Understanding: Cities: Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: U.S. History
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Delve into the heart of five great cities around the world, including London and New York, and
examine what makes them beat. This documentary takes an in-depth look at three different topics
— transportation, water, and sewage systems — and examines their history and evolution.
Onscreen Questions and Activities
Segment 1, Understanding: Cities, Part One
•
What was London’s solution to traffic during the Industrial Revolution? (London’s solution to
traffic during the Industrial Revolution was to build the first underground subway system in 1858.)
•
What did ancient Romans use to distribute water? (The ancient Romans were the first to use gravity
to distribute water through a system of aqueducts.)
•
Discuss what qualities you think define a successful city. What are examples of successful
cities? How could your city be more successful?
•
Activity: Research how your local city emerged. Decide if it is an organic city or a planned city.
If organic, find out when it began and what triggered its growth. If planned, find out who
planned it and why.
Segment 2, Understanding: Cities, Part Two
•
How did the United States become the most urbanized country in the world? (The United States
became the most urbanized country in the world as a result of the Industrial Revolution and
immigration.)
•
How did the Portland Development Commission in Portland, Oregon prevent the urban decay
problems it saw looming in its future twenty years ago? (The Portland Development Commission
avoided urban deterioration by building a light rail system, by tearing up a freeway that ran through the
city and by establishing an urban growth boundary.)
•
Discuss the effects of suburbs on cities. Decide whether the growth of suburbs is a positive or
negative influence on a city.
•
Activity: Research challenges faced by today’s cities. Propose ideas to rebuild or improve your
local urban community. Present your solutions and have the class vote on your proposal.
Understanding: Cities: Teacher’s Guide
2
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
Students will understand:
•
The U.S. Census counts the population of the United States in a formal way once every 10 years.
•
Looking at a 50-year span of census figures helps us see trends within a city and across cities.
•
One way to compare populations in cities across a period of time is to plot line graphs.
Materials
•
Understanding: Cities video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
•
Access, in print or online, to U.S. population statistics from 1950 to the present
Procedures
1. The ebb and flow of people into and out of urban centers can reveal some interesting cultural
and economic trends. Assign small groups of students to research a given U.S. city’s population
levels over the last 50 years. Cities to assign include the following, some of which have shown
more marked changes than the others. In any case, though, you may also add other American
cities to the list.
•
New York
•
Dallas
•
Atlanta
•
Detroit
•
Seattle
•
Denver
•
San Francisco
•
Los Angeles
2. As the first step, ask students to research the frequency with which the U.S. population is
counted. Based on what they learn, have them propose the design of a graph with multiple lines
that will report on the population of the listed cities from 1950 until 2000. Students in all the
groups must agree on a layout and units because all groups will plot their findings on one
graph. They may suggest placing the decade years on the horizontal axis and the population
figures in hundred thousands or tens of millions on the vertical axis.
3. Share printed and online sources students may use for research. The U.S. Census site is
http://www.census.gov/.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Understanding: Cities: Teacher’s Guide
3
4. Have each group place on the graph the five or six sets of coordinates for their city and have
drawn the line to connect the dots. (Of they’re using software, the line has been drawn for
them.)
5. Discuss what the graphs indicate. What are some possible reasons for trends in each city and
across cities?
Discussion Questions
1. Why do cities emerge? Why do vibrant cities attract people?
2. Why are the healthiest cities constantly changing?
3. How did the Industrial Revolution affect cities in both Europe and the United States?
4. What do city planners consider as they attempt to account for the needs of the people who will
live in a city? Discuss some of the possible results if city planners ignore these needs.
5. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the claim that big cities spawn the popular culture
of a nation. Why or why not?
6. Cityscapes have changed dramatically over the years to accommodate industrial growth,
transportation needs and popular style. What is the future of the "big city?" Do you think
modern technology and telecommunications advances will change the way city dwellers live,
work, and interact?
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.
•
3 points: Students are active in discussions and design of a population graph; gather all the
available population statistics for their assigned city; work cooperatively in their groups.
•
2 points: Students participate in discussions and design of a population graph; gather most of
the available population statistics for their assigned city; work well in their groups.
•
1 point: Students do not participate in discussions and design of a population graph; gather
some of the available population statistics for their assigned city; do not work well in their
groups.
Vocabulary
aqueduct
Definition: An artificial channel or conduit built to transport large amounts of flowing water
from a remote source.
Context: By A.D. 97, aqueducts, built on a gentle downhill grade, carried 85 million gallons of
water daily from many miles away.
infrastructure
Definition: The underlying system of public works, such as schools, highways, and water, of a
city, region, or country.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Understanding: Cities: Teacher’s Guide
4
Context: The city depends on city engineers, who keep the heart of the urban infrastructure
ticking.
satellite community
Definition: An urban community situated near or around a major city but independent of it.
Context: The majority of the nearly 2 million people who work in Brasilia must live in satellite
communities that have sprung up in a ring 15 miles away from the modern capital.
transformer
Definition: A device that converts electrical current in a primary circuit into variations of voltage
and current in a secondary circuit by means of induction.
Context: In every city there are dozens of transformer stations that convert high-voltage
electricity down to safer levels.
Academic Standards
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
•
United States History—Expansion and Reform: Understands how the Industrial Revolution,
the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed American lives and
led to regional tensions.
•
United States History—The Development of the Industrial United States: Understands how
the rise of corporations, heavy industry, and mechanized farming transformed American
society.
•
World History—An Age of Revolutions: Understands patterns of global change in the era of
Western military and economic domination from 1850 to 1914.
•
Geography—Places and Regions: Understands the physical and human characteristics of
place.
•
Geography—Places and Regions: Understands that culture and experience influence
people’s perceptions of places and regions.
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has developed national standards to provide
guidelines for teaching social studies. To view the standards online, go to
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/.
This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards:
•
Time, Continuity, and Change
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
Understanding: Cities: Teacher’s Guide
5
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.