Optional Day 8: Field Trip!
Lesson summary
During the lesson students will go on a field trip. They will take a walk from the Dequindre Cut to the Riverwalk. Depending on your comfort level and time available, you can enter the Dequindre cut at various points between Eastern Market and the rier.
During the walk, students will do a fun scavenger hunt, looking for the actual physical features of the urban landscape. Students will explore the neighborhood of Detroit (Dequindre cut to Riverwalk) and analyze the geography of Detroit. Discussions may include:
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Compare and contrast between Central Park Plaza and different part of Detroit’s geography
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How do people live here?
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Who lives here?
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What does the area feel like?
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How does urban renewal affect the neighborhood?
Objectives
Students will be able to collect geographical information about Detroit, specifically central plaza and people’s lifestyles, places and eras.
Students will be able to participate in a walk from Dequindre cut to river walk and during that time, they will observe the neighbor and take notes if needed.
Students will be able to examine the area by identifying physical features listed on their field trip scavenger hunt.
Standards
Social Studies: 6 – G1.3.1 Use the fundamental themes of geography (location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, region) to describe regions or places on earth.
Teaching Strategy
Field trips are an excellent strategy to give students access to explore material in a real-world way. This helps students value the material and keep it in their memory for the long term. During the walk from Dequindre Cut to the Riverwalk, the teacher will serve as a tour guide and explain what students are seeing. They will also fill out a physical feature scavenger hunt worksheet and later use it to complete an in-class assessment.
Assessment
After the field trip, students will share their worksheets in small groups and ask questions related to the field trip for 10-12 minutes. Once they return to their seats, pass out the compare and contrast worksheet and ask them to compare and contrast the geographical information they observed in central park and other parts of (visited) Detroit (River walk, Dequindre cut, streets). Set aside 12-15 minutes to fill out the worksheet and additional time for students to share out.
