Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes – Part A: Imagining a sustainable future city.
20 minutes – Part B: Explicit Teaching - What could a future city look like?
15 minutes to introduce, then ongoing – Part C: Independent Activity - Designing and presenting a future city.
2 hours – Reflection.

Presentation Slides

We strongly encourage you to use the Presentation Slides as a guide for yourself and your students through this lesson.

The story so far...

Step 1. Revisit the story so far, using the Threshold Cards as a guide to retell the story of the history of the universe. Students should be involved in the retelling - you might nominate different students each lesson to be responsible for a different threshold. Prompt them to explain what ingredients were present in the universe at the time, what goldilocks conditions existed to enable a change, and the new complexity it resulted in.

Remember, students' explanations can't be wrong, but you might supplement them with the information below.

In the beginning, we weren't sure there was anything in the universe. If there was, we don't know what it was. We also don't know what the conditions were like. However, something happened, which we know as the Big Bang. This caused the universe to change so much that we recognise it as a new complexity - almost a totally new place. After that, we had space, time, matter (hydrogen and helium), and energy (gravity and electromagnetism).
These were perfect Goldilocks Conditions for something to happen. First, gravity pulled matter together. Inside these fusions, it was more than 10 million degrees Celsius. Suddenly, stars lit up. Galaxies, clusters, and superclusters were formed.
The stars started to age and die. They were running out of hydrogen and helium. Giant stars collapsed, fusing to create more complex elements in the billion-degree temperatures. After a time, 92 elements were present in the universe, making our universe a far more complex place.
Now gravity started to have an impact on these new elements. They underwent accretion. Random collisions started to happen, where elements gathered together and combined. Eventually, these clusters grew big enough to create comets, asteroids, and - most exciting of all - planets. Much more complex structures, including our Solar System, developed in the universe.
Now there was just the right amount of energy for many different chemical reactions to take place. And, importantly, there was liquid water, which made it easier for matter to combine and recombine. So that's exactly what it did! Complex chemicals, including DNA, came together to form new life that could maintain and refuel (feed) itself, adapt to changes around itself over time, and copy itself (reproduce).
That life soon evolved into human life. But the early humans still had a long way to go. Big, powerful brains and the ability to share learning using precise language and symbols made the perfect conditions for humans to transfer and store information across individuals and communities as they interacted. This led to a new species of humans: homosapiens.
Stable, permanent human communities grew larger and more common. They possessed knowledge about the environment collected over many years and through generations. The climate was warmer, allowing many plants and animals to flourish in different regions. So humans domesticated these plants and animals. They innovated ways to produce food more efficiently. Communities of farms became villages, and then cities. And there was a rapid acceleration of collective learning.
Eventually, there were large networks all across the globe, allowing for the sharing of information and the trade of goods. New energy resources such as coal were discovered, ushering in the age of the Industrial Revolution. Humans now had control over resources, and lived in a globally connected society. They experienced a rapid population growth. But this also resulted in resources being consumed at a much faster rate - possibly more than was sustainable.

The universe had changed once again.

Part A: Imagining a sustainable future city

You can also use the Presentation Slides to guide you through these steps.

Step 1. Explain to students that the Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

The 11th goal is to make cities inclusive, safe and resilient.

Step 2. Spend a moment defining these terms. This is going to be a big discussion. We want students to understand these terms, and to start thinking about how to design for these goals, as this will be the end of our Big History project.

Prompt students by asking:

What does it mean to be inclusive?
What would an inclusive city look like? For example, we might have ramps instead of stairs for people in wheelchairs. We might have signs or other billboards in a range of languages so that not everyone has to understand the local language to know what's going on.
What would it feel like to live in an inclusive city?
Do you think your current city is inclusive? Why or why not?
What does it mean to be safe? Explore ideas of both physical and mental safety. Are they different?
What would a safe city look like? This is not just about crime. We already have a number of safety measures in place in our current cities, such as safety barricades. However, these aren't always effective or as well implemented/designed as they could be. There's still a risk in crossing the road, which you can do so freely.
What would it feel like to live in a safe city? For example, could you walk around at night time? Would you still look both ways before crossing the road?
What does it mean to be resilient? One definition might be to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Sometimes challenging things can happen in our cities, not limited to natural disasters, although those do frequently impact city life. How could a city, and its people, quickly spring back from these challenges?
What would a resilient city look like? Would we have the same old buildings and public transport? Or would the design of these things change dramatically so that they would be less impacted by challenges, including the challenge of climate change?
What would it feel like to live in a resilient city? Would you be a lot more carefree?

Step 3. Let's expand on our future city thinking a little. Allow students' imagination to run wild. Would we have flying cars? Would we even be living in buildings?

Part B: Explicit Teaching - What could a future city look like?

Step 1. Explain to students that for this project they are going to be designing a city of the future. Hopefully, it will be one that meets the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Step 2. This video does a great job of setting up the project.

Watch:

Let's Build a City: Crash Course Kids #48.1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnnUid8Hof0)

Sabrina has given us a massive challenge, but don't worry! We're going to go through it piece by piece.

Step 3. First let's start with some exciting possibilities about what a city could be.

Watch:

Future Cities (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DMp_8mJwUI)

Step 4. Take a moment to list some of the innovations and possibilities mentioned in this video. These ideas may be handy later when students begin their projects!

Step 5. Now for some of the challenges.

Watch:

PAPER CITY - An Urban Story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bqx2BuFjik)

Step 6. Again, discuss and list some of the challenges (and solutions) mentioned in this video.

Suggestions might include:

Street planning and traffic flow - to reduce congestion and allow people to move freely and easily around the city. This might also include designing public transport options.
Mixed land use - neighbourhoods with a variety of different types of buildings, houses and amenities, so that different areas are not just one thing ie: the business district, or housing.
Access to public services - schools, hospitals, supermarkets.
Social mix - different prices of houses and different cultures mixing in the same areas so that communities are not segregated
Public spaces - especially green spaces. At least 30% of the city should be dedicated to being public spaces. Parks are vital for social exchanges, fitness, leisure, and cultural events.

Part C: Independent Activity - Designing and presenting a future city

Step 1. In this assessment task, students will be required to research, plan, design, and present their concept for a future city.

Because this is a huge undertaking, students will need to work in groups and share their knowledge to enable them to cover a range of important sustainability considerations. Split students into groups of four. These will be their "home" groups. Each home group will be responsible for designing and presenting a future city, although students will have tasks to complete independently.

Step 2. Take students through the Success Criteria Rubric to ensure they have an understanding of what the project is.

GOAL: Your goal is to create a sustainable future city.
ROLE: Your homegroup will collect and present your work at our Classroom Sustainable Future Cities Marketplace in Week __ of Term.
AUDIENCE: Parents, your school community, invited guests who understand or who are interested in designing future cities.
SITUATION: Big History Sustainable Future Cities Marketplace - your homegroup will have an area in our classroom, which includes a desk for display purposes. Consider how you will make your stall visually eye-catching.
PURPOSE: The purpose of the Marketplace is to:
- Raise awareness about possible innovations for a sustainable future city
- Inform your audience about your innovations for a sustainable future city
- Explain the importance of your innovations for a sustainable future city

Step 3. Now take a look at each part of the project. Students will be required to:

(Independently) Research various elements of a sustainable future city
(Collaboratively) Plan and design a sustainable future city
(Independently) Each student expert is to create a blueprint or 3D model of your favourite innovation for your Sustainable Future City. Label at least 3 features to show it is innovative for the future, and explain why it is sustainable. What materials will be required to make this innovation (both for your model, and in real life.)
(Collaboratively) Present your sustainable future city to your teacher and classmates in a 3-4 minute speech. All members of your group should speak during this presentation. You might create a PowerPoint to assist your presentation.
(Collaboratively) Present your sustainable future city at the Big History Sustainable Future Cities Marketplace for your teachers and parents. You will have a corner of the room dedicated to your city to create your market stall, so this might include posters, 3D models, or a video presentation. You will also be on hand to talk through your design and answer any questions as an expert in your field.

Also, look at the rubric and how students will be assessed on each task. We highly encourage you to collaborate with students on this rubric to make them invested in their efforts, as well as to be clear on how to achieve highly.

You will find that the rubric can be matched to many important curriculum content descriptors.

Step 4. Finally, discuss key due dates for the project. This timeline will vary based on when you are undertaking this project and how much time you want to dedicate to it in your own class. This will help students plan their time and hit key deliverables for the project - just like in the real world.

Step 5. Assign one student in each group a focus area (or students can choose their own area of interest):

Future energy expert
Future transport expert
Future housing expert
Future green spaces expert

That is, each group should have at least one of each of these experts.

Step 6. Give each student a copy of the Student Worksheet.

This worksheet provides a generic framework for all students to scaffold their research.

It also provides a list of resources specific to each expert area.

Step 7. Students will work in their expert groups, supporting one another in discovering everything there is to know about their area of expertise.

You may need many sessions of independent research to grow the knowledge of students.

Step 8.After each research session, each expert takes the knowledge of their specific area and shares it with their home group. Remind students that homegroup members are responsible for learning all the content from one another, not just be siloed experts of their own area.

Step 9. When enough information has been gathered, each home group will work together to design a sustainable future city. This city will service the needs of sustainable energy, transport, housing, and green spaces, because each of the experts will be contributing their knowledge to the group.

Step 10. Students will then work on the presentation on their future sustainable city.

Each student should create a sustainable innovation that their city will make use of. This could be a model or a blueprint.

Each group should create posters, graphics, videos, 3D models, or any other method of presentation that presents their future city in a market stall. Students are limited only by their creativity here. See the Presentation Slides for examples.

Students should also work on a 3-4 minute speech or presentation to their class that explains their sustainable city and each of their innovations.

Reflection

Students should present their idea to their class and be rated on the rubric.

Invite parents, the principal, other classes, and other members of the school community to your marketplace day. Make sure you advertise in advance! Give students time to set up their market stall in a large hall or stadium, or simply in their individual classrooms. Allow audiences to tour each display.

As the teacher, visit each stall, and quiz each student on their expert area. Make sure to take some photos and preliminary notes to fill out the rest of students' rubrics at a later date.

Differentiated Learning

Extension -

Read Just a dream then complete the worksheet: Values for a sustainable future worksheet and self-assessment

Teacher Reflection

Big History - The Future (assessment)

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success Criteria:

Students can...

Lesson guides and printables

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