Unit: Past & Present Theme: “Time, Continuity, and Change

Concept: New York City: Then and Now Level: 2nd & 3rd Grade

Aim: How and why has New York City changed over time?

Aim Answer: New York has changed in size geographically; population has grown exponentially;
construction has shaped the skyline; and a variety of businesses has developed.
New York has changed over time due to the demand of need of the people.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Compare and contrast the changes NYC has undergone over time.
• Identify distinct characteristics of NYC as an urban community.
• Make predictions concerning the future changes NYC might incur.

Social Studies Standard 1:

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes,
developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Key Idea:
Important ideas and developments from New York City’s history illustrate the connections and interactions of
people and events across time.

Performance Indicators:
Elementary: Explain those values, practices, and traditions that unite all Americans.
• Students will gather and organize information about the developments of New York City over
a period of time.
• Students will distinguish between past and present developments and interpret historical
documents.

ELA Standard:
1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 1.4; 2.2; 3.1e; 3.2a; 4.1

Resources:
• Miller, Jake. Who’s Who in an Urban Community? New York: Rosen Publishing, 2005
• Marx, David. New York City. New York: Children’s Press, 1999
• Daily Geography Practice: Grade 2. Evan-Moor Corp., 2004
• TAHGrant.net
• cindy.lobel@lehman.cuny.edu – Cindy Lobel, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. of History, Lehman College.
• Bolden, Tonya. Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl. New York: Abrams Books for Young
Readers, 2005
• Documents: grid map NYC 1834; Broadway 1848; New York City Harbor; A Winter Scene

Multi-Media Instruction Multi-Sensory Instruction

• Power Point presentation
• Secondary Sources – Art Documents: photos, paintings, lithographs
• Graphs, charts, and grids

Vocabulary:
History map Past Present Future Urban Community City

1
 Point of Entry

DAY 1:
Introduction of the “NYC: Then & Now” Unit

Power Point Presentation Whole Class-Review

• What is a community?
o A community is a group of people who help each other get the things that they need and want.
o A community is also a place in which people live, work and play together.
• What are the different types of communities?
o The different types of communities are urban, suburban, and rural.
• What is an urban community?
o An urban community is a city
• Describe the elements of an urban community?
o An urban community:
-Is a heavily populated community with many different kinds of people.
-Have tall buildings like skyscrapers, apartment buildings.
-Have people who live in apartments and brownstones more so than houses.
-Have many forms of transportation like subway trains, buses, cars, ferry boats, and
helicopters.
-Have many types of businesses that offer goods and services like restaurants, apparel shops, and
drug stores.

Interactive Mini Lesson Teaching the Lesson Teacher Model

• Analyze Clarksville image:
o History map- shows what a place looked like long ago
o Past – is the time that happened long ago
o Present – is the time that is happening now

Pivotal Questions
• How is the top map different from the bottom map?
• How might technology have played a part in the changes of Clarksville?
• What changes do you notice in the areas of building design, transportation, population, and business?
• Predict possible improvements Clarksville can make in the future? Illustrate.

Medial Summary
• What does the term past mean?
• How is the present different from the past?
• What does the term future mean?
• What distinct changes can you identify between NYC present and its past?

DAY 2:
Investigation: Compare & Contrast NYC documents from past and present

Group Work Student Task

• Each group is assigned a focus: Transportation – Population – Business – Housing
• Each will analyze and sort photos of past and present.
• Groups will identify the differences between the past and present given specific focus.
• Students will note the past and present differences on chart paper.
• Group members will share their findings.

2
 Differentiated Instruction
Level 1 – students will orally make observations given document sources – Think Aloud
Level 2 – students develop sentences for recording the comparisons between past and present.
Level 3 & Level 4 – students will record/formulate the think aloud into comprehensive sentences - Writing
Group Investigation – students will work in cooperative mixed-ability groups and will share observations and
conclusions.

Pivotal Questions
• What factors might have motivated New Yorkers to change their architectural design?
• What reasons why the population grew so large?
• How have businesses changed over time?
• What aspects of transportation is still the same? What changes or improvements were made to transportation?

DAY 3:
Writing Workshop: Students will compare/contrast how New York City’s transportation, population,
businesses, and housing changed over time.

Summary
• Describe three ways how New York City has changed over the past 200 years.
• Identify one way New York City has stayed the same.
• How might New York City change in the near future? How might it stay the same?

DAY 4:
Art Project: Students will predict and illustrate how New York City’s transportation, population,
businesses, and housing could evolve in the future.

Pivotal Questions
• Predict and illustrate how New York City could change 10 years from now.
• Predict and illustrate how New York City could change 100 years from now.

DAY 5:
Community Interview: Students will interview senior members of their home and community concerning
changes they have witnessed throughout their lifetime.

Pivotal Questions
• How has New York’s transportation, population, businesses and housing units changed throughout
your lifetime?
• What changes do you dislike?
• How have the changes improve your life?
• What further changes would you like to see take place?