Writer: Nathan Kerr.
Geography Unit Plan. Year 12 Geography
Unit Title: Urban Settlements – Auckland
Time Frame: Five to six weeks
Released July 2007
Context
This unit covers the development of Auckland over three DVDs. This development focuses on the viewpoints of political leaders, the media, Maori, various Auckland communities, communities outside Auckland, planners, and developers regarding Auckland’s development.
It focuses on the wide-ranging and often conflicting viewpoints held about Auckland’s development, and how those viewpoints have shaped Auckland.
The unit relates directly to the Level Two topic, Urban Settlement.
As well as strengthening students’ general awareness of the often divergent perspectives held by the groups mentioned (not formally examined for this topic at Level Two), the footage is also valuable for exploring concepts of bias, and usefulness.
The material is also useful in providing the basis for a practice essay on the Urban Settlement topic.
Outline
The unit begins with students viewing the Historical Auckland DVD, it then moves into the Urban Development DVD, and finally the Auckland People’s DVD completes the unit.
Students are then given the opportunity to practice a typical examination style essay on Auckland.
Learning Intentions/Outcomes
This unit follows the Geography Focusing Questions on Urban Settlements.
- What are urban settlements and why do they exit?
- How do urban settlements interact with their hinterland and with other urban settlements?
- Why do urban settlements grow or decline?
- What are the different patterns within urban settlements – social, economic, structural?
- What processes give rise to these different patterns?
- How do patterns vary in different urban settlements?
- To what extent can the growth or decline of urban settlements be controlled?
Achievement Criteria
This unit provides formative assessment tasks for the external NCEA achievement standards (see Assessment section below)
This unit may also provide the basis for geographical investigation as referred to in the Assessment section below.
Time Frame
Approximately 3 weeks. With an additional 3-4 weeks for internal assessment tasks.
Resources for this Unit
- NZ Archive DVDs: Part One: History, Part Two: Development and Part Three: People
- Year 12 Geography texts, for example, A Broad, K Carter, P Coomb, Year 12 Geography Study Guide. Sally Broody, Places and People – Urban Settlements.
- Various internet sites, a selection of which is outlined in Related Links section below.
Selected Vocabulary
Migration, urban drift, settlement, development, hinterland, process, CBD, patterns, amalgamation, isthmus, urban, rural, accessibility, spatial, urbanisation, scale, periphery, congestion, urban sprawl, zoning, primate city, northward drift, cosmopolitan, viewpoint, megalopolis, gentrification.
Key Words
Megalopolis – a very large city or built -up urban area, usually formed as two or more urban areas grow together.
Migration – the movement of people to one country or region from another.
Urban drift – the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas.
Settlement – the act of populating a place with permanent residents or becoming a permanent resident in a place.
Hinterland – the tributary or source area of a central place.
CBD – Central Business District – the nucleus of the urban area, containing the major concentration of commercial land uses.
Patterns – an ‘important geographical idea’ involving repeat formations.
Viewpoints – ideas about an issue (positive, neutral, negative or mixed)
Amalgamation – Something produced by mixing.
Isthmus – A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, connecting two larger bodies of land.
Urban – City/Living in a city.
Rural – Country side/Living in the country.
Accessibility – the ease with which a location may be reached from other locations.
Spatial – the position of any object in or between places.
Urbanisation – the process resulting in an increasing proportion of a nation’s population living in urban centres.
Scale – a comparison between distances on a map and distances in reality.
Periphery – the edge or outskirts, as of a city or urban area.
Congestion – Overcrowding, clogging: severe traffic congestion.
Urban Sprawl – a largely unplanned, struggling and low-density form of urban growth, occurring around the margins of an urban area, particularly along radial routes.
Zoning – the general process of subdividing geographical space for some purpose, particularly housing.
Primate City – a city which out-ranks all urban all urban settlements in a country in terms of population size, political and economic importance.
Development – Process of an improved standard of living.
Processes – Transformations/ Courses of action or actions.
Northward Drift – Movement of people from Southern New Zealand to Northern New Zealand, for example going from Wellington to Auckland.
Gentrification – the rehabilitation of a residential zone. Usually a process by which dilapidated dwellings or neighbourhoods are taken over and converted to expensive housing.
Cosmopolitan – characterised by many races, such as a city or country with many nationalities.
Prior Knowledge
It is expected that students will have already been taught the background to Urban Settlements – Auckland, and have a general idea of the Auckland Urban Settlement. Knowledge of Year 11 – Examine population patterns, processes and ideas (Achievement Standard 90203 – Geography 1.2) is also useful before beginning this unit.
Teacher Notes
Timing
Although this unit is designed for a period of 3 weeks, it is appreciated that this amount of time is not generally spent on looking at Auckland within Urban Settlements. It is therefore expected that not all of the activities will be used during the normal course of teaching.
As such, wherever possible, each lesson and set of activities has been written to be undertaken successfully as stand alone tasks.
If this unit is undertaken with the view to complete one of the NCEA internal assessment achievement tasks, a more full teaching of the unit would be more worthwhile and much of the footage itself could be included as quotes or student notes within the students’ assignment.
The internet links in appendix five may be of use for students conducting such as assignment.
Revision quiz starter questions
These are usually simple factual questions not intended with any degree of analysis or evaluation in mind, but rather to get students thinking about what they have seen in the previous lesson’s video footage. They can also be helpful in getting students to watch the film closely, taking note of some of the detail. This is especially the case when the students or groups are given points for answering the questions correctly.
Use at Level One
This footage is less directly related to the curriculum at NCEA Level One, focussing as it does on the Auckland – Urban Settlement. It could, however, be adapted to use as an internal assessment – Achievement Standard 90207 (Migration Issues for New Zealand), especially the Auckland Development DVD.
Assessment
Related External NCEA Assessment; Level Two
Achievement Standard 90332 version 2, Explain an urban settlement. 3 Credits.
Specifications for this assessment can be found at:
http://nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=geography&view=achievement&level=02
Possible Summarise Internal Assessment Activities; NCEA Level One
Achievement Standard 90207 version 2, Migration Issues for New Zealand. Examine a contemporary geographic issue. 3 Credits.
Specifications for this assessment are as follows:
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/geo2_4Ev2_3feb05.doc
Possible Summarise Internal Assessment Activities; NCEA Level Two
Achievement Standard 90335 version 2, Concrete Jungle (Geog 2.5) Carry out and present guided geographical research. 5 Credits.
Specifications for this assessment can be found at:
Concrete Jungle: Research Guidelines
Concrete Jungle: Student Instruction Sheet
Concrete Jungle: Fieldtrip Task Sheet
Concrete Jungle: Assessment Schedule
Resource Links
http://maps.arc.govt.nz/website/maps/education/default.htm
Excellent geographical information and mapping website generated by the Auckland Regional Council, with educational tutorials for schools under the Our Region: Urban Settlement sub chapter. Those tutorials cover between 2-4 hours to complete, well worth it.
The site also has access to historical photographs of Auckland, planning and development scenario web based game on Auckland, and other essential information on Auckland.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/ENZ-Utility/Search/en?q+Auckland
Optional provides interesting information and perspectives on Auckland.
