Students on Site: Ypsilanti
Students on Site: Ypsilanti

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 Click to return to the main map [an error occurred while processing this directive]Geography of a Community

Geography of a Community

 

  • Companion to: Chapter 1, Lesson 1 "Let's Look at Community" and Skills Workshop: "Making Maps."
  • State Social Studies Outcomes: Geography
    • Describe, compare and explain the locations and characteristics of places, cultures and settlements.
    • (Natural) Resources, Geography, Physical Geography, Community Characteristics, Sketch Maps.
  • Supplement Activity (History)
    • Sequence chronologically major eras of American history and key events within these eras in order to examine relationships and to explain cause and effect.
    • Sequence, comparing the past

Guiding Questions

  • What are some features of a community?
  • What are some things people do in Ypsilanti?

Goals of Lesson

By the end of the lesson students should be able to read a map of Ypsilanti and be familiar with major Ypsilanti buildings, landmarks and natural resources.  (The supplement activity below should allow students to understand how the geography of Ypsilanti has changed over time).

Vocabulary

  • community
  • landmarks
  • natural resource
  • geography

Tools

  • Ypsilanti Modern Map (Simple) (copies for each student)
  • Ypsilanti Modern Map
  • 1825 Ypsilanti Map
  • 1856 Ypsilanti City Map

Activity

  1. After having students explore Indianapolis in Chapter 1, Lesson 1, ask them some features of the community they read about.  What makes up a community?  You can make a list around the word "community" in a web design on the board.  Hopefully from the reading the students pulled these parts of a community:
    • rules or laws
    • libraries
    • firefighters
    • places to buy food
    • streets
    • gardens/parks, places to have fun
  2. Pass out copies of the Ypsilanti Modern Map: Easy to the students.  You have on hand Ypsilanti Modern Map: Detailed to use as reference.  Begin by asking what they see on the map of Ypsilanti (streets, Ford lake, Huron River, I-94 and US 12).
  3. Next, return to the "Community" list that was made.  Using it as a reference, but going beyond it, ask the kids what they would see if they took a tour of Ypsilanti like the students in the text did in Indianapolis.  What are the important landmarks?  Possibilities:
    • water tower
    • your school
    • public library on Whittaker
    • EMU
    • Frog Island and Riverside Park
    • Hospital
    • Stores
    • Depot Town
    • Fire department
    • Major businesses (where parents work perhaps)
  4. Have students put each landmark on their map (with markers or crayons) as they are called out, indicating locations on streets using north/south/east/west when needed.  Use the instructions from "It's a Snap to Make a Map" and have each student make a key to their map.  When they are done putting on landmarks, you can bring up the idea of a resource, which items on the map are "natural resources?"  The river may be the only prominent natural resource on the map.
  5. Congratulate your students on begin such good geographers!

Supplement Activity

Have students look at 1825 Ypsilanti Map, 1856 Ypsilanti City Map, and Ypsilanti Modern Map: Detailed online (or print them out).  Why do these maps look different?  How has the geography of Ypsilanti changed over time?

Possible changes:

  • Size.  Look at the streets that are included in each map and their size.  The newer maps have more streets that look smaller.  As the city expands, more streets come onto the map.
  • Older maps have lots of people's names.  Each block of land is labeled with its owner.  Why aren't all the land owners on the current map of Ypsilanti?  (because there are too many names to fit.  People move more.)
  • Can you find similar landmarks on all three maps?  Streets?  Railroads?  Natural resources?