Map Analysis Using the Library of Congress' American Memory Map Collections
Activity:
1.Choose a city map from the Bird's Eye View Maps
2. Determine the scale and orientation of the map.
3. Using the bird's eye map of your city at the turn of the century, and the three Colorado railroad maps , consider the following questions:
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What was the city's economy based on at the turn of the century?
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What evidence do you find to support your thesis?
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What cultural characteristics are evident and what do they say about the city?
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What evidence do you find to indicate why the city was built in that particular location?
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What else can you determine about your city from your collection of maps?
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Record the questions you still have about your city.
Now, using the Colorado Digitization Program sites, find additional information about the city or region that could help you best answer the questions posed.
4. Questions for consideration during the "debrief":
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What great things did you find as you did the activity?
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What challenges did you face in doing the activity?
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How might you use or modify this activity with your students?
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What ideas occurred to you as you did this activity that you want to explore?
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How might you use maps with your own students in the classroom?
Resources used:
