NFL Place Lesson 2

Last night, I posted the Location portion of my NFL project.

Today, I am going to share how we study Place.

First off, I always find Place and Region to be the HARDEST for students to understand.
Perhaps, it is because they are more abstract.

In order to understand PLACE, we discuss what all NFL locations have in common. The students realize that most teams are around population centers, which lead to having enough food options, hotels, etc.
This helps students understand the start of PLACE.

Next, we read this article to see how teams go their particular name. During this time, students start to make the connection to what an area's local history, local landmarks, and geographical features have to do with the naming of a team.

Finally, we are on to researching new team names. The key thing is to remind students to base the name off of a REALISTIC information for the area.

The worksheet I use.
Then, students draw a picture of the newly named team on the back of the worksheet.

This always leads to an insightful discussion the next day on why someone picked the name they did. Plus, if a name doesn't initially make sense, the students discuss and find out why it would. (I always like using Cincinnati's history as a reason for the name I give!)

Most often, by the end of this lesson, many of my students have a much more concrete idea about Place.