What was here, before it was NYC

1. Do Now: What do you think this area was like before it was a city? You can write a paragraph, list, or draw a picture.

2. Share do now

3. Explain that there seemed to be a lot of interest in how NYC became NYC. So, our first inquiry project will be about how and why cities are formed. NYC will be a case study.

4. The first question: What was in the place naturally?

5. Students will be broken up into six pre-determined groups. They will receive a reading that discusses the NYC area before it was settled. For each reading, they will have questions to answer. Then, they will write a paragraph summary of the reading on chart paper.

6. Students will present their work to the class.

7. We will have a short discussion of what was in this area before it was settled.