the relationship between inhabitants and government, economy, technology, geography etc existed in the past or in the present. 

Note: At some point, you may wish to allow them to modify and improve their ideal maps or to vote on the map they would adopt as town founders. 

Note: this lesson can also be easily modified to fit the study of architecture or to focus more on the perspective of the map maker by analyzing different projections of the world etc.