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"Lessons
from the Land" Curriculum Table of Contents
The curriculum offers 14 lessons in three sections.
Scroll down to view all.
- You can download many of the lessons. We
will ask you to fill out a brief form so we can track dissemination.
- If you are a teacher, or from a nonprofit organization that
would like to use the lessons in programs with students or adults,
please contact
us directly.
- You can also download
the contents as a 3-page PDF file.
SECTION I: SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN: A REGION AT
THE CROSSROADS
Lesson 1) Southeast
Michigan: People, places, land & water: Students
gain an overview of the region’s demographics, geography,
and built environment. For social studies or science. Download
Lesson 2) How Zoning
Shapes Your Community: Through
mapping and community-based research, students gain an understanding
of how zoning and land use impact their everyday life. For social
studies or science. Download
Lesson 3) Community
History: Students conduct oral
histories and research to gain an understanding of the region’s
past.
Lesson 4) Regional
Trends: Working in groups, students
analyze, graph, and interpret data on environmental, demographic,
and land use trends
SECTION II: TRENDS, INFLUENCES AND IMPACTS
Lesson 5) The “American Dream”:
History, trends, and Impacts. Students examine the evolution
of the "American Dream" and its relation to land use
trends. Through an analysis of cause and effect, students learn
how outward growth and urban disinvestment are linked to post-WWII
public policies.
Download.
Lesson 6) Land use and the Environment:Students
examine the environment as the basis for human activities and
the impacts of growth on the watershed. Students then develop
strategies to improve water quality in the school or community.
Download
Lesson 7) Lab: Land and Water: Through
a hands-on lab, students investigate the relationships among land
use, impervious surfaces, the quality and quantity of water, and
the health of the watershed. Download.
Lesson 8) Transportation & Land Use
in SE MI: Students examine the current state of regional
transportation; the impacts on congestion, air quality, and social
equity; and conduct research on public transit, biodiesel school
buses, and nonmotorized transit.
Lesson 9) Regional Agriculture and Farmland:
Students investigate the causes and impacts of farmland
loss and the prospects for a regional food system and farm-to-school.
Lesson 10) Impacts of Development Patterns
on School: Students examine the relationship between land
use, school funding, enrollment, and stratification along racial
and socioeconomic lines.
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Lesson 11) Race and Land Use:
Students examine cultural, governmental, and economic factors
that influenced segregation in the region, and then explore strategies
to promote diverse, democratic, and sustainable communities.
Culminating Assessments for Section II:
These activities have students further synthesize and analyze
the content and viewpoints presented in Section II Lessons. All
assessments can be used in science or social studies.
- Assessment 1) Making Connections.
Students synthesize the concepts learned in Section II.
- Assessment 2) “What If?”
Students select critical historic decisions affecting land use
in the region, and assess how thing might be different if alternative
choices had been made.
- Assessment 3) Assessing the Strength
of Different Positions on Land Use. Students evaluate
different views on “sprawl,” evaluate the source
of the views to determine bias, and evaluate the views using
Core Democratic Values. Next, students apply assess the factual
basis of the different viewpoints and weigh the credibility
of each viewpoint based on evidence
SECTION III: DECISION-MAKING AND ACTION FOR
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Lesson 12) Land Use Strategies for Sustainability:
Students investigate urban redevelopment, mixed-use zoning,
and other strategies to promote economic, environmental, and community
wellbeing.
Lesson 13) Decisions, Decisions: Leveraging
change at the local level:Through a role-playing activity,
students debate a fictional land use proposal from the perspectives
of various stakeholders. Students then transfer the insights as
they learn about the process of land use decision-making and wetland
regulation.
Download
Lesson 14) Regionalism: Beyond home rule:
Through a simulation, students experience the competition
among communities created by home rule, and then investigate the
potential benefits and drawbacks of regionalism. Case studies
of regional cooperation and an overview of state legislation conclude
the lesson.
The "Lessons
from the Land" curriculum was developed with funding from the
Washtenaw
County Department of Planning and Environment,
the James
A. and Faith Knight Foundation, the Ann
Arbor Area Community Foundation, and
the Community Foundation
for Southeast Michigan. Creative Change thanks these and other
program partners. |
