Students will be asked in this lesson to create a "teen-friendly" Web site for their town or to redesign their town's Web site so that it is more interesting to teenagers. Before they do this, students will consider the things that are important to teenagers in their town, and will take a look at their town's "official" Web site.

Geography

Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Standard 6: "How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions"

Two to three hours

• Computer with Internet Connection
• Computer program to design Web pages, or drawing/writing materials to draw them by hand

Students will

• analyze a Web site created by Los Angeles teenagers;
• list noteworthy aspects of their own town;
• list aspects of their town that are particularly interesting to teenagers;
• look at their town's Web site, and list the things they would like to add to it; and
• design a Web site for their town's teenagers.

Have students look at the LA Youth Web site. This is an example of a Web site devoted to and created by teenagers in Los Angeles.

Ask students to describe their impressions of this site. Do they think it's a good idea to have a site directed at teenagers? How does this site differ from the official Web site for Los Angeles? Is this site directed at potential visitors, or is it for people who already live there? What might teenagers who don't live in Los Angeles think about it after looking at this site?

Divide the class into small groups, and ask groups to discuss and list some of the things that are interesting, important, or otherwise noteworthy about their town. Their lists should be very open-ended and can encompass tangible things (e.g., specific buildings or parks) and intangible things (e.g., pollution or "sense of community").

Ask groups to list the aspects of the town that are of particular interest to teenagers. Where do they like to go? What places and resources, if any, do people their age particularly enjoy?

Ask students to look at the National Geographic magazine feature about a zip code region in Iowa that is entirely populated by college students. Have them read the brief essay about the challenges of serving a population that is diverse, in spite of the fact that everyone is in the same age group. How are teenagers generally alike as a group, and how can they be different?

Discuss groups' lists as a class, and allow them to add ideas to their lists as they hear what other groups have discussed.

Have students use the Internet to see if their town has its own Web site. Most towns do, and many have several. There's generally an "official" site located on the state government's server, and there are frequently others created by chambers of commerce, other local organizations, or citizens. One good place to search is at Google or another search engine; if they type in their town's name, the official Web site will often be the first to appear.

Ask students to browse through the town's Web site and to look for information that might be helpful or interesting to people their age. Also ask them to compare the things they see on this Web site to the things they have listed as being of interest to teenagers in their town.

Ask students to list the things they would like to add to this Web site or to see on a new Web site they might create. What could make the site more interesting and valuable to people their age?

Discuss students' Web site ideas as a class.

Have groups design Web sites that cater to their town's teenagers. As an alternative, they can design a new section for their town's Web site. Depending on your time frame and technology, they can do this either on the computer with a Web publishing program (such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver); a word processing or presentation program (such as Word or PowerPoint); or as a paper-based series of hand-drawn "Web pages." Their Web pages should include a town map showing the locations they are discussing on the site. They can create a street map of their town at Mapquest.

Ask each group to share their Web designs with the class, and discuss the reasons for the decisions they have made.

• Ask students to imagine that a group of high school students from a town in another part of the country is planning to visit their town. These students have never been to your students' town. They're curious not only about the interesting sites and attractions but also about what it's like to live there.
  
  Have students create itineraries to show the visitors around their town for one or two days. They should include a combination of traditional tourist sites and things that are of particular interest to teenagers.
  
  
• Have students research the histories of their town and of another town in the same part of your state. Ask them to find out the similarities and differences between these town's histories and the reasons for these similarities and differences. What geographical, social, political, economic, and cultural factors affected the development of these towns and made them different from one another?
  
  
• Ask students to hypothesize what it's like to be a senior citizen in their town. Then have them plan an intergenerational party or event in which they invite some local seniors to visit the class. During the event, they should share their experiences in the town and discuss the things they would like to see happen in the town's future.
  
  If it's impractical to plan such an event, help students find local senior citizens with whom they can correspond via mail or e-mail.
  
  
• Have students browse the Teens as Community Builders site to see examples of how teenagers have helped improve their communities. Have them choose a project they like (or design one of their own) and plan a way to implement it in their town.

LA Youth
National Geographic Magazine: ZipUSA—Ames, IA
Teens as Community Builders