Lesson Seven: Cityscapes or Open Spaces?
Grade Level: 2nd Grade
Time: 30-40 minutes
Essential Question: How can we be stewards of Wyoming’s public and private lands to benefit current and future generations?
Objective: Students will discuss the importance of Wyoming lands, the opportunity that they provide, and the importance of stewardship in providing these opportunities for current and future generations.
Purpose: Students learn that Wyoming lands are important to Wyoming culture.
Required Materials/Resources:
• Video: http://www.travelchannel.com/videos/top-10-attractions-in-nyc-0212544 Top 10 Attractions in NYC. (Source 1) Video length: 2 minutes 3 seconds
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo40xoJP1hQ Wyoming Sports and Recreation. (Source 2) Video length: 2 minutes 2 seconds.
• Picture cards of Wyoming and New York City (only needed if not using the websites)
• Chart paper
• Student Journals OR notebook or printer paper to make Student Journal pages (one per student)
• Venn Diagram (one per student and one for teacher to display)
• Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hX26JwnMZ8 Jessie Allen -That’s WY. (Source 3) Video length: 2 minutes 57 seconds
Teacher Note:
Websites are included to teach this lesson. However, if you cannot access these websites, there are Picture Cards available to use in place of the videos. If you choose to use the Picture Cards, they will need to be printed for this lesson. The images may be copied one to a page or double-sided depending on your preference.
Suggested Teacher Preparation:
• Preview the NYC and WY tourism videos OR make copies of Wyoming and New York City Picture cards.
• For Assessment step, decide whether students will write a summary in their Student Journals or respond to the provided sentence stems.
• Write provided sentence stems where all students can see them.
• If having students use provided sentence stems, prepare Student Journal pages by typing/writing the following sentence stems on notebook/printer paper OR write the following sentence stems in Student Journals:
o Wyoming tourism is different from New York tourism because _______________________________.
o Wyoming tourism is the same as New York tourism because _________________________________.
o Wyoming’s tourism is important because _____________________.
o I can be a steward of Wyoming lands by ______________________________.
o I would feel _________________ if these lands couldn’t be used anymore because __________.
Standards:
Social Studies: SS2.5.3, SS2.5.4 (Explicit), SS2.2.2, SS2.5.2 (Practiced/Encountered)
ELA: 2.SL.1, 2.SL.2 (Practiced/Encountered)
CVE: CV5.4.4 (Practiced/Encountered)
Vocabulary: (does not need to be explicitly taught prior to the lesson – words are included throughout the lesson)
• Culture – a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization
• Public land – land owned by a government; may or may not be accessible to the public
• Recreation – an activity that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation
• Tourism – the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure that can generate revenue from the enjoyment of Wyoming’s land and/or resources
• Tourist – vacationer, traveler, sightseer, visitor
Instructional Procedure/Steps:
1. To begin the lesson with a review, ask: “What are some of the ways people use land in Wyoming?” Allow students to respond. Possible responses: hunting, camping, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing, etc. “Why is it important to be stewards of our land?” Allow students to respond. Possible responses: wildlife populations could get too large/small, beautiful nature would be lost, these lands won’t be available for us in the future, etc. Say: “Today, we are going to focus on how important Wyoming’s lands are to our culture or way of life. We have already discussed all the different outdoor activities we, as Wyoming citizens, can enjoy, but we also need to learn about how visitors come to experience and explore our state as well.”
2.
Analysis
In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by organizing ideas and recognizing trends.
Say: “We are going to watch three videos today. While watching the first two videos, I want you to think about what examples of lands you see as well as what activities you notice people doing.” Show the New York City video or display the pictures. After watching the video, say: “Turn to your partner, and share at least three activities that you saw.” Provide a minute for sharing. Have each pair share their ideas. Pass out and display the Venn Diagrams. Record ideas on the New York side of the Venn Diagram. Ask the whole group: “What are some things you noticed about the activities and outdoor environment in New York?” Possible responses: Lots of people, crowded and busy streets, tall buildings, lots of traffic, no wide-open spaces, museums to visit, Statue of Liberty, Central Park
Teacher Note:
The purpose of watching these videos is for students to see that Wyoming has a unique culture (way of life) by comparing it with another way of life. The videos also demonstrate how tourism contributes to local economy. If you cannot access these videos, please use the Picture cards provided to initiate discussion.
3.
Analysis
In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by organizing ideas and recognizing trends.
When students are finished responding, show the Wyoming Tourism video or display the pictures. After watching the video, say: “Turn to your partner and share at least three activities that you saw.” Provide a minute for sharing. Have each pair share their ideas. Record ideas on the Wyoming side of the Venn Diagram. Ask the whole group: “What are some things you noticed about the activities and outdoor environment?” Possible responses: wide open spaces, activities such as fishing, horseback riding, hiking, places and things to see such as Yellowstone National Park, local state parks, various wildlife
Teacher Note:
If students completed their Venn Diagrams before sharing with the whole class, you may also use the student Venn Diagrams as an assessment.
4.
Analysis
In this task, students will be engaged in the higher order thinking skill of analysis by organizing ideas and recognizing trends.
When students are finished responding, say: “We can see from our Venn Diagram that there are many ways these two places are different? Are there any ways they are the same?” Allow students to respond. Make sure students note that tourists visit both places, and both places rely on visitors to spend money to help provide jobs for the people that live there. Say: “The ways people live, work, and play are different in these two places. We are going to discuss the ways in which Wyoming is unique compared to many other places. Wyoming offers open spaces, jobs, and recreational opportunities for residents and tourists. People can go hunting, fishing, camping, biking, and visiting parks like Yellowstone National Park. Due to all these opportunities, Wyoming attracts many visitors. They are called tourists.” Ask: “What are the benefits of having tourists visit Wyoming?” Facilitate discussion using think-pair-share, equity sticks, etc. Possible responses: Income for schools and roads, jobs for people, tax benefits. Ask: “What might be problems that we need to consider when tourists visit our state?” Allow students to respond. Possible responses: litter, overuse of trails, interference with animals, people not following rules, etc. Ask: “Why is being a steward important to Wyoming lands?” If we don’t take care of our lands, we won’t have all these outdoor opportunities; we won’t make money from tourists; people won’t have jobs; future generations won’t be able to enjoy what we have now; etc.
5. Say: “We are going to watch the third video now. While you are watching, I want you to notice the different jobs Jessie talks about, and how she is involved with tourism in Wyoming.” Show video about Jessie Allen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hX26JwnMZ8 Ask the whole group: “What are some things you noticed?” Possible responses: guest ranch, health and wellness events, promotion of tourism, etc.
6. To close, write these five sentence stems on the board. Ask students to turn and share their responses with a partner.
• Wyoming tourism is different from New York because _______________________________.
• Wyoming tourism is the same as New York tourism because _________________________________.
• Wyoming’s tourism is important because _____________________.
• One job I could see myself doing is ___________________
• I can be a steward of Wyoming lands by ______________________________.
Assessment:
After students have shared with their partner, pass out their Student Journals or a piece of notebook paper for students’ journals. Have students respond to the five sentence stems in their journal, OR have students write a summary of their learning. Students could also include a picture. Collect journals when students are finished. Check journal entries to ensure that students are understanding the concepts correctly.
Credits/Sources:
1. Scripps Networks, LLC. Travel Channel. (2017). Top 10 Attractions in NYC. Retrieved August 10, 2017, from http://www.travelchannel.com/videos/top-10-attractions-in-nyc-0212544
2. Visit the USA. (2015). Wyoming Sports and Recreation. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZgzkqnWTsM
3. Travel Wyoming. (2017). Jessie Allen – That’s WY. Retrieved March 28, 2019 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hX26JwnMZ8
4. Photo Credits are listed on individual images.