1: Transportation and Population In Minnesota

2: Guide Creation Information

Guide Author	Annie Allen
District
Date Created	06/09/2011
Guide Description	This guide is designed to meet the second benchmark of standard 6.3.1.1 by analyzing how transportation technology impacts the growth of cities. This guide includes photos and maps related to Minnesota streetcar lines and roadway improvements from various time periods.

3: Guide Characteristics

Title of Main Academic Standard used in Guide	Minnesota DRAFT K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies (April 29, 2011)
Grade Level	6
Learning Level	Reinforced
National Holiday/Special Occasion (optional)
Source Format Emphasized	Photographs, maps
Geographic Region Emphasized (optional)	Twin Cities area, Duluth-Superior area, roadmaps are statewide
Other Minnesota Reflections Guide(s) Related to this Guide (optional	Oxcart Trails to Railroads to Highways by Mary Johnson

4: Standard Emphasized in Guide

Standard Title	Minnesota DRAFT K-12 Academic Standards in Social Studies (April 29, 2011)
Category	Social Studies
Strand	Geography
Sub-strand	Concepts of Location
Standard	Major physical and cultural features were important in the history of Minnesota.
Benchmark 1: standard number	6.3.1.1.2
Benchmark 1: text	Explain the importance of physical features and changes in transportation technology in the establishment and growth of Minnesota's largest cities.
Benchmark 2: standard number
Benchmark 2: text
Benchmark 3: standard number
Benchmark 3: text
Benchmark 4: standard number
Benchmark 4: text

5: Another Standard Emphasized in Guide (optional)

Standard Title
Category
Strand
Sub-strand
Standard
Benchmark 1: standard number
Benchmark 1: text
Benchmark 2: standard number
Benchmark 2: text
Benchmark 3: standard number
Benchmark 3: text
Benchmark 4: standard number
Benchmark 4: text

6: Additional Standards and/or Skills (reading, math, media literacy, interdisciplinary)

Reading: standard number	6.12.1.1
Reading: standard text	Cite specific textual, visual or physical evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
Math: standard number
Math: standard text
Media Literacy: standard number	6.9.2.2
Media Literacy: standard text	Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
Interdisciplinary Connection

Minnesota Reflections Resources

7: Search Strategy

Things to Think About	This guide primarily focuses on maps and photos from various time periods depicting streetcars/lines in the Twin Cities area and the Duluth-Superior area. It also includes maps of roadways from various time periods.
Keywords	Streetcar lines, streetcars, streetcar map, electric lines
Other ideas (to assist with discovery)	It was easier to search a collection than a general keyword. I browsed and used advanced search within the Minnesota Streetcar Museum collection to narrow my search. I also used the "Refine your search" links. This led me to find the Duluth sources, for example.
Challenges to finding resources on this standard	There are many sources available on streetcar lines in the Twin Cities area so narrowing them down to find what you want is a little challenging. I originally was hoping to find a map or two depicting population trends but I was unable to find what I was looking for to aid with analyzing population and transportation patterns visually.

8: Minnesota Reflections Top Picks

Title	Date created	Description	Format (photo, map, letter …)	"Cite the Item" link
State road map of Minnesota (1920)	1920	A map showing Minnesota roadways. This may be useful as a basis to examine the impact of the automobile on road development.	Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/mdt,213
Minnesota Official Highway Map (1960)	1960	A map showing Minnesota roadways. This may be useful to examine the automobile's impact on road development and population growth in outstate Minnesota.	Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/mdt,1196
Official Highway Map of Minnesota (2009-2010)	2009	A current road map to help analyze population growth in the state.	Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/mdt,1166
Streetcars at Como Park, St. Paul, Minnesota	1926	Photograph of a streetcar. I have included this since students may not be able to visualize a streetcar.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,139
1^st Avenue North at 7^th Street with streetcar, Minneapolis, Minnesota	1948?	A photograph of a streetcar. I have included this to show the newer model of streetcar as well as how they ran on the street.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,899
"How to See the Twin Cities, St. Paul - Minneapolis, Parks, Falls, Mounds"	1911	Foldout map showing streetcar lines in the Twin Cities area.	Brochure/Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,513
The Twin Cities Today, 1917	1917	Foldout map showing streetcar lines in the Twin Cities area. May be used for comparison purposes with the 1911 map.	Brochure/Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,465
Duluth Incline Railway, Duluth, Minnesota	1939	A photo of an incline streetcar line in Duluth.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,303
Neighborhoods of Duluth: Central Hillside Duluth Skyride	1939	Another photo showing how streetcar lines were built around Duluth's steep slope down to Lake Superior. Also neat to have a picture of the "Last Chance" to ride sign.	Photo	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/nemhc,3545
"How to See Duluth and Superior on the Cars of the Twin Ports Electric Lines"	1911	Map showing streetcar lines in the Duluth-Superior area. May be useful as a basis for comparison of future lines/population growth.	Brochure/Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/msn,846
Map of Duluth: Duluth-Superior Minnesota "Twin Ports" Wisconsin	1935	Map showing streetcar lines in the Duluth-Superior area.	Brochure/Map	http://reflections.mndigital.org/u?/nemhc,2754

9: Specific Minnesota Reflections Collection(s) to Consider (optional)

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum collection narrowed my search considerably as well as the Minnesota Department of Transportation collection for the highway maps.

10: Helpful Tips (optional)

The brochure/maps cited in this guide were part of larger documents. There is more information about how the streetcar system worked in each of these documents for further study. I chose to include only the maps since I was focusing on how this type of transportation may have impacted population growth. There are also road maps from 1919 to present. I chose the ones I did to cover the greatest span of years for analytical purposes.

11: Ideas for Lesson Plans Using this Guide (optional)

Students could compare the three roadmaps and make predictions about the populations of various cities in each time period. They could then follow up with research about actual population statistics of those cities-there is population data on the 1960 map but more research would be needed for the other years (see below). Students could compare the various maps of streetcar lines to determine if stops were added/removed and what this might indicate about population. Students could also make predictions about population growth along the streetcar lines that extended out of Minneapolis and St. Paul. There may be possible ties to future roads/highways along these lines as well. The Minnesota road maps could be used to tie the two types of transportation together over time with population booms in particular cities. It may be interesting to tie in the current Northstar commuter rail in a lesson about future population growth along the line.

12: Other Online Collections that Help Teach this Standard (optional)

U.S. Census Bureau State and County Quick Facts. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/27000lk.html

This site has links to various types of population data for Minnesota.

MNGeo: Minnesota Geospatial Information Office. http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/datanetweb/index.html

This site has searchable data specific to Minnesota and has animated some of its population statistics (1900-2030), which may be of interest. Most of the in-depth data tracking is limited to 1990-current.