Gene V. Gandelman
Lesson One: View From the Top
Objective Students will gain a new perspective of their immediate world.
This lesson should serve as the first or literal overview of the series of lessons to follow. The teacher should emphasize components of the city below i.e. the neighborhoods, major arteries, transportation centers, historical sites, etc.
It is important, from time to time, that students be allowed to leave the classroom to experience and make observations of the surrounding areas. In this lesson, the “world” is the City and surrounding areas. We are fortunate in New Haven to have two high vantage points on opposite ends of the city in a spacious park environment. Both locations rise approximately 400 feet above the City, allowing a spectacular, unencumbered view for miles.
The lesson involves a field trip to the summit of East Rock overlooking downtown New Haven, Fair Have, North Haven, East Haven, and other areas. The view provides an extensive panorama of the harbor, Lighthouse, the Quinipiac bridge, and other New Haven landmarks. On a clear day the hills of Eastern Long Island can be seen nearly thirty miles away.
Students will gain a sense of the City in which they live and how it connects and leads to the world beyond. Teachers can explain the way our world expands as we grow—from the womb, to our home, our neighborhood, out town or city, our state, and so on.
Students will literally be exposed to “the whole picture” to see how neighborhoods blend into one another. Students will then be able to think in terms of one city as their home rather than separate hostile neighborhoods.
How many neighborhoods can you identify? (Fair Haven, East Rock, Westville, The Hill, Newhallville, etc.) An alternative or follow-up to taking students to East Rock is a trip to the summit of West Rock. The view there is of the northern and western area inside and beyond the city. Together these two locations offer a complete view of the city and its surroundings.
Writing Activity #1
Look at the major streets below. Name some of them (Orange St., State St., Whitney Ave., Grand Ave., others). Drive or walk one of these streets from one end to the other or a set number of blocks and write down what you see. Then, use your notes to organize a report about that street. How does it change closer or further from downtown?
Writing Activity #2
Locate the neighborhood you will write about in detail. Most can be seen from the top of East Rock though West Rock will provide a better view of Westville, Beaver Hill and West River neighborhoods.
Writing Activity #3
Take notes on what you see related to transportation in and out of the City. What connects New Haven to the world? Where are the interstate highways, the secondary roads to the suburbs? Are there any planes leaving or arriving at the airport. Do you see any boats at the pier, in the harbor or in the Sound. Describe what you see at the train terminal. Use you detailed noted to write a complete report on the transportation systems serving New Haven.
Writing Activity #4
Picture what the first settler sailing into their new home saw over three and a half centuries earlier. Write about the cast safe harbor and how they could sail up to where the Green is today. What hills did they see to the east, west, and in the background? What might each be thinking about where to stake a claim and start building a home? Which would be best, the hills for privacy, the shore for fishing or sailing, the center for safety and security, or the lands beyond for farming?
