Students discuss the following terms and their definitions: zero population growth, population density, demographics, urban sprawl, census, immigration, migration, infrastructure, population booms, megacities, birthrate, death rate,...

Students explore the evacuation of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina. Using the internet, they research stories they may have heard and verify a story's authenticity. Students discuss rumors and urban legends. Given a worksheet,...

Eleventh graders write down their best guess at the meaning of "urban renewal." students stage a Mayor's press conference announcing a new urban development plan for the Fillmore.

Young scholars discover the urban ecosystem through a series of activities. They explore both the biotic and abiotic factors of the urban environment.

In this urban complaints learning exercise, learners fill out a chart about places around town about what they want and don't want to find there and create a short conversation about it. Students complete the chart for 4 places.

Elementary school physical scientists explore kinetic mechanical energy by dropping a golf ball on different surfaces. They discuss how human made materials might react to light differently from nature made materials. This lesson plan...

Students investigate types of communities. In this communities instructional activity, students read the book The Country Mouse and City Mouse and identify the characteristics of the city and country. Students participate in a pen-pal...

Jerome Myers' depiction of the urban landscape in "Sunday Morning" is the focus of a series of activities that asks viewers to examine how an artist uses the elements of a painting to tell a story. The resource packet includes an...

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

Engaging your class in African culture and traditions, this presentation provides photographs, historical contexts, and societal structures from different African tribes. It poses discussion topics about the benefits and disadvantages of...

Learn about the music of Latin America! Four types of music are defined by their instruments, uses, and cultural impact or influences. Indigenous, Iberian, African influenced, and Urban music are all discussed. 

Transform your classroom into the African savannah, a mountain range, the forest, and an urban environment! Young scientists embark on an imaginary field study observing various cat species in native habitats and recording in field guides.

Students identify the three main types of urban environments by learning characteristic land-cover types. They examine and analyze a thermal image of Salt Lake City. Then they predict surface and air temperatures from aerial photos.

Students discuss reasons to plant trees and the best locations for cooling. They study two homes and identify types and locations of trees and determine the placement of the central air conditioners. The class plans a landscape design...

Students consider the reasons why people relocate from one area to another.  In this relocation lesson, students read an article that includes research and statistics on which age, education level, etc., of the population moves the...

Pupils identify and analyze the boundaries which exist between urban and rural, wildness and country and among rural areas, country, town, and city. Students actively participate in planning, obtaining materials, setting goals and...

Students explore the reasons people choose to migrate including political, economic and familial motivations. They interview family members and compare their ancestors own reasons for migration to those of African American urban migrants.

Students design a heat and water conserving "green roof". In this urban environmental activity, students will design a heat and water conserving "green roof" to improve a building's energy profile.

Pupils record temperatures at different locations around campus. They examine the results and draw conclusions about how materials and colors affect the amount of heat produced. They also analyze Los Angeles' temperature records over a...

Middle schoolers research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a...

Students identify connections between agriculture, advertising, and mail order catalogues during 1890s as expressed at World's Fair of 1893. Students interpret photographic exhibit and discuss how reactions of rural fair visitors...

This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...

The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third lesson in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children about the main...

Pupils view two unknown historical objects and try to identify their function by looking at and asking questions of their appearance and function. They use critical thinking skills to view a number of images and objects. They make...