Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • Describe the landscape around where you live.
  • What parts of the landscape are natural and which parts are man-made? How do you know?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of University of South Carolina professor Kent Germany discussing three key questions to guide his lecture using an urban stream and its surrounding landscape to tell the history of Columbia, South Carolina. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: Opening Questions (2:46).

  • What are the three “big questions” guiding this lesson?
  • Summarize the quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes, as read by Kent Germany.
  • What is the name of the creek featured in the clip?
  • What is at the “core” of today’s lesson?
  • Define the one “idea” that Germany wants everyone to take away from the lesson.

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage.

  We recommend having your students complete the activity in a jigsaw format to save time. Or, depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students engage in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student is responsible for completing one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

  Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• BACKGROUND

  Direct students to the background section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip in which Germany begins his lecture by providing an overview of Rocky Branch Creek. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #2: Rocky Branch Creek (6:21).

  • What makes Rocky Branch Creek a “creek?”
  • Describe what “materials” you see in and around the creek. Compare your observations with those of the students.’
  • According to Kent Germany and the students, what natural elements are present and what do they signify?
  • Summarize what Germany means when he says the area is a “map” and a “human story.”
  • What is “dangerous” about Rocky Branch Creek, and how has that impacted its “pattern?”

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following five video clips that detail specific aspects of the history of Columbia, SC’s Rocky Branch Creek. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #3: A "River of Race" (9:04).

  • Based on the clip, how and why have the local streets changed over time?
  • Describe what you see when you look at the Blatt PE Center. According to Kent Germany, who was Solomon Blatt Sr. and what did he do?
  • How have the Booker T. Washington building and “Wheeler Hill” changed over time?
  • Summarize the story Germany shares about the historical marker and what it symbolizes.
  • What is the “value of history?”

• Clip #4: To the Park (12:04).

  • Summarize the “clues” and “hidden stories” discussed on the walk.
  • What have “studies” shown about Rocky Branch Creek?
  • How does this location compare to the first stop along the Creek? Compare your observations with those stated in the clip.
  • According to Kent Germany, how is the Creek hidden?
  • Based on the clip, how has the Creek and creekbed changed over time? Why?

• Clip #5: The Creek's Course (7:41). Teacher note: in this clip, the speaker makes quick mention of alcohol as he discusses a local campus neighborhood. Please review this clip before deciding to provide access to your students.

  • Where does Rocky Branch Creek start? Describe the historical and contemporary changes to this location, based on the clip.
  • According to Kent Germany, what is “Five Points?”
  • Based on the clip, describe the Creek’s course from Five Points to the textile mill and quarry areas of Columbia.
  • Into which river does the Creek flow into? How and why did the Creek’s journey to “the sea” change in the 1930s?
  • What does Germany mean when he says the one spot results in “many prongs of a story?”

• Clip #6: Additional Questions (7:54).

  • Based on the clip, why do we tell time in the way we do?
  • Why are we more “in sync time-wise” than at any point before in human history?
  • According to Kent Germany, what role do historians play in understanding time?
  • Pause the video clip at 4:58. Listen to the Talking Heads’ song, “Once in a Lifetime.”
  • How do the song’s lyrics link to today’s lesson? Compare your response to what is said in the remainder of the video clip.

• Clip #7: Events Along the Creek (5:10).

  • Based on the clip, what occurred at Rocky Branch Creek in 1903?
  • What was built in 1908, and how was it connected to the “Rocky Branch valley?”
  • According to Kent Germany, what three events occurred in 1909 and 1913?
  • What was written about Rocky Branch Creek in 1914 and 1929, and how do these depictions “compare” to today?
  • Based on the clip, what other events occurred on or near the Creek in 1949, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1970, and 1974?

• REFLECTION

  After students share their findings from the lesson, direct them to the reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip of Germany providing closing remarks for his lecture. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #8: Closing Thoughts (3:21).

  • What should we “remember” about Rocky Branch Creek? Compare your response with those stated in the clip.
  • According to Kent Germany, what have we done in today’s lesson?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished with the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having learned about the history of Columbia, SC’s Rocky Branch Creek, describe how the landscape illustrates the continuities and changes of the area throughout history. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your response.