• Introductory Lesson: 30 minutes
• Learning Activity 1: Making Feature Overlays: 60 -75
minutes
• Learning Activity 2: Creating Habitat Maps: 60-90 minutes
• Culminating Activity: Where Does All the Water Go?: 60
minutes
Did you ever stop to think about the many changes that have
taken place in the last century? What once was only farmland
and country roads for miles and miles, has become huge sprawling
cities. Transportation that once consisted only of horses, trains,
carts or buggies, has been replaced by airplanes, automobiles,
and even spacecraft. Where once families only went to town once
a week or even once a month to the town mercantile to buy needed
supplies, we now have department stores, supermarkets, and huge
shopping malls that are right in our neighborhoods. While many
of these changes represent how our society has advanced and
improved technologically, progress has not been without a cost.
As cities become more crowded, people seek to get away from
the hustle and bustle of city life. They begin to move away
from the crowded cities in search for a more relaxed environment
in which to raise their children. Unfortunately, as more and
more people follow, the once rural and peaceful countryside
to which they have moved, also becomes crowded and history repeats
itself. The result is what is referred to as urban sprawl.
Urban sprawl occurs when people who once lived in the city disperse
to nearby rural areas to live. Nature, particularly, has had
to bear a huge part of the cost of urban sprawl. As cities spread
out into the countryside, habitats are lost, wetlands are destroyed,
and nature’s ability to recharge and regenerate itself
is seriously impaired. As more houses are built, natural resources
are destroyed. Forested land, wetland, and grassland are lost
forever. Animals that depend on these habitats become endangered
or even extinct. Many animals fall victim to the increased transportation
that becomes necessary. Not only is the environment adversely
affected, but humans suffer from increased traffic, longer commutetimes,
strains on public utilities, and increased pollution of all
types. The improved quality of life that everyone was seeking
becomes a myth instead of a reality.
In this lesson, after being introduced to change in an area
during the viewing of Spin on Sprawl students
will use the WETMAAP Internet site and learn to map the changes
that occur in the land as a result of urban sprawl.
Geography,
Science
Students will be able to:
• Define urban sprawl
• Identify the effects of urban sprawl on people
• Identify the effects of urban sprawl on the environment
• Use topographic maps and habitat maps to record changes
in the land as a result of urban sprawl
• Create a GIS map using manual techniques
• Identify causes of run-off flooding
• Identify effects of run-off
• Suggest solutions for halting urban spraw
National Standards
The Geography National Standards
http://nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/standardslist.html
Essential Element 1: The World in Spatial Terms
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations,
tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information
from a spatial perspective.
Standard 3: How to analyze the spatial organization of
people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.
Essential Element II: Places and Regions
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of
places
Standard 5: That people create
regions to interpret Earth’s complexity.
Standard 6: How culture and experience influence people’s
perception of places and regions
Essential Element III: Physical Systems
Standard 7: The physical processes that shape the pattern
of Earth’s surface
Standard 8: The characteristics and spatial distribution
of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.
Essential Element IV: Human Systems
Standard 12: The process, patterns, and functions of
human settlement.
Standard 13: How human actions modify the physical environment.
Standard 15: How physical systems affect human systems.
Essential Element VI: The Uses of Geography
Standard 17: How to apply geography to interpret the
past.
Standard 18: How to apply geography to interpret the
present and plan for the future.
State Standards
The Louisiana Framework for Social Studies Benchmarks: Grades
5-8 are as follows:
http://www.doe.state.la.us/DOE/asps/home.asp
Geography: Physical and Cultural Systems
G-IA-M1: Identifying and describing the characteristics,
functions, and applications of various types of maps and other
geographic representations, tools, and technologies
G-A2-M2: Interpreting and developing maps, globes, graphs,
charts, models, and databases to analyze spatial distributions
and patterns
G-A3-M3: Organizing and displaying information about
the location of geographic features and places by using mental
mapping skills
G-IB-M1: Explaining and analyzing both the physical and
human phenomena associated with specific places, including precipitation
and settlement patterns
G-IB-M2: Identifying and describing significant physical
features that have influenced historical events
G-IB-M3: Identifying criteria used to define regions
and explaining how and why regions change
Physical and Human Systems
G-1C-M1: Predicting and explaining how physical features
help to shape patterns and arrangements in the physical environment
National Science Education Standards
http://bob.nap.edu/html/nses/html
Content Standard D: Origin and evolution of the earth system
Louisiana Science Framework
http://www.lcet.doe.state.la.us/dor/assessment/standards/SCIENCE.pdf
Science and the Environment
SE-M-A1: Demonstrating knowledge that an ecosystem includes
living and nonliving factors and that humans are an integral
part of ecosystems
SE-M-A2: Demonstrating an understanding of how carrying
capacity and limiting factors affect plant and animal populations
SE-M-A3: Defining the concept of a pollutant and describing
the effects of various pollutants on ecosystems
SE-M-A4: Understanding that human actions can create
risks and consequences in the environment
Video:
Enviro-Tacklebox™
Spin on Sprawl —LPB Production—explores
the effects of urban sprawl on different cities such as Phoenix,
New Orleans, and Orlando.
Web sites:
WETMAAP: Northshore
http://www.wetmaap.org
Introduces students to aerial photography, satellite imagery,
and maps in order to understand the human and natural processes
that affect wetlands. WETMAAP’s use of GIS techniques allows
students to understand ecosystems in context. Through the use
of GIS and coloration techniques, students can identify multiple
information levels including land use/land cover, watershed
management, wildlife habitat distributions and the like. The
Northshore site teaches students how to use manual GIS techniques
to identify changes that have occurred on the Northshore over
the last forty years.
For each group of two to four students:
• WETMAAP Color Scheme
• Colored pencils
• Fine point permanent colored marking pens (all colors)
• Ultra Fine black permanent marking pen
• Magnifying glass
• Drafting tape
• (6) 11"x 17" clear film overlays
• 9" x 9" clear film overlay
• white paper
• colored pencils
• large rectangular aluminum tray
• sand
• clay
• 2 large rocks or bricks
• water
• pepper
• paper or styrofoam cup
1. Prior to teaching the lesson, CUE the video to the
beginning of the tape.
2. Bookmark the Web sites used in the lesson on each computer
in your classroom or the computer lab.
When using media, provide students with a
FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION, a specific task to complete
and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video
segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.
Preparation for the hands-on elements
of the lesson :
1. Place the marking pens, colored pencils, clear plastic overlays,
drafting tape, WETMAAP color scheme, magnifying glass, and white
paper in one container and the large aluminum tray, sand, clay,
paper cup, food coloring, rocks, and water in a second container.
2. If you are not going to have the students access and copy
their own topographic maps, then you should use the WETMAAP
Web site: http://www.wetmaap.org
to make copies of the topographic maps you will use for the
area you are studying. In this lesson, you will make one copy
for each group of the following maps:
11" x 17" section of 1:24,000 scale 1968/94 Covington;
1968/94 Mandeville topographic map, and the 81/2" x 11"
Habitat Maps for 1956, 1978, 1988, and 1995.
3. Provide each student with a copy of the WETMAAP color scheme
key found at the Web site. Students will use this to identify
the land cover on the different habitat maps.
1. Ask students to define what sprawl means to them.
Have them identify areas that they have seen experiencing sprawl.
(These can be local areas or areas such as Los Angeles, California,
or Houston, Texas.) Have students discuss some of the problems
they think are associated with sprawl. Make a class list of
the problems identified. (Possible suggestions might be: more
traffic, longer time to get from one place to the other, increased
demands on public utilities: electricity, water usage, sewage.)
Provide students with a FOCUS FOR MEDIA
INTERACTION, asking them to identify the problems identified
on the video and to be ready to compare them with the class-generated
list. PLAY the video “Spin on Sprawl”.
PAUSE the video when the man in the black Jeep says,
“ I know one thing...if we don’t get out of this construction
zone soon, it will take hours to get back to the bait shop.
We’re outta here!” Discuss with the class how their
definition of “sprawl” matches the definition given
on the video.
The video’s definition of sprawl is:
As population increases, cities grow to make room for all the
people, and the city limits push outward. Businesses, industry,
and residences spread out over the landscape, sometimes finding
greenspace faster than the population is growing. As people
move further away from the downtown or the city centers, you
get “sprawl.”
After viewing this portion of the video, FAST
FORWARD it to the section showing a map of Louisiana and
New Orleans and you hear the words, “Water is not the only
challenge of a growing city.”
2. Explain to students that in this lesson
they will be learning about the effects of sprawl on the Northshore
of New Orleans Metropolitan area, specifically, the area of
Mandeville, LA.
Creating Manual GIS Maps to Identify Major Features on Maps
(Students will create their own maps showing the water bodies,
major roads, and subdivisions of Mandeville.)
Step 1: Making
Feature Overlays (Technique 2: Element 1) of WETMAAP: Northshore
Tell students that they will create a GIS map to use in identifying
features on maps and to identify relationships between these
map features. (Tell the students that creating a Geographic
Information Systems map allows students to create layers of
individual features being studied. This allows the students
to analyze only one or two features at a time, if desired, and
their effects on each other. It is also a very effective technique
in showing change over time.)
A.Use the 1:24,000 scale USGS Covington 1968/94
Mandeville 1968/94 map provided by the teacher or provide
students with a Focus for Media Interaction by having them access
the Web site: http://www.wetmaap.org/northshore/
to print a copy of the map listed above. Students should ENTER
the following URL for WETMAAP: http://www.wetmaap.org
or select it from the Bookmarks. Once WETMAAP’s home page
is displayed, SELECT “Wetmaap Sites” from the
menu at the top of the page. CLICK on the Northshore
site. Now SELECT “Topographic Maps” from the
menu on the side of the screen. Find “Northshore”
and SELECT the map that is identified as “1:24,000
Mandeville/Covington.” PRINT the map for use in
the activity.
B. Have students preview the area they will be studying by Selecting
“Photo Essay Slides” from the menu on the side of
the screen. FOCUS for MEDIA INTERACTION: The students
will recognize in the slides some of the locations and features
near their homes. Ask them to note any development that has
occurred in Mandeville. Viewing these slides will give students
a mental picture of the area they are studying. Discuss the
types of land covering they see and the development that is
evident in some of the slides.
C. Groups of two to four students should work together to
create the maps. Students should tape clear film 11"
x 17" overlay on top of the 1:24,000 scale map. Tape at
the top edge.
D. Use the red pen to make four “corner marks” on
the overlay, one at each corner of the study site. (The study
site is the area inside the rectangle on the map.)
E. Trace the shorelines of Lake Pontchartrain and the all other
water bodies inside the study site with a blue pen on the overlay.
Use the magnifying glass to identify bodies of water such as
bayous and rivers that are difficult to see.
F. At the bottom of the overlay (in blue) draw a short horizontal
line and label it “Water bodies and Shoreline.”
G. Remove the “Water bodies and Shoreline” overlay.
H. Use a second 11" x 17" clear film overlay.
I. Tape the clear film overlay on top of the 1:24,000 scale
map. Tape at the top edge.
J. Use the red pen to make four corner marks on the overlay,
one at each corner of the study site.
K. Trace only the main streets and highways within the study
site in Red on the overlay. These are drawn in red on the topographic
map.
L. At the bottom (in red) draw a short horizontal line the same
length as the blue line and label it “Streets and Highways”.
M. Use a third 11" x 17" clear film overlay.
N. Tape clear film overlay on top of the 1:24,000 scale map.
Tape at the top edge.
O. Use the brown pen to make four corner marks on the overlay,
one at each corner of the study site.
P. Trace the subdivisions (the areas identified by white lines
for streets and black dots indicating homes) in brown on the
clear overlay. Use the magnifying glass to help you identify
the subdivision streets. You may trace around the entire subdivision
rather than drawing each street within the subdivision.
Q. At the bottom (in brown) draw a short horizontal line the
same length as the blue and red lines and label it “Subdivisions/Neighborhoods”.
R. Remove the “Subdivisions/Neighborhoods” overlay.
S. Place each overlay on top of the 1:24,000 scale map, layered
in the order that they were prepared. Tape all four to the map
at the top edge.
T. Explain to the students that they have created a GIS map,
which includes layers of information. The layers of information
can be added or subtracted to allow the viewer to identify certain
characteristics in relation to each other.
Step 2: Remove the tape from the top
of the map and use only the necessary layers
to answer the following questions:
A. Place the layer
showing the roads below the layer showing subdivisions. Use
it to answer the question: What relationship do you see between
the location of roads and the location of subdivisions on the
map? (The subdivisions all are located close to major roads.)
B. What reason can you give for this? (People build homes
near major roads for easy access to other parts of the city
and for ease in entering and leaving the city.)
C. Place the layer showing the water bodies below the layer
showing subdivisions. Use it to answer the question: What relationship
do you see between the location of the subdivisions and the
water bodies? (Many homes are located near bodies of water)
D. What reason can you give for this? (People like to live
near water. When the first homes in Mandeville were built, they
were traditionally built near water because people that owned
them came across the lake to escape the city’s heat and
diseases. Since they came on boats, they built homes near the
water for ease in travelling back and forth. Subdivisions grew
around these first homes.)
E. How does using layering help you in identifying factors that
affect each other, such as locations of roads and locations
of subdivisions? (It allows you to only look at certain factors
without the distraction of other factors that are not of importance
at that time.)
Step 3: Provide your students with
a FOCUS FOR MEDIA INTERACTION by asking them to watch
the next video clip in order to identIfy specific changes that
have occurred in Mandeville because of the urban sprawl and
the problems that have been created. RESUME PLAY until
you reach the end of the interview with Mrs. Seagrave and you
see a picture of the Causeway Bridge in the background. PAUSE
the video and have students identify the changes that were mentioned
and the problems that were created. Have students compare these
problems with similar problems they may have experienced with
urban sprawl in their own communities.
Increased traffic is a major problem, more
people mean more cars. Also the places that used to be right
in the neighborhood are now farther away, causing people to
have to use cars to get to them. Increased construction has
created increased paving, which in turn has created increased
flooding.
Step 4a: Create Habitat Maps to use to recognize changes
in habitat from 1956 to 1995.
(Skill 1: Element 3 of WETMAAP: Northshore)
Students will create habitat maps showing change in land cover
and habitats on the Northshore beginning with the year 1956
and by 1978, 1988, and 1995.
A. Use the Color Classification Scheme provided
to identify and label wetland habitats found on the Northshore.
B. Use the 1956 Habitat map provided by the teacher or provide
the students with a Focus for Media Interaction by having them
locate the “Habitat maps” on the Web site: http://www.wetmaap.org/
and print them. Students should SELECT “Wetmaap
Sites” from the menu at the top of the screen. Then SELECT
the Northshore Site from the map. SELECT “Habitat
Maps” from the menu on the side of the screen. Find Northshore
and PRINT the habitat maps for 1956, 1978, 1988, and
1995.
C. Examine the wetland habitats labeled on the map and cross-reference
with the classification scheme to become familiar with the colors
used for each type of land cover.
D. Each student in the group should select one of the habitat
maps to color to expedite the activity.
E. Using the color pencils and the classification scheme, color
(fill-in) the polygons on the 1956 map. You will color on the
actual paper.
F. Use the 1978 Habitat map.
G. Tape an 11" x 17" clear
film overlay along the top edge of the 1978 Habitat map.
H. Use the Black pen to make four
“corner marks” on the overlay, one at each corner
of the study site.
I. Use the color marker pens and the classification scheme to
color (fill-in) the polygons on the 1978 Habitat map.
J. Re-examine the wetland habitats labeled on the map and cross-reference
with the classification guide.
K. Use the 1988 Habitat map.
L. Tape an 11" x 17" clear film overlay along the
top edge of the 1988 Habitat map.
M. Use the Black pen to make four “corner marks” on
the overlay, one at each corner of the study site.
N. Use the color marker pens and the classification scheme to
color the polygon on the 1988 Habitat map.
O. Use the 1995 habitat map.
P. Tape an 11"x 17" clear film overlay along the top
edge of the 1995 Habitat map.
Q. Use the Black pen to make four “corner marks” on
the overlay, one at each corner of the study site.
R. Use the color marker pens and the classification scheme to
color in the polygons on the 1995 Habitat map.
Step 4b: Create Use the created
overlays to make a visual comparison of the habitat maps
from 1956-1995.
A. Tape the colored 1978 Habitat overlay over the 1956 colored
Habitat map and tape the colored 1995 Habitat overlay over the
1988 Habitat overlay. Position overlays using corner marks.
It is recommended that you tape one overlay map at the left
edge and the other at the right edge. This will allow you to
flip the overlays to see various combinations of habitat change
from 1956 to 1978, 1988, and to 1995.
B. Visually compare the differences between the habitats. Notice
the amount of change in the vegetative covering from 1956 to1995
and from 1988 to 1995.
C. Review with the students the changes that Mrs. Seagrave described
due to the population growth in Mandeville. Have students use
the maps they created to show evidence of the effects of urban
growth in the area. Have students write three statements about
change based on the habitat maps they created and use the maps
to support their statements.
For example: Almost all of the upland forested
area found near
Lake Pontchartrain in 1956 was turned into an urban area by
1995.
This is evidenced by the change in color from green dotted polygons
to
mostly black space near Lake Pontchartrain.
D. Have students verify each other’s statements by using
the maps they created.
E. If time does not allow, you can print the “land cover”
maps from 1956, 1978, 1988, and 1995 to use to make visual comparisons
instead of having students create their own habitat maps.
Step 5: Prepare to view the next segment
of the video “Spin on Sprawl.” You will PAUSE
it after seeing the map showing rapid growth of subdivisions
and hear the words, “In 1995, whole subdivisions went up
in eight months time.” Provide students with a Focus for
Media Interaction by asking them to use the land cover map for
1995 and what they will view to explain what the black areas
represent on the land cover map. What type(s) of land cover
that was/were present in 1956 on the Northshore disappeared
by 1995 as a result of the increase in black-colored areas?
What caused this change? What effects does this increase in
urban sprawl have on the land nearby? Have students identify
at least three water-related problems caused by urban sprawl
that were mentioned on the video. (Students should identify
that the major loss of land covering is upland forest. They
should also identify a loss of forested wetlands along the shoreline
of Lake Pontchartrain. If the students cannot answer the questions,
REWIND and REPLAY the clip). There is almost complete
loss of agriculture/range habitat. Water-related problems that
have arisen as a result of urban sprawl mentioned
on the video include flooding, increased sediment being added
to the water bodies as a result of construction, increase in
water temperature during warm weather because of the higher
temperature of runoff water being added to water bodies. Increased
sediment and higher water temperature reduces oxygen available
in water for aquatic animals.)
Students will create a model of an area that is changed from
an upland forest or wetland to an urban area and use it to demonstrate
the effects that paving and building have on a watershed.
Activity: Where Does All the Water Go When the Sponge Disappears?
1. Students will work in groups of
four to create a model of a watershed, using the large aluminum
tray, the sand, clay, large rocks or bricks, paper cups, food
coloring, and water.
2. Put a layer of sand in the bottom of the aluminum
pan at least two inches deep. Spread the sand so it evenly covers
the bottom of the pan.
3. Pour a cup of water into the sand and observe what
happens. (The water disappears below the surface of the sand,
representing what happens when water falls on vegetative surfaces.
It sinks into the soil or is used by the vegetation.)
4. Record observations and possible explanations for
what happened.
5. Place a layer of clay almost completely over the sand
to represent paved areas. Form the clay up along the edges of
the pan on three sides. Leave approximately two inches of sand
uncovered at the end of the pan. Add the bricks or large rocks
to the clay area to represent buildings.
6. Now pour a second cup of water onto the model. Observe
what happens and record observations. Once again, write possible
explanations for what happened. (The clay represents loss
of vegetation and paving that takes place when an area begins
to become heavily populated. As water is poured onto the watershed,
it has only a few places to go. Some of the water pools up and
causes flooding in an area that once had no flooding. Eventually,
the water that falls on the paved areas moves toward a body
of water such as a bayou or lake. In this case, the sand at
the end of the pan represents the body of water into which the
runoff flows.)
7. Sprinkle some pepper on the model. (The pepper
represents pollution on the land such as fertilizers, oil, animal
waste, or sediment from construction sites.)
8. Fill the cup with water again and “rain”
on the model. Observe what happens to the pollutants and write
an explanation of what is seen. (Students should observe
that the water carries the pepper (pollutants) with it into
the water body at the end of the pan.)
9. Have the students make a generalization about urban
sprawl and its effects on the surrounding water bodies based
on what was learned in this activity. (Students should generalize
that the paving of land causes an increase in runoff that can
increase flooding and carry pollutants to bodies of water nearby.)
10. Students should discuss within their groups possible
solutions to the problems that have been identified. As a group,
have them identify one solution that could be suggested to the
city planner of Mandeville. List all solutions on the board
for use in a letter-writing activity.
Language Arts: Have students write letters to the City
Planner or Public Works Director of Mandeville, describing how
they should handle future development in the city. In their
letters they should cite the changes that have occurred in the
land cover over time and why this is detrimental to the environment.
Science: Have students design an experiment to test how
temperature change from runoff into bodies of water affects
the dissolved oxygen content in the water body. List the effects
this can have on animals living in the water.
Social Studies: Have students research the history of
the people living in Mandeville during the years 1956, 1978,
1988, and/or 1995. Included in the research should be data about
the population totals of each year. A useful Web site to obtain
information about population data is http://quickfacts.census.gov/.
Students can also find information under the population changes
in the Mandeville area at the WETMAAP website for the Northshore.
Students should include in their research the changes in way
of life for people as the population increased and the land
cover changed.
• Have a public works director or city planner visit the
class and discuss steps that are taken in the planning of new
subdivisions.
• Visit a body of water near a construction
site and take dissolved oxygen readings over the course of the
construction time to see if sediment runoff is affecting the
amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
• Identify areas near your school that
have recently experienced urban sprawl. Interview older businesses
and homeowners in the area to find out what negative effects
they have experienced due to the increased sprawl. Compare findings
with what was learned in the lesson.
• Contact the city council and request
that students be allowed to present what they have learned at
a city council meeting. Students should prepare a visual to
accompany their presentation. Send an agenda in advance to city
council members and city planner or public works director, asking
them to prepare at least three questions that students must
respond to regarding their presentation.
Student materials are found and may be printed from the Northshore
site at http://www.WETMAAP.org
• WETMAAP Color Scheme
• 11" x 17" section of 1:24,000 scale 1968/94
Covington; 1968/94 Mandeville map
• 81/2" x 11" Land Cover Maps 1956, 1978, 1988,
1995
• 81/2 x 11" Habitat Maps for 1956,1978, 1988, 1995
