Student Activity Plan          Student Activity Title     Student Activity Information     Standards and Indicators     Objectives             Materials     Resources     Entered Texts               Signature       Welcome to the Teachers’ Instructions area for this student activity. Here you’ll find directions and suggestions for using this activity along with the materials you need to evaluate your students’ work. Title: Crossroads: The Rise of Cities Audience: Elementary Duration: 45 minute period Subject Area(s):     Social Studies - Geography Grade Level(s): 3,4,5 Teacher Directions: This activity can be completed during a geography unit or a study of Maryland's history.  It may be completed using a variety of technology configurations.  Ideally, it would be accessed via a computer lab setting where individual students or teams of students would work through the activities on a computer.  The activity also could be completed in a classroom with video and internet components displayed via a projection system.  Students will need copies of all activity sheets. 1. Introductory Activity: Build a City Distribute Activity Sheet 1.  Say, "I'd like you to begin our activity today by creating your own city.  First draw your city in the box on Activity Sheet 1.  Then list the order of steps that one would go through when building a city.  What would s/he do first, second, etc."  Allow 6 minutes for this activity. 2.  Focus for Media Interaction - video segment 1 The focus for watching thie video segment is to learn the definition of the word "crossroads." Viewing Activity Distribute Activity Sheet 2.  Say, "Today we are going to explore where cities come from.  A word that you will hear throughout today's activity is crossroads.  Think about what this word might mean.  Write your prediction on Activity Sheet 2 #1."  Have students share their predictions and their thought process.  Commend children who utilize word attack strategies such as breaking the word down into parts when analyzing for meaning.  Say, "You are now going to watch a video clip about the growth of a city in Maryland.  As you watch, listen for the definition of the word 'crossroads.'  Write the definition of the word on Activity Sheet 2 #2."  Play the video clip from 0:00 - 0:50. Post Viewing Activity Review student responses.  Answers should include information about two roads; one that goes east to west and one that goes north to south.  They may also describe the visual picture of the two roads crossing. 3.  Focus For Media Interaction - video segment 2 The focus for viewing the second segment is for the children to understand how the building of roads, specifically crossroads, leads to the development of cities. Viewing Activity Say, "As you watch this next video clip, I want you to listen for how crossroads affect the population and growth of an area.  Record your answer on Activity Sheet 2 #3."  Play the video from 1:17 - 1:49. Post Viewing Activity Review student responses.  Acceptable responses might include information about how crowded it was or the uprising of the city with hotels, taverns, and businesses.  4. Focus for Media Interaction - video segment 3 The focus for viewing this final video clip is to practice visualization skills and understand how crowded the crossroads in Frederick became which in turn led to the growth of a city.  Viewing Activity Say, "The area immediately surrounding the crossroads in Frederick County became very crowded.  As you listen to the following video clip, think about the sentence or phrase that helps you to make a picture in your head of just how crowded this area was.  Write your sentence/phrase on Activity Sheet 2 #4 and then draw in the box what you visualize in your head."  You may choose to cover the picture in this section of the video so that students are able to focus on the descriptive language.  Play the video from 1:01 - 1:16. Post Viewing Activity Have students share their responses and drawings.  Acceptable responses would include information about how it was so crowded that the horses' noses were touching wagons in front of them.  If you opted to cover the visual portion of the video, replay the video clip from 1:01 - 1:16 asking students to compare their drawings to the video.  They could alter their drawings as they viewed to add detail that they did not gain from the explanation alone or they could add text to describe what the explanation in the video did not describe. 5.  Culminating Activity Ask, "Do crossroads still affect the growth of cities and towns today?"  Have students share their predictions. Focus for Media Interaction - websites (Optional) The purpose of viewing the photographs is to view current roads and to compare how roads which intersect with those that don't to analyze how crossroads affect the growth of cities. Viewing Activity Distribute Activity Sheet 3.  Say, "An aerial map is one drawn or photographed from a birds-eye-view.  As you view the two photographs, compare the aerial maps.  On Activity Sheet 3, describe how the two maps are different."  Display the photographs and give students time to examine and compare both. Post Viewing Activity Say, "At the beginning of today's activity, you listed the steps that people would go through to build a city.  Would any of you change your first step now?"  Distribute rubric.  Say, "Now that you have had the chance to explore the video clips and aerial photos of current roads, respond to the journal entry on Activity Sheet 3.  Make sure that you review your rubric before beginning and support your answer with at least one example from the video or photos. Additional Activities: Have students construct their own towns and cities using SimCity.  Have them note how the construction of crossroads affect growth/population. Student Directions: Where did the city of Frederick come from?  Today you will have the chance to explore Frederick County in a new way examining what factors led to the growth of this city in Maryland. The Students will: define crossroads describe how crossroads affect the population of an area view arial maps and describe how crossroads affect current growth of cities complete a journal entry describing how crossroads affect the growth of cities Directions: Use one of the following links to access the video segments uses in this activity. Building Crossroads (RealVideo)  (View) Building Crossroads (Windows Media)  (View) Directions: Create your own city. First draw your city in the box on Activity Sheet 1 and then list the order in which you would build a city. What should be built first, second, etc.? Cities - Activity Sheet 1  (View) Directions: Today you are going to explore where cities come from. A word that you will hear throughout today's activity is crossroads. Think about what this word might mean. Write your prediction on Activity Sheet 2 #1. Then watch the first video segment about the growth of a city in Maryland. As you watch, listen for a definition of what crossroads are. Write your definition on Activity Sheet 2 #2. Play the video clip from 0:00 - 0:50. Building Crossroads - video segment 1 This video clip gives background information about crossroads.   What are crossroads? Cities - Activity Sheet 2  (View) Directions: As you watch this next video segment, listen for how crossroads affect the population of an area. Crossroads lead to what which leads to what? Record your answer on Activity Sheet 2 #3. Play the video from 1:17 - 1:49. Building Crossroads - video segment 2 This video clip describes in detail how the building of certain roads affected the growth of Frederick.   How does the building of roads affect the growth of towns and cities? Directions: The area immediately surrounding the crossroads in Frederick County became very crowded. As you listen to the following video clip, think about the sentence or phrase that helps you to make a picture in your head of just how crowded this area was. Write your sentence/phrase on Activity Sheet 2 #4 and then draw in the box what you visualize in your head. Play the video from 1:01 - 1:16. Building Crossroads - video segment 3 This segment of the video describes in detail just how crowded it became in Frederick with the construction of crossroads.   How crowded was it in Frederick? Directions: Do crossroads still affect the growth of cities today? Look at the two photographs below. Compare them to each other. On Activity Sheet 3 describe how the two aerial photographs are different. Aerial Photograph of crossroads in Frederick   (View) Aerial Photograph of regular road in Frederick   (View) Cities - Activity Sheet 3  (View) Now that you have had the chance to explore the video clips and the aerial maps of roads in Frederick, Maryland respond to the journal entry on Activity Sheet 3.  Make sure that you review your rubric before beginning and support your answer with at least one example from the video or photographs. Cities Rubric  (View) Geography (K-3) Maryland Content Standards Students will use geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distributions of human activities and spatial connections throughout time. Maryland State Indicators 4.3.3.6 describe how places are connected by the movement of goods, ideas, and people Geography (K-3) Maryland Content Standards Students will use geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distributions of human activities and spatial connections throughout time. Maryland State Indicators 4.3.3.7 describe how transportation and communication networks link communities (MLO 3.6.) Writing (6-8) Maryland Content Standards Students produce informational, practical, persuasive, and narrative writing that demonstrates an awareness of audience, purpose and form using stages of the writing process as needed (i.e., pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and publishing). Maryland State Indicators 3.8.6.1 write essays of comparison/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution for an intended audience and purpose that state the thesis or purpose of the paper follow an organizational pattern particular to its type offer compelling evidence in the form of facts and details to support the thesis (MLO.W. 1.8.) Activity Signature Author: Catherine Poling