Sell Me A Bridge

This lesson will test students on their ability to read a map, and will lead to discussions on how building a bridge might have an impact on the environment. The second portion of this lesson is a debate on whether or not the bridge should be allowed to be built. Students will take different roles to look at all aspects of the bridge- how will it affect the economy and how will it affect the environment.

Grade Level: 6-9

Subjects: science, ELA

Duration: 2 45-60 minute periods

NYS State Science Standards: Standard 4: The Living Environment: Key Idea 6 and Key Idea 7

Objectives:

1. Students will be able to use pictures and descriptions from a news article to locate things on a map and be more comfortable reading a topographic map.
   

2.  Students will gain a better understanding of water quality issues as they relate to the building of a bridge over Lake George.

Prerequisites:

1. Students should have had some background in water quality parameters and issues: either from participating in the Floating Classroom, or doing the lesson “Human Influence on Water Quality” or some other background on water quality.

2. Some mapping knowledge may help- see Mapping Exercise 1, or look at lessons under USGS site: http://interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/lesson_plans.htm.

Materials:

(The first two items may be obtained by contacting the LGA Education and Outreach Coordinator).  

1. A copy of the article “Lake George Plan Advances” from the March 28-April 3 issue of The Chronicle and photocopies for the students.

2. A detailed topographic map of Lake George and a map of Lake George that includes Ft. Ann/Whitehall. [Student version]  [Teacher version]

3. Rulers for each group of students

4. Timer (for 2^nd period)

Procedure: (1^st 45 min.)

[There is a password-protected version of this lesson plan, which includes answers as well as suggestions to help the teacher in conducting the activities. Please contact the LGA to obtain the user name and password.] 

1. Have students read the Chronicle article.

2. Discuss with students any potential problems or anything strange that they read in this article. 

3. Pair or group students and give them a topographic map of Lake George and a ruler. Based on the article and pictures from the article, have students draw a line on the map to represent a bridge. 

4. Review: Is this the best place to put the bridge? Would there be potential traffic problems at either end? What other logistic problems might there be?  Where would you want to put a water monitoring station(s), like the RUSS unit, in comparison to the bridge?  What trends might you see with DO, temp, clarity, pH, etc?  What difference would you see over the years and from one station to the other? 

5. Have students try and find the best path for a road from the bridge to Rt. 22. They need to keep in mind cost and practicality (Going over a mountain might not be practical.)

Second session: Debate Debridge: Town Meeting

 Procedure:

1. Divide the class into groups and give each group one of the following categories:
• Chamber of Commerce
• Developer
• Local business owner (s)
• Local Property owner (s)
• Fishing guide
• Conservation association (you may want to pick more than one depending on class size). [LGA, LGLC, The Fund for LG, ADK, Residents Committee to Protect the Adirondacks, Adirondack Council, etc.]
• Bridge Developer
• Mayor/Supervisor 
• Bridge Developer 

2. A town meeting is held to discuss the proposed bridge. 

3. Give the students about 10 minutes to discuss in their group what their position is and reasons why. They also need to come up with questions and/or comments and concerns they have for the bridge developer. Have them write everything down 

4. When everyone is ready, have the supervisor call the meeting to order. You can assume that the bridge developer gave their presentation earlier or at an earlier meeting. The supervisor can then open the meeting up to public comments and allow members of the community to make comments or ask questions to the developer. Limit each group/person to 2-3 minutes and the developers response to 1-2 minutes. You can set a timer if that helps. The supervisor needs to make sure that no one is interrupted during their time to speak. Students may become frustrated because they won’t be able to respond back to the developer, but if time allows, you can let them come up again after everyone has been able to speak.

5. Have the community vote at the end as to whether they are in favor of the project or opposed.

6. Wrap- up (5 minutes), Have everyone set their roles aside and discuss major concerns that came up, what questions are still unanswered, etc.
   

Assessment/Evaluation:

            Session 1:

1.     Did students position the bridge correctly on the map?

2.     Did the path for the road to Rt. 22 make sense logistically/feasibly, or were they going over mountains?

Session 2:

1.     Collect their papers and see how well thought out their questions/concerns/positions were. Did their reasons support their position? Were their questions appropriate and helpful in making their position?

2.     You could also quiz students:

·        Would you suspect that water quality would be affected by building this bridge? 

·        In what ways? 

·        What would be the advantages of building the bridge? 

·        What would be the disadvantages?