Justin M. Boucher
Lesson For Objective 1: The History Behind Suburbia
Goal:
To orient the students to the decades that led up to the 1950s and their influence on the rise of suburbia.
Objectives:
As a result of this lesson the students will be able to
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1. Describe American life in the 1920s.
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2. Describe and discuss American life in the 1930s and 1940s.
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3. Explain the social history behind the policies that led to the creation of the suburbs.
Materials:
Board, marker, notebooks, pens, textbooks, computer resources, history books
Anticipatory Set:
At the beginning of the class the teacher will lead the students in discussing American life in the 1920s based on their homework.
Procedure:
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1. The teacher begins class by answering any questions that the students have regarding the reading from the night before, as well as any questions they might have about urban life in the 1920s.
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2. When all of the questions have been answered the students will be broken into two groups. The members of one group will each be responsible for describing urban life in the 1930s, while the members of the second group will describe the 1940s. This should take about 30-40 minutes or so, and will be based on the materials in the classroom.
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3. When this is complete the students will break into groups of four, with two students who had described the 1930s and two members who had described the 1940s.
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4. The students will then share their work with their groups, ensuring that each student has heard two perspectives on each decade. Each student will take notes to ensure that they remember each decade.
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5. The teacher will gather the class together with 10 minutes remaining, and lead the students in a discussion of their findings filling in any gaps left in their understanding.
Closure:
The teacher will wrap up class with a brief overview of the unit to come.
Homework:
For homework the students will be asked to read chapter 15 of American Government and Politics Today.
Lesson for Objective 5: Exploring the Ramifications of Suburbanization Day 1
Goal:
To allow the students to begin to explore the consequences of suburban development policies.
Objectives:
As a result of this lesson the students will be able to
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1. Explain the goals of the federal government's policies that led to suburbanization.
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2. Discuss the winners and losers in the process of suburbanization.
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3. Explore the ramifications of these suburban development policies on cities.
Materials:
Board, marker, notebooks, pens, Textbooks, internet capable computers, Dolores Hayden's Field Guide to Sprawl
Anticipatory Set:
Students begin class by answering the question, "What were the goals of the policies that led to suburbanization in America?"
Procedure:
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1. The teacher begins the lesson by leading the students in a brief discussion of the anticipatory set.
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2. When this is complete the students will use computers to map their own homes, and the city of New Haven, Connecticut using Google Maps. Each student will be asked to make observations and draw conclusions about the most prominent and the most relevant features in the satellite photos they find. Students can also look at the Field Guide to Sprawl, for more examples of the built environment in suburbia.
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3. When this is complete, after 20 minutes or so, the teacher will reconvene the class and lead them in a discussion of the connections between the policies they have investigated and the landscape in which they live. It will be necessary in this conversation to draw out the cause and effect relationship between their environment and the governmental policies.
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4. When the class has finished discussing the built environment, the students will move into small groups and discuss the reading from the previous night (Chapter 8 of Tom Lewis' Divided Highways). The teacher will guide the discussion, asking the students to outline the pros and cons of highway construction as it existed in the 1950s and 60's, including a discussion of the winners and losers in that effort.
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5. Students will wrap up their discussion with a brief writing assignment, answering the question "Would you reconsider now whether or not you would have voted for the Federal Aid to Highways Act of 1956? Why or Why not?"
Closure:
The teacher wraps up class asking a couple of students to share their answers to the writing prompt.
Homework:
For homework the students will read chapter 6 of Lizabeth Cohen's Consumer's Republic.
Lesson for Objective 6: Exploring the Ramifications of Suburbanization Day 2
Goal:
To allow the students to solidify their understanding of the pros and cons of suburban development policy.
Objectives:
As a result of this lesson the students will be able to
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1.
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Discuss the pros and cons of suburbanization
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2.
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Assess the impact of suburbanization on citizenship
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3.
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Evaluate the ramifications of suburban development policies on the lives of Americans and the nature of citizenship.
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Materials:
Board, marker, notebooks, pens, Textbooks,
Anticipatory Set:
The students begin class by answering the question "Based on everything we have discussed/ read so far, what are the pros and cons to suburbanization?"
Procedure:
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1. The teacher begins the lesson by discussing the anticipatory set with the students, leading the students in listing the pros and cons on the board. This list should be as exhaustive as possible. The Cohen reading from the night before should prove invaluable at this point.
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2. At this point students will break into small groups of 2-4 in which they will create an outline of the consequences of suburban development policy. Each student will be responsible for taking notes, in that each student will need to draw heavily on this conversation for the cumulative essay to be written in the next class.
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3. When this is complete the teacher will lead the class in going over their outlines, clearly identifying each consequence as the students mention them, and exploring each as fully as time will allow.
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4. Class will conclude with another brief writing assignment, asking "what does it mean to be a citizen in this new landscape?"
Closure:
The teacher will wrap up class by asking for a few brief summaries of the students' responses to the writing prompt.
Homework:
For homework the students will consolidate their materials for the essay in the following class.
