TeachRock

Materials Needed:

• A device with internet access

Motivational Activity:

1. Present Slideshow – Urban Sprawl in the classroom. After students have had time to analyze the photographs, ask:
   • These are images of “urban sprawl.” From your observations, what might be the definition of “urban sprawl”?
   • As development moves outward and away from the city center, what might be the consequences of urban sprawl on the environment and landscape?
   • Why might an expansive network of highways become necessary in order for these sprawling communities to function?
2. Inform students that in the lesson they will be examining urban sprawl, and the impact that urban development has had throughout the second part of the 20th Century.

Procedure

1. Distribute to each student Handout – “My City Was Gone” Activity (Teacher’s Guide). Allow students a moment to read the background and directions provided. (If able, play the recording of the song from YouTube while students read the lyrics.) Afterwards, ask students to share their answers in class.
2. Ask students:
   • How would you define “The American Dream”?
3. Inform students that over the past century, Americans have moved away from rural communities to cities. But increasingly, they have moved out of the core of the city to an ever-expanding set of fringe communities generally known as suburbs. This is known as “urban sprawl.” Ask students:
   • How would you define a suburban community?
4. Using Teacher’s Guide – The Creation of Urban Sprawl (Student Guide),  go through page 1 (slides 1-5) of  Slideshow – The Creation of Urban Sprawl, pausing between the slides to provide explanations and asking questions on the Teacher’s Guide.
5. Inform students that with the onset of the Cold War in the 1950s, the U.S. federal government became concerned that the country lacked the infrastructure to move military assets in the case of an invasion. The growing ubiquity of the family automobile meant that we needed a road system to support the new enthusiasm for auto travel. So, in 1956, the U.S. Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act into law.
6. Distribute to each student a copy of Handout – The Impact of the U.S. Federal Highway System (Teacher’s Guide). (Note: Students need access to the internet to complete the handout. Optionally, a teacher can instead project the visualizations linked in the handout on the board.) Ask students to share the answers they wrote on the handout with the class.
7. Work through page 2 (slides 6-10) on Slideshow – The Creation of Urban Sprawl, using Teacher’s Guide – The Creation of Urban Sprawl as a guide.

Summary Activity:

1. Distribute to students Handout – What Makes Your Community Special? Activity. Instruct student to organize in teams and complete the activity. (Optional: if students are unable to physically take photos, have them take screenshots from Google Street View, or a similar program.)

Extension Activities:

1. Read this article from CNN on urban sprawl and answer the following questions:
   • In the 1950s and 60s, why were so many urban, predominantly Black American neighborhoods destroyed in the name of “progress”?
   • Recently, 30 or more local advocacy groups have emerged around the country promoting “Highways to Boulevards”.  What are they proposing?
   • What is gentrification and why do critics believe that “Highways to Boulevards” will not bring the racial justice desired?
   • Describe what life was like in Detroit’s “Black Bottom” community before the highway was constructed. Look at the before and after image, what do you see?
   • If you were advising the U.S. Transportation Secretary, what would you suggest being done to make sure that African Americans in Detroit and other cities benefit from the reversal of the destructive highway policies of the past?

 Teacher’s Guide – The Creation of Urban Sprawl Handout – “My City Was Gone” Activity Handout – “My City Was Gone” Activity (Teacher’s Guide) Handout – The Impact of the U.S. Federal Highway System Handout – The Impact of the U.S. Federal Highway System (Teacher’s Guide) Handout – What Makes Your Community Special? Activity Student Guide – The Creation of Urban Sprawl

Georgia Standards of Excellence Social Studies

Personal Finance and Economics

• SSEF1a Explain that scarcity is a basic, permanent condition that exists because unlimited wants exceed limited productive resources.
• SSEF1d Apply the concept of opportunity cost (the forgone next best alternative) to personal choices, as well as business and government decisions.
• SSEMI1 Describe how households and businesses are interdependent and interact through flows of goods, services, resources, and money.

Social Studies – National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)

• Theme 2: Time, Continuity, and Change
• Theme 3: People, Place, and Environments
• Theme 4: Individual Development and Identity
• Theme 8: Science, Technology, and Society

Common Core State Standards

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading Informational Text for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening for Grades 9-12

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.