Learning Targets 

Analyze a variety of primary and secondary sources to understand the impact of local history.

Synthesize sources to create a published website to inform people of the history.

Activities

Read Excerpt Last Children of Mill Creek

Read Raisin in the Sun

Key Vocabulary Terms

1. Blight
   Blight refers to the physical and economic deterioration of an area, often marked by abandoned buildings, vacant lots, and general neglect. It's commonly used to justify redevelopment efforts.

2. TIF (Tax Increment Financing)
   TIF is a public financing method that uses future increases in property tax revenues (resulting from a rise in property values) to fund current improvements, like infrastructure, in a designated area. It is borrowing against future tax earnings.

3. Zoning
   Zoning is a system of land-use regulation that governs how land in certain areas can be used—such as residential, commercial, industrial, or agricultural—and controls aspects like building height, density, and placement.

4. Eminent Domain
   Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, such as building roads or schools, provided the owner is given fair compensation.

5. Redlining
   Redlining is a discriminatory practice where banks, insurance companies, and others denied loans or services to people in certain neighborhoods—typically based on racial or ethnic composition—by outlining those areas in red on maps.

6. Urban Renewal
   Urban renewal involves large-scale redevelopment projects where city governments clear out "blighted" areas to build new housing, commercial spaces, or infrastructure, often displacing existing residents.

7. Historic Preservation
   Historic preservation is the practice of protecting, restoring, and maintaining buildings, objects, landscapes, or other artifacts of historical significance to retain cultural heritage.

8. Gentrification
   Gentrification is a process where higher-income people move into traditionally lower-income neighborhoods, often improving property values but also displacing long-time, lower-income residents.

curated Resources

Missouri Digital Heritage

Missouri History Museum Research Library

Pruitt-Igoe

Jeff-Vander-Lou

Meacham Park

The Ville

History Book Page

Summary Article

• Essay (Write each of the following paragraphs using information from the texts we have read this semester, information from the field trip and your research of St. Louis neighborhoods, and personal experience to support your claims.)

1. Hook & Claim 

2. What is the American dream?

3. Why is or isn't the America Dream possible today? (This section can and should be multiple paragraphs. It is the concession, refutations and rebuttals section of the argument.) Include evidence from the texts we have read in class (this includes the movies and museum exhibits) and your personal experience.

   1. What policies are in place that can help or hinder people attaining the dream? 

   2. What parts of our culture help or hinder people attaining the dream?

   3. What individual skills and qualities help or hinder people attaining the dream?

4. Conclusion Call to Action

Neighborhood Description

Give a brief description of the history of the neighborhood and why it is significant.

Two Images

• Captions

Sidebar - Highlight a person, place, or thing of particular interest.

Vocab Words

Highlighted and linked

Kinds of Fun

Social Interaction - Students will be working in groups to complete the assessment.

Discovery - Through research students will discover new things about their hometown.

Creation - Students will create both a digital and physical version of a History book spread.

Beauty - Through the use of images and graphic design students will be encourage to make the final assessment aesthetically pleasing.

Level Up

History Buff - You have found your team of researchers and know what part of St. Louis history you are going to tackle.

Archivist - Your team has completed a first draft of your main text entry and have mapped out the sidebars, images and other text features.

Museum Curator - Your team has made revisions to your main text entry. Your secondary texts such as the sidebar and image captions are complete.

Publish Historian - Your project is complete and submitted for review.