In this lesson, students will practice applying their geography skills and knowledge to making predictions and plans for the future. They will learn about the California ghost town of Bodie and pretend that the state wants to bring the town back to life. Students will conclude by writing guidebooks explaining to Bodie's potential newcomers what they should know about the town's climate, landscape, location, natural resources, and history.

Geography, earth science, history

Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Four to five hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Writing materials

Students will

• do the History Through Headlines activity;
• read and take notes about the ghost town Bodie, California;
• pretend the state of California wants to make Bodie into a living town again, and discuss how this might be accomplished; and
• write guides for Bodie's potential new citizens.

Have students do the complete the mission in the History Through Headlines activity. Ask them to pay particular attention to Bodie. Then have them browse through the sites on Bodie at the Links section of the activity. Ask them to take notes answering the following questions:

• What are the climate and landscape like in Bodie?
• What ultimately happened to the town?
• How did geography and the economy affected the town's fate?

Divide the class into pairs or small groups, and ask students to imagine that the state of California has decided to make Bodie into a town again and to let people settle there. Have groups discuss the ways in which things would be different this time. Students should use the Internet or the library to take notes on the following questions:

• What types of things might people do for work?
• What aspects of the town's geography and history would people need to be aware of?
• What potential risks are associated with establishing a town in this location?

Ask students to explain in a class discussion how they think a disaster, such as an earthquake, tornado, or even a nuclear power plant accident, might affect a town and its surrounding landscape. How would people react? What would happen to the plants and animals? What might the place look like after such a disaster? Have students go to the USGS Web site and look at the Mount St. Helens and Chernobyl satellite images. Ask them to look at the images for each location, read the descriptions, and take notes explaining the changes they see between the different time periods. If necessary, provide the class with a brief overview of each disaster.

Have each student choose one of the two disasters they read about and write paragraphs explaining what they think the landscape in this area will look like in ten years. They should base their predictions on the trends they have seen in the images. After they write their paragraphs, have them draw pictures to show the way the landscape might look in satellite images in ten years.

Have groups write guides for the town's potential new citizens explaining the things they need to know about the town's climate, landscape, location, natural resources, and history. Encourage students to try to include information that would assist newcomers in planning their city in a direction that would avoid the town once again becoming a ghost town.

Ask students to imagine that they have been asked to advise people living in or near this area as to how they should plan for the future, assuming they intend to stay in the area. What resettlement, if any, will be possible? What might they expect in the future? What should they be cautious about?

Have students list the things that they would tell these people, based on the information they have included in their paragraphs and pictures as well as additional research on the areas and disasters. The following Web sites might be helpful:

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
USGS: Mount St. Helens

Bodie State Historic Park
National Geographic: Xpeditions Activity—History Through Headlines