Weeks 1 – 3 : First Excursion – Walking Tour - New Haven Green & Follow-Up Lessons
Duration: Week 1 - 3-Day Session (Day 1 for the excursion; Days 2 and 3 for follow up activities)
Visited Sites: New Haven Green and Immediate Surrounding Thoroughfares
Required Supplies: An abundant supply of sharpened pencils, journals, photography equipment. (Note: Select students can be designated to serve as class photographers and have permission to bring in cameras, I-Pods, and I-Phones to make visual note of individual and group observations. Encourage them to take strategic photos throughout the walking tour.)
Convene in the center of the New Haven Green. Conduct a general talk reiterating that we will be exploring the surrounding area using a modern-day lens while looking for traces of the past seen in the present. Encourage students to use their eyes and ears to experience the surroundings. Throughout the walk, take notes and sketch pictorial images regarding their findings. Designated photographers can take snapshots of key landmarks or images.
Proceed to the Center Church. Have children zero in on the building's exterior its windows, the weather-beaten tombstones, and engravings. Ask: "What do you notice?" Many will share that the building seems as though it has been there for hundreds of years, that the inscriptions on the rear of the building and tower atop the church give it that feel. Have students discuss, record, and draw their findings.
Thereafter, head towards the corner of Elm and College Street, and proceed along College. Have students take note of architectural design and materials with which the buildings are constructed. Ask: "What do they notice about these structures?" Many children will point out the buildings' castle-like, olden-day countenance. Time and permission granted, enter through the gated entranceway of Old Campus. Have students take note of the way the interior is designed. Take in the sights and sounds within the confines of the space. Once again, take a moment to document their observations.
Continue onto Chapel. Most of the students will readily identify the many small businesses aligning the street that include new fast food eateries that span cultures (Mexican, Chinese, standard American…), vintage apartment buildings, the nearby Omni Hotel, clothing stores, and financial institutions. Some may point out that people diversity seems more prevalent on this side of the street than on those previously traversed. On the side of Chapel nearest the bus kiosk, students may notice large numbers of people of color awaiting public transportation. They too may observe people leisurely seated on benches, seemingly having nowhere to go. They may notice the sign that says "Food Pantry" on the corner church, with people seated on the front steps of that edifice? Have the children once again document their observations.
Make your way onto Church Street. As you proceed, "Ask: "Is there a different feel or energy in this locale? What conclusions might one draw from being in this area?" A few students may point out advertisements on the sides of vintage buildings announcing the availability of luxury apartments for lease or purchase. They may make note of a contemporary high-rise jutting upward from amid significantly shorter, antiquated-looking edifices. They will point out the fountain-type structure near the corner of Church and Chapel and the break in the fenced-in entranceway to the nearby flagpole housed on the Green. Students will immediately highlight financial institutions that align this thoroughfare. Some will notice designated areas for police vehicles. Again, remind students to use sight and sound to take it all in. Saunter through the area nestled between City Hall and the Federal Building. Students may notice public officials—like the mayor—darting through the vicinity. Walk further until you come upon stately bronze structure. Upon close examination, students will notice three sculpted figures therein. Ask: "Why do you think this regal structure is situated here? What is its significance?" Have students closely examine the sculpted images, carefully reading the inscription found at the base of each. The work reveals three-major historical phases of Sengbe Pieh's life and the significance of that history in New Haven. It too symbolizes the ability to overcome life circumstance despite the odds. Have students record their explanation in their journals with designated students continuing to take photos.
Evaluating the Experience
Return to the Green to have students share their interpretation of all has been experienced thus far. Encourage them to cite observed streets and landmarks, as we will be mentally revisiting these locales upon our return to the classroom.
Note: In previous years, I have taken young learners on excursions to the New Haven Green. When doing so, I have found that across abilities levels, third graders are quite intuitive. Anticipate that they will make keen (at times humorous) observations, among them:
- The New Haven Green and streets immediately surrounding the area are filled with activity.
- The Green is set up like a huge polygon divided into uneven fractional parts.
- The streets and paths along The Green look like parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines, and some streets and paths intersect like the coordinates in a game called "Battleship."
- All different types of geometric shapes like cylinders, cones, cubes, triangles, rectangles, rhombuses, squares, trapezoids and more can be seen in buildings.
- People from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds seem to populate the area; you can tell because you hear different languages reflective of Asian, African and African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern cultures, and European cultures spoken all around you.
- Mexican, Ethiopian, Chinese, and other kinds of restaurants are downtown—they too indicate diversity.
- Mostly Whites and Asians seem to attend Yale; not many Blacks and Latinos are seen on campus, except for the workers
- A lot of people who look like they have hard times seated on benches and in front of the churches on the Green, and a lot of people of color wait at the bus stop.
- Downtown New Haven is a mix of old and new buildings.
- Some buildings look like castles built in England, Spain, France, or Ancient Greece. They were well-built because they look real old, but they are still standing.
- The buildings make me feel like rich people live in downtown New Haven.
- Images of early settlers and Native Americans are pictured in many church windows, and many of the awnings and gates contain beautiful designs.
- The courthouse and places where attorneys and criminals are closest to the corners of Elm and Church Streets.
- Sengbe Pieh's statue is situated a little between the courthouse and City Hall.
- The financial district seems to run along Church Street, while the eateries and areas for entertainment seem to be situated along Chapel
The children have gotten a sense of the ambiance of contemporary New Haven, of the city's modernity and antiquity and socio-economic and cultural diversity. They will continue to enthusiastically provide input, BUT you will have to take that welcomed break for lunch (with a few minutes set aside for clean-up, bathroom break, and at minimum two relay races). After the lunch break, discussion continues. The children's responses will reveal that they are catching on to something: the New Haven Green and surrounding areas are alive with information that transcends visual interpretation.
Follow-Up Lesson #1 – Map-making Activity.
Upon returning to class, have students continue the discussion. Have them enter into collaborative groups to discuss all they have experienced during the morning excursion. Distribute one set of photocards along with one 18" x 24" sheet of construction paper to each team, along with an ample supply of black strips to be used for thoroughfare representation. Inform students that within no more than 20 minutes, they are to place the pictured images on the provide stationery to depict a 3-D map of the New Haven Green. Using our seat-number rotational monitor selection process, designate one student at each table to serve as speaker on behalf of the group at the end of the required time. Highlight that teams will be disqualified if positive collaborative effort does not occur within the group. A special award will be given at the close of this activity. Set the timer, and have the children begin.
After the allotted time has expired, call on team representatives to share their group's map-making results. After all groups have provided their feedback, distribute a tangible or certificate for accurately completing the activity. Subsequently, have students share their views about the collaborative experience. Make note that all of the team members are winners because they put forth collaborative effort. Photograph students with map creations for future display purposes.
Follow-Up Lesson #2. Collective Writing Activity – Our Walking Tour Experience
The entire class will help to create a big book regarding the initial walking tour experience. Designate select teams to write about one of each of the five visited thoroughfares. Students should refer back to their notes and visual recollections when providing information. Have designated photographers pool together key images to be incorporated into the writing. Information and photo images will be collected and compiled by the instructor, to be subsequently presented on the Enno board for collective editing and revising purposes. Finalized work will be downloaded and posted on classroom bulletin board.
Follow-Up Lesson #3 – Shapes, Shapes, Everywhere! A Math Connection
Everywhere! Have students think one street they visited during our first excursion. Have on hand a pre-cut assortment of geometric shapes. Using pre-cut geometric shapes, glue sticks, colored pencils, crayons, and markers, have them create a front-view of the buildings that aligned their select street. Have children create a descriptive paragraph to accompany the work.
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