Overview:

This lesson intends to help students understand the concept of shopping hierarchy by showing them a model of shopping patterns. Part I. Will examine a shopping hierarchy, Part II will look at a basis model for determining where people might shop for selected goods, and Part III will study where people might shop and begin an introductory look at central place theory. Part IV will look at a neighborhood with actual shopping opportunities identified.

Objectives:

1.  Student will develop the concept of trade areas for service centers.
2. Students will know and recognize the theory of a hierarchy by looking at shopping patterns in their own community.
3. Students will examine shopping patterns in another community to develop a hypothesis on why there are more opportunities for goods and services in some neighborhoods while other lack these goods and services.

Grade Level: 8-12

Time: 4-5 class periods

Subjects: Geography, World Cultures, Economics (supplement).

Required Materials

1. Map of local community which shows the locations of shopping places. Instructor may want to use circle size to indicate the size of each area.  (Sample attached, Jackson Region).
2. Circle template
3. Handout: Shopping Pyramid. (handout 1, attached)
4. Work sheet for basic shopping model theory, Where do people go? (handout 2, attached).
5. Burgess Model (handout 3, attached)
6. Map of North Minneapolis (attached)

Prerequisites:

General geography knowledge of the five themes.

Optional Technologies:

Access to the internet, LCD projector to show N. Minneapolis map in color. All other handouts are printable.

Suggested Procedure (Pedagogy):

Day 1:  - Opening: Question students about where they or their family goes to buy goods. Ask about convenience goods (milk, gas, soda, etc.), groceries, clothes, CD’s, a luxury car, etc.  As they move through the list, ask them how far they would be willing to go for these items.

Development :

1.      Illustrate an example of an hierarchy ( e.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs http://www.connect.net/georgen/maslow.htm –this may be a good segway into the materialism of shopping and needs). Ask the students what they know about other hierarchies (i.e. Government, military, corporations, families, etc).

2.      Give each pair of students a copy of the handout of a shopping pyramid.

(See discussion below)

Discussion

Step 1: Using the map of your community that shows the local shopping areas have the students identify the places closes to their homes. The sample map shows the Jackson Region. As the legend indicates, the shopping districts range in size from minimum convenience stores such as a Food-n-Fuel to large suburban concentration of shopping malls. As you move up the line from smallest to largest shopping districts, more and more types of goods and services appear. In the smaller stores you would expect fewer products, (example, it is unlikely that any store in the smaller category carries ethic foods) and fewer brands of the same items. As you move up to larger stores, you will find all of the things available in the small stores plus greater selections of products.

Note: that there are fewer stores at this second level than at the first. This trend of increased services and selection of products but fewer numbers of outlets continues as you move up the system of shopping points. A large shopping mall is an example of one center with much to offer.

Step 2: Now think of this system of shopping points in a pyramid shape, that is a large number of small centers at the base of the shape, each with a limited assortment of goods and services. If you are unable to buy the product you wish to buy at the lower level you move to the next and the next, until for highly specialized goods such as special designer clothing it becomes necessary for you to drive to one center in the area large enough to handle this specialty.

1.      Have the students create their own shopping pyramid using the attached shopping pyramid handout 1. They need to write in the stores for each category from their own neighborhood and beyond. (for example in Minnesota the top tier may be the Mall of America.)

2.      If possible have them map these centers on a map of their community. (a road map and a circle template can work for this exercise (see sample map: Jackson Region).

3.      Have student hypothesize as to why shopping areas are located where they are?

4.      Discussion of their pyramids and why they chose the particular stores.

Closing assignment: As a homework assignment, Have students discuss with their parents or relatives how far they will drive for certain goods and services. 1. Bread? 2. Milk? 3. Would they drive over fifty miles if they though they would get a better bargain on some item (i.e. a car)? 4. If they needed something in a hurry and knew the item was cheaper further away—would they pay the more expensive price for convenience?

Day 2: Opening: Review the previous day’s discussion and ask students how far they or their parents may drive for some goods or services? Possibly make a table on the overhead projector to tabulate parent response to the homework assignment. Discuss and list on the overhead what forces determine the distance? (i.e. bargain, scarcity of item, etc.) Have them use their homework assignment as part of this discussion.

Development: Basic Model for determining where people go for goods or services (attached handout 2.) Have student work in pairs as they answer the questions.

Closing and mini assessment: Have students draw a mental map of their home to a store where they would have to buy something scarce. (i.e. a new cd or video game). They may want to use “Map Quest” (type Map Quest into the search engine to access the program or use the MAGE links), on the computer to locate the store. Then have the students draw on the same map where they would go to buy some milk. Have groups of students compare their maps and discuss the differences.

Assignment: Have students think about patterns in their town or city. Where do people live? Do they have a downtown area? How close do they live to the nearest downtown area?

Day 3: Opening: Review shopping hierarchy and basic models.

Development: Discussion on assignment of their town or city. Write on overhead and draw map of students’ findings.

Burgess Model: Handout 3.  Discussion of some main points Burgess model:

1.      Five Zones (handout describes each zone) a sixth zone has been added to emphasized the countryside area.

2.      Discussion of the central business district (CBD) should include the idea of a large CBD being divided into sub zones. (i.e. financial district, theater district, government center, etc.)

3.      The zones are not static, but mobile and encroach on one another. Burgess suggested as the city grows the whole system expands outward.

4.      Burgess model has some shortcomings (see if your students can suggest any)

a.       Does not adequately account for heavier industries within the city, railroads and port complexes don’t always expand as burgess suggested. Capital-invested facilities tend to remain entrenched.

Closing: In relationship to Burgess Model, have students think and write about where they believe an airport should be located?  Have them discuss the type of land on which an airport is built and draw a map as to where the airport should be located in relationship to the central business district (CBD).

Day 4: Opening: Ask students if they have ever wished for a certain store or shop to be located in their neighborhood. Ask them why that store or shop may not be located there, (They should have some ideas by now about central place location and where shops are located).

Development: Students will be looking at a map of North Minneapolis in which the location of convince stores and grocery stores are located.

Assign students into working groups.  Have them:

1.      Count the number of small stores (convenience stores).

2.      Count the number of medium food stores

3.      Count the number of large food stores located in the Minneapolis portion of the map.

4.      Count the number of large food stores located outside the boundaries of North  Minneapolis.

a.       Some are already located on the map; however have the students consult the yellow pages to locate stores in the first ring suburbs of Brooklyn Center and Robbinsdale.

5.      Ask them to write down any patterns they may have noticed while counting. (i.e. more convenience stores than large stores in this area of the city.)

6.      If they don’t live in N. Minneapolis, have them compare the amount of stores and locations in their own neighborhoods. (From day 1).

7.      Determine the point on the map that is furthest point from any store.

8.      Measure the distance from that point to the nearest convenience store, medium store, and large food store.

9.      Ask the student how a service such as Simon Delivers, Schwans (grocery delivery services) might affect the grocery trade.

10.  Have students use the yellow pages (if available) and look up another service sector (i.e. banks, drugstores, etc.) and locate them on a copy of the map. 

11.  Again ask the students to determine the least accessible point on the map for this service and what distance is it to that service.

12.  Develop a hypothesis as to why there are not to many large stores located in this section of Minneapolis. (Census information, located on Datanet at www.mnplan.state.mn.us/datanetweb/ and income levels may clue the students on developing some ideas.)

Closing assignment: Assume you were a large store owner and wished to locate a branch in North Minneapolis. Where would you locate the store and why?

 Differentiation: These activities will work well if students pair-up. When there is different ability level in learning styles the students who have the most difficulty with some of the concepts should be grouped with students who know the concepts well.

Student Activity-Online: Student might want to access Map Quest for finding out the location of some of the shopping stores.

Suggested Assessment: Teacher will analyze the store location as assigned above for location rational.

                                                   RESOURCE BAR

Definitions

Commerce: The buying and selling of goods, esp. on a large scale.

Concentric zone: metropolitans have certain concentricity in their spatial arrangement.

Goods: commodities, wares

Hinterland: a region remote from an urban area or beyond the trade area

Services: provide work done for others (i.e. hairstylist, banker, drycleaner, etc.)

Sustainability: To provide enough support to keep in existence.

Standards

 National Social Studies Standards, Thematic Standards:www.ncss.org/standards/tod.html

3.      World and Culture diversity: standards b & c.

4.      Time, continuity, and Change

5.      People, places, and the environments

6.      Production, distribution, and consumption

7.      Global connections.

Web Links for Teachers and Students

The Internet resources are written into the lesson.

Extension Activities

1. Have students survey their neighbors as to where they would shop for the goods discussed above.
2. Have student look at their own neighborhood to locate a store or service they would operate.
3. Have student look at other models of urbanization. Sector model, multiple nuclei model, and the urban realms model to compare the difference to burgess model.
4. Have students analyze the internet and how it might effect trade.

Credits

Sharon Myran-Marcotte, Anoka-Hennepin ISD #1, Champlin, Minnesota.