Spatial+Inequality+in+Mexico+City

Overview:
In this lesson, students will learn about the process of urbanization and the patterns of inequality that exist in urban areas. Students will pretend to be exchange students from the Ferryway School in Malden Massachusetts. They have been chosen to attend the university in Mexico City due to their high academic standings. They will travel to four neighborhoods to survey people from different social classes about their living experiences in Mexico City. After dicussing their survey results on all four visits, students will write a newspaper article describing the extreme inequalities of life in Mexico City.

Preview:
Students will complete a preview activity in their Interactive Notebooks on page 72. Students will draw a city highlighting the many features that the city has to offer. They will identify which characteristics are the best and worst. They will consider the opportunities and benefits that attact people to large cities. They will also discuss what problems may occur due to over population in large cities.

Set the Stage: (optional...but fun for the teacher and unforgettable for the students)
Write a brief script congratulating the students of the Ferryway School for being chosen out of thousands of students across the United States to attend a university in Mexico City as exchange students for one semester. Explain that this is a prestigious accomplishment and they should all be very proud. They have received this opportunity because they have GRIT. They have maintained exemplar grades, are highly motivated and are respected by their peers and teachers. They will have the opportunity to meet and interview people from 4 different social classes in Mexico City. Their assignment is to report back to the Ferryway News about spatial inequality that exists throughout Mexico. (It adds to the fun if the teacher presents this script in a Mexican Hat!)

Activity: Visiting Four Neighborhoods in Mexico City
Follow directions in Lesson Guide Book 1.
 * Transparency 9A: Your Guides to Mexico City. Students will listen to the audio recording. The teacher will model how to listen and take notes.
 * Visit 1: Start with an I See/It Means. Project only the top half of transparency 9B. Push students to make meaning out of what they see. After discussion, project bottom of transparency 9B. Students will listen to the audio survey of Rosa and her experiences in Mexico City. The teacher will model on the board how to take significant notes from the audio and make meaning. Play the audio for a second time, revising and editing notes for the students, again modeling how to revise and be a good listener and note taker. Give the students 2 to 3 minutes to revise their notes, then have them turn to a partner and compair notes and discuss Rosa and her life in Mexico. Students will write a summary statement about Rosa and her life in Mexico. Next, have students complete part 2 of their Interactive Notebook page 74. They will fill in the survey results they got from the interview. Part 3 can be done next, using a document reader project the Federal District Student Handout 9 on the board. The teacher will model how to use the three facts from the survey and plot these results on their maps. It is best to color code each fact. Then show them how to use the handout and located the possible neighborhoods. Part 1 will be done after the students read 9.3 and take 2 column notes. (I think doing the Interactive Notebook in this order, part 2,3 then part1 allows flexibilty for the students to do the reading as HW if time does not permit in the classroom.)
 * Visit 2, 3 and 4: should take only one classroom period each visit. These visits should be student lead, because the teacher spent so much time modeling visit 1.

Mexico City Flipbook:
Students will create a flipbook describing spatial inequality, why it exists and how people's lives are affected.