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Grade: 11th 

Subject(s): U.S. History

Standards: 

Arizona History and Social Science Standards 

  • HS.G2.2 Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
  • HS.G3.2 Evaluate the impact of economic activities and political decisions on spatial patterns within and among urban, suburban, and rural regions.

National Council for Social Studies Standards

  • Geography Theme 3: People, Places, and the Environments
    • Assist learners to analyze the spatial information about people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.
    • Enable learners to describe the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement. 

Learning for Social Justice Standards

  • JU.9-12.12 I can recognize, describe and distinguish unfairness and injustice at different levels of society.

Objectives: 

  • Students will be able to
    • apply the color-coding process of redlining to Flagstaff neighborhoods in the 1940s.
    • describe how redlining shaped neighborhoods in Flagstaff. 
    • evaluate the unfairness and injustice in redlining on a systemic and personal level. 

Guiding Questions: 

  • Where did redlining take place in Flagstaff?
  • How did redlining shape neighborhoods in Flagstaff?
  • How did redlining create injustice?

Assessment:

  • Use students’ color-coded maps, answers to discussion questions, and exit tickets to assess student understanding.

Materials 

Prior learning: Students will have previously completed Redlining and the New Deal: National and Local Connections Part 1. 

Differentiation Strategies:

  • Students will work in small, teacher-led groups during group practice. 
  • Students will be provided with discussion questions before discussion time.
  • Students can choose one of three graphic organizers to support taking notes. 

Cross-Curriculum Connections: 

  • Students could use the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) tool to evaluate the effect of redlining on homeownership rates by race and home values by neighborhood. 

Extension: 

  • Guide students in collaboratively creating and submitting Cleo entries about historic places in Southside and La Plaza Vieja. 

Total time: 60 minutes 

Activating Background Knowledge 10 minutes

  • Engage students in a discussion about “The Living New Deal” website to identify where the improvements in Flagstaff took place.
    • Instruct students to go to the Living New Deal website on their devices to search for Flagstaff.
    • Project a map of Flagstaff neighborhoods in the 1920s on the whiteboard. 
    • Elicit improvements that were made because of the New Deal from students.
    • Mark on the projected map on the whiteboard where the improvements took place.
  • Invite students to identify any patterns in the marks on the map.
    • Hint: Most changes are north of the tracks or at the university, with only one in Southside.

Presenting New Information 20 minutes

  • Project a map of Flagstaff neighborhoods in the 1940s on the board
    • Explain that the colors on this map indicate the type of building material and not redlining (i.e., Red is brick. Blue is stone. Grey is iron. Yellow is adobe. Green is specials.)
  • Review the color coding for redlining:
    • green = best
    • blue = still desirable
    • yellow = definitely declining (i.e., risky)
    • red = hazardous (i.e., do not lend)
  • Guide students in hypothesizing how the codes for redlining would have played out in Flagstaff. 
  • Explain that students will spend time independently learning about Southside and La Plaza Vieja—the historically African American and Mexican neighborhoods by exploring the links provided.
  • Instruct students to take note of these aspects while exploring the links:
    • important buildings in the neighborhoods
    • personal experiences of redlining
    • economic and political decisions that shaped La Plaza Vieja and Southside.
  • Review graphic organizers and what to take note of while looking through sources.
  • Ask students to explore at least two of the following links with resources:

Guided Practice 10 minutes

  • Offer students colored pencils, crayons, or highlighters.
  • Review the color coding used for redlining:
    • green = best
    • blue = still desirable
    • yellow = definitely declining (i.e., risky)
    • red = hazardous (i.e., do not lend)
  • Instruct students to color code the neighborhoods according to redlining practices.
  • Project the Clio website on the board and explain that this is a website to identify important historical and cultural sites across the United States.
    • Users can embed oral history interviews into the digital landscape. 
  • Review the places in Flagstaff on the website.
  • Form small groups for students to identify important, historic places that people should know about in Southside and La Plaza Vieja.
    • Instruct students to create a list of places for Clio entries to submit at the end of the activity.

Group Practice 15 minutes

  • Explain that students will answer the following question in their small groups: How did redlining shape neighborhoods, buildings, and experiences in Flagstaff?
    • Direct students to write down their answers to submit at the end of the activity.
    • Tell students to choose a spokesperson to share their answers with the class. 
    • Invite the spokesperson from each group to share some of their answers. 
  • Facilitate a class discussion about the unfairness and injustice of redlining at different levels of society.
    • Consider using these questions:
      • How did redlining shape personal experiences in Flagstaff?
      • What is the significance of the buildings people mentioned? What did they mean to the community who used them?
      • How have these neighborhoods remained similar and how have they changed?
      • How did redlining contribute to injustice in Flagstaff? Can you still see evidence of that injustice today? If yes, in what ways?

Reflection: 5 minutes

  • Ask students to complete an exit ticket that evaluates how redlining created injustice on a systemic and personal level. 

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