Full text of Classroom Activity: Chosen Places

View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC EDUCATION

Chosen Places Activity
Lesson Author
Eva Johnston, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Genevieve Podleski, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Standards and Benchmarks (see page 8)
Description
Place has context and meaning. In this activity, students identify a building that may be part of
a larger network or institution. They research information about the building and then produce
an “About Page” on the provided slide template. When, by whom, and for what purpose was the
building built? This inquiry activity provides a project-based learning framework, questions to
analyze findings, and an exit ticket reflection.

Grade Level
8-12

Objectives
Students will be able to
⚫

identify a building in their community,

⚫

research information about the building,

⚫

analyze their findings,

⚫

present their findings to their classmates, and

⚫

reflect on their findings.

Compelling Question
Why is this building here?

© 2021, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Permission is granted to reprint or photocopy this lesson in its entirety
for educational purposes, provided the user credits the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, www.stlouisfed.org/education.

Chosen Places Activity

Materials
⚫

PowerPoint slides with template

⚫

Handout 1, one copy for each student or pair of students

⚫

Handouts 2 and 3, one copy of each for the teacher to use as visuals

Procedure
1.

Teachers: After students have completed the analysis questions on Handout 1: Activity Information
Gathering Framework, compile their slides. Instruct students to present their building analyses to
the class. Have each student answer the exit ticket reflection questions on Handout 1 in either
oral or written form.

Chosen Places Activity

Handout 1: Activity Information Gathering Framework
Directions: Students may work individually or in pairs to complete the following.
1.

Identify a building that has significance in your community or state that is part of a larger network
or institution. Examples include a federal or state government, library system, education, or
religious building. Pick a building for which you would like to find out why it is where it is.

Gather the facts about the building using the following questions:
⚫

What is it called?

⚫

Where is it?

⚫

When was it built?

⚫

Why was this location selected? (*Higher level)

⚫

Who built it? (*Higher level)

Are there other locations in this network or part of this institution? If so, how many and where?

Use the slide template to create an “About Page” for your chosen building using the information
gathered.

Analysis Questions
Students: After completing the fact-gathering process and PowerPoint slide, write a paragraph
about your building and incorporate one or more of the answers to the following questions that
best apply to your building:
1.

Is the purpose the building was created for still needed? If the purpose is still needed but not
conducted in this building, where is it done and why?

What does the building say about your town/community at the time that it was built? What was
the population? What were the main industries?

How has your town/community changed since the building was built?

Is there controversy about this building or was there in the past? Were there members of the
community that supported or opposed this building?

Exit Ticket Reflection
1.

Did any of your findings surprise you? If so, what?

What did you learn?

Was there information you wanted to know but could not find?

Chosen Places Activity

Handout 2: Places Bibliography
Resources for Brainstorming
Here are a handful of pages that can help you and your students discover what buildings may be in
your town or city. For help finding information about a building you already know exists, please see
“Resources for Finding a Building” in this activity’s Handout 3: Additional Resources.
USA.gov A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
USA.gov, part of the U.S. General Services Administration, is the official guide to federal government
information and services. This page provides an alphabetical list of federal agencies that is also
searchable by keyword, so you can find the list of agencies that have offices or functions related to
“environment” or “Native American” topics, to name just two examples.
U.S. General Services Administration Historic Preservation
This part of the U.S. federal government’s network of web pages includes the history of the General
Services Administration’s stewardship of federal government buildings since its founding in 1949.
The site provides a building lookup tool for historic government buildings across the U.S.
National Park Service National Register of Historic Places
The National Park Service, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has maintained the National
Register of Historic Places since 1966. There are now nearly 100,000 properties on the list. The Register
includes both buildings that are part of a network, like those used in this activity, and “standalone”
historical buildings that may be of interest to you and your students.
dp.la, the Digital Public Library of America
DPLA, a collaborative catalogue of digitized content in libraries, museums, and archives across the U.S.
(including the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) allows users to keyword search many organizations
at once. The site features many history-focused online exhibitions and primary source sets on a wide
variety of national, regional, and local topics.

Chosen Places Activity

Handout 3: Additional Resources (page 1 of 3)
Digital History and Mapping Tools
Here are a handful of resources that may be of interest to teachers interested in sophisticated visual
presentations of the information uncovered in this activity. These links are provided for informational
purposes only, and to the best of our knowledge there is no charge to use these tools. This online guide
from the San Jose State University libraries includes many kinds of digital history tools, including
mapping and timeline tools.
Historypin
Historypin.org, which partners with organizations including the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration, is a collaborative mapping and map annotation tool that allows groups to connect information about the history of a place with a visual map of that place. Historypin, a not-for-profit
organization, provides how-to videos for using Historypin, including for classroom use, here.
National Geographic MapMaker
This map annotation tool from National Geographic magazine allows users to choose from a variety
of maps in its database and annotate them with notes, drawings, map pins and location markers, and
more. Their “help” section has a number of how-to videos. Find this and other classroom resources at
their Education page.
Google Earth for Education
Google’s mapping tools include the ability to create complex maps with place markers, photos, text
annotations, and more. You can see examples of educational projects made with Google Earth here.
Resources for Finding a Building
This section provides links to specific agencies and organizations that may have (or have had) buildings
in your town.
U.S. Government Offices
These links are a starting point for those who may not realize that many federal agencies had or have
regional offices across the country. Consider also looking in the Handout 2: Places Bibliography
“Resources for Brainstorming” list for other agencies that may have had offices in your area.
⚫

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Regional Offices
⚪

Photos of different buildings used for BLS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

⚫

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Service Centers

⚫

U.S. Mint Facilities (*This site is middle-grades appropriate.)

⚫

Government Publishing Office (GPO) and Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP):
Federal Depository Libraries are public, private, and university libraries across the U.S. that
agree to make access to their federal government documents free to the public. That federal
government information is published by the GPO, which has produced everything from the
official records of Congress to special research reports, since 1861.

Chosen Places Activity

Handout 3: Additional Resources (page 2 of 3)
⚪

FDLP and GPO History

⚪

Interactive map of FDLP libraries

⚪

GPO Office Locations

⚫

Bureau of Engraving and Printing locations

⚫

Environmental Protection Agency regional offices (with addresses)

⚫

Health and Human Services Regional Offices

⚫

National Archives offices and presidential libraries: Their history and mission page includes
some photos of the regional offices and records centers.

U.S. Post Offices
This is a National Trust site on Historic Post Office Buildings and a related story map site documenting
20 specific post office buildings. The story map’s introduction provides a brief overview.
U.S. Federal Reserve System
⚫

List and map of Reserve Bank and branch cities

⚫

Reserve Bank Organization Committee archives, 1913-1914

⚫

Appeals from cities that were not chosen in 1914 to be Federal Reserve cities

Land Grant Universities
⚫

Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities

⚫

Map from the USDA

⚫

For historical context concerning which Native American tribes lived on the lands that
became land grants, this investigative article and embedded map provides an overview on
Indigenous territories appropriated in the Morrill Act.

Military Bases
⚫

This Department of Defense list of military installations in the U.S. can be filtered by service
and browsed by state.

⚫

This Library of Congress image search for “military bases” includes historic maps and
illustrations.

⚫

A U.S. Army history site on naming and renaming of Army posts includes primary sources
dating back to 1917.

Carnegie Libraries
⚫

This National Park Service lesson on the Carnegie libraries includes the original application
towns submitted in their quest to get a library. The “Carnegie Libraries of Washington
Thematic Resource” mentioned on the NPS site can be found in PDF form here. The
“Thematic Resource” may be too dense for students but can provide valuable context for
teachers.

Chosen Places Activity

Handout 3: Additional Resources (page 3 of 3)
⚫

DPLA has an online exhibition on the Carnegie libraries.

⚫

Library of Congress has a research guide on Carnegie libraries, using the Chronicling
America digital collection of historic newspapers to link to specific local news articles.

Union Stations, Penn Stations, and Other Train “Terminals”
These commonly named buildings were built and run by rail companies, so they do not have a central
source for their histories.
⚫

Wikipedia list of Union Stations

⚫

Some stations have their own website with history, like Washington, D.C.’s Union Station.

⚫

Some stations are in the GSA historic buildings site listed above, like Tacoma, WA’s Union
Station.

⚫

The Barriger National Railroad Library, part of the St. Louis Mercantile Library special
collections housed at the University of Missouri St. Louis, has a large collection of materials
about the history of railroads.

Chosen Places Activity

Standards and Benchmarks
C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
History: Change, Continuity, and Context
⚫

D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique
circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

⚫

D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the
significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

Full text of Classroom Activity: Chosen Places

FRASER