Just like the title of this blog is a play-on-words from a historic Broadway musical, the topic of this blog relates to something else historic, the printed map. Remember when you went on a road trip with your parents and one of them would pull out a large map from the glove compartment to figure out where you were headed? Or the days spent at AAA deciding on the best route to a far away destination with a large map on the table and a big yellow highlighter guiding the way. There was no smooth talking lady on the other side of the map saying “in 400 feet make a right” or, my personal favorite, “make a legal u-turn.” These outdated pieces of history might not get us from “Point A” to “Point B” in the quickest fashion, but they do work as great teaching tools when illustrating change over time and spatial relations.
Here at HSP, we have the first map of Philadelphia created by Thomas Holme in 1683. This map, shown at the top, as well as others, will be featured in our next professional development, this Saturday, December 5th. Learning to incorporate maps will help students engage in the time period as they compare the city they know now to the city when it first began. If you want students to truly walk in the shoes of Penn, they first need a map to guide them.
To see these incredible maps, as well as view other resources related to William Penn, the Lenni Lenape, and the Founding of Pennsylvania, please Register Now. Act 48 credit is available and lunch will be provided. If you have any questions, please email me at aparks@hsp.org .
