Students will develop a presentation for locating a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the greater metropolitan Lehigh Valley area to have minimal impact on the environment. They will communicate their planning decisions to their audience in a simulated planning commission meeting.
1. Ask students: What are some “smart growth” strategies the Wal-Mart Corporation may want to consider when they select a site for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter to ensure that their new store location does not contribute to sprawl? Discuss responses.
2. Have students self-assess their presentation with the Presentation Rubric. Tell students they have one half of the class period to complete their presentation. If students have completed their presentation, encourage them to rehearse their presentation.
3. For the second half of class, provide each student team with 5 minutes each to present their proposals to the class. Remind students they are members of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and will be giving their presentation to the Wal-Mart Corporation to recommend a site location to develop a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Lehigh Valley area. Prompt students to make sure that their advice and recommendations are clear.
Helpful implementation idea:
Remind students of good presentation skills, especially if the students have
not had much experience giving oral presentations in the classroom. Tell students
to have good body posture, be articulate and clear when they speak, and make
eye contact with their audience. Tell students they should not read verbatim
from their presentation slides.
Helpful implementation idea:
To keep students focused on each group’s presentation, have students write
down a question to ask the presenting group. At the conclusion of each presentation,
randomly select two students to ask their questions to the presenting group.
You may wish to consider using the students’ questions as a participation
assessment to ensure individual accountability for paying attention during the
group presentations.
Materials Needed:
Handout: Where Should We Build The New Wal-Mart Supercenter? [Walmart_activity.pdf]
Handout: Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter
Analysis Form [Walmart_analysis.pdf]
Google Earth file: Wal-Mart sites.kml
Assessment information:
Proposal Presentation Rubric [proposal_present_rubric.pdf]
Instructional Sequence | Environmental Issues: Land Use Change
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