Black Bottom and Paradise Valley - Where did they go?

Summary: 

This Unit Plan talks about the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods and is for 2nd or 3rd grade students. It goes over what these neighborhoods are, where they were, what happened to them, and the thoughts and attitudes of the people that lived there when they had to move. After completing this unit, students will have a real understanding of the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods, why they are so significant, and how neighborhoods change over time.

Day 1

Standards 

 2 – H2.0.4 Describe changes in the local community over time. 

 2 – H2.0.1 Demonstrate chronological thinking by distinguishing among years and decades using a timeline of local community events. 

Objectives

Students will be able to describe the changes they see in a community over time. 

Students will be able to demonstrate chronological thinking by distinguishing among years and decades using a timeline of local community events. 

Activities

Read the students Where Do I Live by Neil Chesanow. Then, ask the students to think about their own street. Students will draw an image of what they think their house will look like in 50 years. The teacher will collect the photos of “now” and “future”. 

Introduce the Paradise Valley and Black Bottom neighborhoods to students by showing pictures of the area in the 1920s-1950s. Show students where these neighborhoods were on a map and consider showing current streetview images.

Assessment

Create and turn in illustrations.  Focus on whether students understand changes that might happen in a community over time and if they will be able to show the difference of years and chronological thinking. 

 

Resources

There are thousands of photographs of homes and businesses around the area at the Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical Collection. This search brings results for "Black Bottom." You might choose 2-4 to share with students. Also consider:

Day 2: Interview Project

Standards 

P2 Inquiry, Research, and analysis

P2.1 Use compelling and supporting questions to investigate social studies problems.

P2.3 Use supporting questions to help answer compelling social studies questions.

G2 Places and Regions

K – G2.0.1 Identify and describe places in the immediate environment.

Objectives 

Students will be able to write interview questions and conduct an interview 

Students will be able to listen and communicate back and forth during the interview and take notes on the details given. 

Students will be able to share thoughts and detailed moments they listen and hear from other people as we discuss our interviews. 

Activities

Talk to students about what they have learned the previous day, reminding them about Black Bottom and Paradise Valley

Have students share their pictures drawn in class and describe changes they think will occur in the next 50 years.

As a class, develop some interview questions students might ask their older relatives. These might include:

• Is the place you grew up different now from how it was when you were young? How quickly did you see changes happening in where you lived?
• Did family members or relatives talk about changes?
• What changes did you notice?
• What about changes where you live now? Is it the same as when you moved in?

Have students go home and ask their older relatives these questions and take notes to report back to the class.

• Have students bring in any special artifacts or papers relatives or family members might have from their youth.

Assessment

Students will be asked questions about their interview and will respond with information they got from the interview. 

Students will be able to describe the drastic changes that took place in their older relatives' neighborhoods. 

 

Day 3: Interview Report out and What Happened

Ms. Francis Segment 1B (first   6:45- minutes)

Standards 

G4- HUMAN SYSTEMS

2 – G4.0.1

C3- STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT

2 – C3.0.2

Objectives 

Students can identify some Black Bottom living areas and complexes. 

Students will make a timeline for Black Bottom to today while considering demographics. 

Activities

Students report back to the class on their findings from the interview and talking to their parents 

• Go through each question, and ask students if their interview produced any interesting answers or cool stories

• Bring the narrative back to Black Bottom/Paradise Valley by playing a clip of an oral history with Ms. Francis conducted by Black Bottom Archives. The first 1:30 of segment 1B includes the interviewee recounting her experience being a child and playing in Black Bottom. In the same segment, also in segment 1B, you might choose to share 6:45-7:30 where the interviewee talks about how people found out they had to leave the area for Urban Renewal.

• So what is in those places now? Show a current map of Detroit and a historic map of the area (see below). What landmarks can you find that are the same and help you make comparisons? Examples include the Detroit River and Gratiot Avenue. As a class, identify a few current, well-known buildings that are in the former Paradise Valley or Black Bottom. Consider Ford Field as an example.

Whole class constructs a timeline that hangs in the classroom.

Ask the whole class to help build a timeline to understand how these neighborhoods went from the 1920s to what they look like today. Read this article from the Detroit Historical Society aloud to students and ask them to actively listen for "turning point" dates. When they hear one, ask them to write it down on a sticky note. Then, work together to put the stickies in order. The teacher may have to help students fill in missed dates.

Assessment

Summative: Reorder events to fit the correct timeline. 

Formative: Adding a post-it note to the timeline.

Materials: 

• Large sheet of paper (and tape/magnets to hang it with)

• Markers

• Post-it notes

Day 4: Thoughts and Attitudes

Standards

2 – C3.0.2 Use examples to describe how local government affects the lives of people in a community.  .

Objective

Students will be able to describe how the government changed the lives of the people living in the Black Bottom and Paradise Valley Neighborhoods.

Activities

• At the beginning of the lesson, recap what students learned in the previous day and we will begin talking  about what the students think the thoughts and attitudes of the people who lived in those areas felt when they had to move for the construction of a road and new apartments for other people.

• Students will each be given a card that has a persona on it. They will have to read that persona and then become that person. They will then split into a group of people who lived there and people who are portraying the government. Students will then have conversations talking about what they think their person would feel about construction of the road. Then we will have a group discussion about what we talked about and important things that the students learned from the simulation. At the end of the lesson, students will fill out an exit ticket, explaining what they learned and what the simulation made them realize and describe how the government changed those people’s lives.

Assessments 

Students will fill out an exit ticket explaining what they learned in the simulation and how the government changed those people’s lives.

Materials

Simulation Cards. Potential personas include:

• Mrs. Williams, mother of a family with 3 children ages 2, 5, and 7. Her husband works in a local plant and they rent an apartment. Her landlord heard about the urban renewal project 30 days before the building would be torn down, but didnt notify her right away, so now the family has 16 days to move. 
• Mr. Johnson, city planner in Detroit, knows that some homes in Black Bottom do not have indoor plumbing and feels the buildings there should be replaced with new, modern ones.
• Mary Webber is a 10-year old girl living in Black Bottom with lots of friends on her block and they play together every day when the weather is nice.
• Rev. Robbins is the minister at a local church. He would like to see more services in the neighborhood, such as new parks and updated plumbing, but he does not want his congregation to be divided up and leave the area.
• Mr. Roth is a Detroit City Council person, and he represents an area nearby. He would like to build new developments close to downtown, like high-rise apartments and sports facilities. 
• Mr. Bernard is a new grandpa who raised his own children in Black Bottom. He works in a local grocery store and wants his family to be able to keep living close to him. He has heard rumors about having to leave his home, but he plans to stay put as long as he can.

 

Optional Day 5: Field Trip

Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.2.4

Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

2 – H2.0.6 Construct a historical narrative about the history of the local community from a variety of sources. 

Objectives 

Students will be able to recognize differences between the Black Bottom neighborhood of the past and present

Students will be able to discuss their observations appropriately

Students will be able to fill out a chart listing the differences and similarities of the neighborhood through time

Activities

Students read A Street Through Time: A 12,000 Year Journey Along the Same Street by Steve Noonbook and discuss changes that are made throughout the years to the same place.

Visit the Black Bottom Street View exhibit, notice what was there years ago and what is there now. Note: if you are not able to visit in person, consider messaging the exhibit owners to request access to the digitial version for your class.

When back in the class, have a discussion about what differences they noticed 

Fill out a comparison chart comparing what they saw at the exhibit and what is there today 

Assessment

Comparison chart

Discussion participation

 

Materials

• Chart

• Pencil

• Paper to take notes if wanted at exhibit

Day 6: Map Making

Standards 

2 – H2.0.2 Examine different perspectives of the same event in a community and explain how and why they are different. 

2 – H2.0.6 Construct a historical narrative about the history of the local community from a variety of sources. Objectives :

2 – G1.0.1 Construct maps of the local community that contain symbols, labels, and legends denoting human and physical characteristics of a place. 

2 – G5.0.2 Describe positive and negative consequences of changing the physical environment of the local community. 

Objectives:

• Students will be able to create a map of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods, using resources and pictures found online

• Students will be able to compare and contrast Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods then and now, using a venn diagram.

Activities

• Introduce the students to the idea of how maps are made by reading aloud, Follow That Map!
• Divide students into groups of 3-4 and assign them one image from the Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical Collection that show buildings in Black Bottom. Ask students to draw a map of the area and plot their building on the map. For some, the street may no longer be there. Allow some flexibility - finding the right street is a good first step.
• Students will also complete a Venn diagram comparing similarities and differences between the archival photos and the current location

Day 7: Culminating Event

Standard

• 2 – H2.0.4 Describe changes in the local community over time.

Objectives

Students will be able to describe the changes in a local community over time. 

Students will be able to present their knowledge to their parents and receive better insight of their parents past experiences. 

Activities

• Students will be presenting everything they have done throughout this unit. This will include displaying everything they have created and/or illustrated. 

• Parents will be invited into the classroom to observe their students' work, and will get a chance to understand what the students were learning for this unit. 

• Parents will have a chance to share with the class things they have noticed have changed since their childhood.

Assessments 

The teacher will be walking around and formatively assess the students by listening and observing what they explain to their parents. This will give the teacher an understanding of if the students comprehend everything they have learned in this unit. It will also make the teacher aware if they need to change any lessons for future classes that will be learning this unit. 

Materials

All physical assessments from prior assignments that were handed back.