Overview:

Students will conduct virtual fieldwork in Mexico and real fieldwork in their own community. Then, they will use their observations to compare and contrast the houses in those two areas.

Objectives:

The student will be able to:

1. Conduct observational fieldwork.
2. Compare and contrast house forms in two countries.

National Geographic Standard 4.2: Analyze the human characteristics of places

Washington Geography EALR 2.2.2: Use observation, maps, and other tools to identify and to compare and contrast the patterns humans make on places and regions.

Washington Geography EALR 1.2.2b: Analyze how human spatial patterns emerge from natural processes and human activities.

Computers with internet capabilities, Data sheets, Student instructions, Venn diagrams.

Fieldwork -- data sheets
Compare Landscapes -- papers or Venn diagrams

Students with limited English or writing skills can just turn in the Venn diagram instead of the compare and contrast paper.
Students with limited mobility will need an area with good sidewalks to study. Also,they can be assigned a smaller area of study.
Students with visual impairments, depending on the individual, could be assigned just the most basic categories, such as color, # of stories, proximity, and basic shape

Most educators would probably agree that students benefit from hands-on learning activities and real-life learning experiences. Fieldwork, a basic method of geographic inquiry, is both hands-on and real-life, and should be a part of the geography curriculum.

This activity introduces students to observational and comparative fieldwork.

Everyday spaces, such as a route to school or a house, can give us many clues about the culture of an area. They can show cultural tastes, economic levels, historical influences, religious beliefs, etc. The trick is to get students (and ourselves) to open our eyes and study the cultural landscape to see what we can learn from it.

Part One: Virtual Fieldwork

1. Ask,"if you went to a different country, what could you do to learn about the culture there?" --ask questions, observe, etc.
   
   Explain,"that's what geographers do--go places and check it out. They see what the map shows and read what the book says, but then they go see for themselves what's really true. That's called doing fieldwork."
   
   Explain,"That's what we are going to do. We're going to use our own eyes to study the houses and cultures in two parts of the world."
   
   Ask,"What could we learn about a culture from the houses there?" --styles, economic level, resources, adaptions to climate, etc.
   
   That's what we are going to be studying the next few days--the houses in different areas and how they can give us clues about the cultures there.
   
   
2. Distribute and discuss the student directions.
   Stress the importance of observation, attention to detail, and taking good notes while doing the fieldwork.
   
   

3. Virtual Fieldwork (depending on the computer and internet situation, students can do this individually or you can do it as a class with a LCD projector)
   
   Have students take the virtual tour of Guanajuato to familiarize themselves with it.
   
   Distribute the data sheets. Students go back through the tour to study houses and write down their observations.
   
   Discuss their findings as a class. Possible discussion questions:
   "Why might some houses be brightly colored and others just be plain brick?"--economic level, lived there longer and fixed it up, just like it that way, etc.
   "Do the steel gates and glass on top of walls prove that it isn't safe there?"--no, people have security features in "safe" areas of the US too.
   'Why might houses be so close together and use their roofs?"--not much space, just like it that way.
   
   Part Two: Local Fieldwork

4. Tell students that, just like they used their own eyes to study Mexico, they get to use their own senses to study their own community. Remind them that they are going to conduct actual fieldwork by observing local houses and then they are going to compare the local houses with those in Mexico.

5. Either individually or in partners, have students select a local area to study (neighborhood, route to school, area around school, etc.). Then, give them a few days to conduct their fieldwork.
   
   Or, if feasible, take the class on a walk around the neighborhood to conduct their fieldwork.
   
   Remind them to be safe by telling someone where they are going, staying out of the street, being smart, etc.
   
   Part Three: Making Comparisons
   

6. Ask students if it would do anyone any good if a scientist conducted an experiment but didn't study the results to figure out what they proved or didn't tell anyone about it. Tell them its the same in geography. They did the experiment, and now they need to analyze their findings and share them.

7. Have students analyze their data by filling out a Venn diagram showing the similarities and differences between the houses in the local community and the houses in Guanajuato, Mexico.

8. Have students use their Venn diagrams to write compare and contrast papers. Here is a rubric that can be used during peer editing or the final teacher assessment of the papers.

9. When the final papers are due, have students volunteer similarities and differences between the houses in the two areas. Then, have students speculate on why these similarities and differences might exist.--cultural tastes, available space, local resources, economics, population, climate, available technology, built during different eras, etc.
   
   
   

Fieldwork in the Geography Curriculum: Filling the Rhetoric-Reality Gap, by Gwenda A. Rice and Teresa L. Bulman.

"Teaching About Distant Places," by Vicki Harrington, found in Primary Sources: Research Findings in Primary Geography.

"Learning From Photographs," by Margaret Mackintosh, found in Primary Sources: Research Findings in Primary Geography.