October 22, 2010

By: Aisha M. from Philadelphia, PA
Comments: 20

Posted By: Aisha Madhi
On: 4/27/2008 3:19:17 PM

I just did a lesson in my African American history class in which we analyzed factors that explained why the English colonies varied according to environment. I used an interactive website with a virtual jamestown activity from History Globe (https://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/) that asks students to imagine they are arriving in Virginia from England. Students choose what crops to plant, where to build their colonies and what architectural structure to build (fort, village or castle). Then the students learn whether they would have been able to successfully build a colony based on the regions, climate and environment. They also find out what decisions James Smith and other early English settlers made and how it impacted their survival. The activity definitely engaged students and encouraged problem solving. It also supported Geography standards in terms of: location, place, region, human/environmental interaction and movement. I am wondering if there are other suggestions for looking at early colonies in terms of design that you might recommend...

Posted By: Jesse Todd
On: 4/27/2008 8:11:04 PM

Aisha, This sounds like a great lesson! On a somewhat related note, I used William Penn's original map of Philadelphia when teaching directions to my Spanish students. I was able to make the connection to our school's neighborhood and to colonial history and issues of design as well. This was great because it activated students' prior knowledge since they are familiar with the streets but it also got them thinking about Penn's reasoning for the grid from a design aspect. When we made a modern version of the map it actually made students more aware of their surroundings! I then took my students to Welcome Park which has Penn's grid laid out in marble and assessed my students on their ability to ask for and give directions in the Spanish language.

Posted By: Karen Thomas
On: 4/27/2008 9:19:17 PM

Very innovative. I wonder if this would work on one of those Sim City computer programs. My son is actually using one in his graduate school program on sustainable development in post-conflict societies. Seems very adaptable to something as long as realistic parameters are set up based on the appropriate time on history.

Posted By: Michelle Dalton
On: 4/28/2008 7:42:08 PM

I love the idea of studying a historical map and then having students create a modern map of their own... I wonder if there is a geology component as well. Building materials (for travel and roadways even as well as buildings) that depended on local mineral and rock deposits.

Posted By: Karen Thomas
On: 4/29/2008 3:05:20 PM

Geology is a key component to building here. Many of the structures, walls included, are made from Wissahickon schist, a metamorphic rock that is quite durable and unusually beautiful in that it has glittery sparkles from the flattened minerals created during pressurization at depth under ground. The metamorphism left behind by plate collisions in the Pennsylvanian period, was also critical to the implacement of coal deposits and natural gas which brought many immigrants to the area to work in the mines. Let me know if I can help, since geology is my major!

Posted By: Nancy Gerber
On: 4/29/2008 10:58:56 PM

Alisha, Way to get kids thinking and putting design into social studies! There is an old video from Scientific American (with Alan Alda) where they look at the influence of geography/climate on the Jamestown settlement that your students might enjoy.

Posted By: mel ruth
On: 4/30/2008 2:06:59 PM

A great book to consider when teaching architecture and design is the DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY. The 1893 World's fair was held in Chicago at the turn of the century. The new building techniques and designs that came out of the fair was amazing. other things like the Faress wheel, crackers jack, gum, the first skyscraper, building problems, soil erosion, etc... are covered. great points for discussion. Plus it is also includes a story of a serial killer, H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer.

Posted By: Brittain Villaflor
On: 5/3/2008 1:23:08 PM

The Library of Congress website has some interesting primary source materials to access. I was looking around on it for some other material and saw that it has lesson plans for many different social studies topics geared towards older kids.

Posted By: Elizabeth Roszak
On: 5/8/2008 4:30:38 PM

I like to get my students looking at what children had in did in these formative societies. I have been using Colonial Williamsburg's collection of folk art to talk about toy design. We look at and discuss what children had to play with, how the toys made, and who made them. Despite all the struggles settling colonies had there still seemed to be time to give the children some fun. I think this is a connection that kids get-while the toys look quite a bit different from modern toys the students understand what it means to play.

Posted By: Marie Tom
On: 5/13/2008 7:27:26 PM

Thank you Aisha, This is valuable information when I have my students build their Never Before Seen Cities or countries for that matter. I hooked up to the web site and it is great.

Posted By: Jacqueline Taylor
On: 5/17/2008 10:45:46 PM

Hi Aisha, Loved your lesson. As a follow up to several walk throughs in New Orleans with students, I am having them design a school of the future. They must consider the levees, Lake and other factors which created most of New Orleans to be under water. They must design in a way that will preserve the building. Jacqueline Tayor, John Dibert School, New Orleans, LA

Posted By: Aisha Madhi
On: 5/20/2008 2:46:07 PM

Thanks for all of the suggestions and positive feedback! I look forward to checking out the Library of Congress and the other recommended resources. Aisha Philadelphia