Changing communities: Past vs. future

In this lesson, students will learn about the geographical, political, and technological issues that have influenced change in mountain communities using oral histories by Madison County residents. They will learn about the history of road building in the North Carolina mountains and the relatively recent decision to connect two halves of interstate highway in Madison County. They will compare and contrast the negative and positive changes that road construction has brought to the region, and listen to oral histories of locals who have experienced both good and bad effects.

A lesson plan for grade 8 Social Studies

Provided by UNC Libraries / Documenting the American South

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Related topics

• Learn more about Madison County, North Carolina, geography, highways, interstates, and social studies.

Legal

This lesson plan introduces students to changes that have occurred in western North Carolina through two hundred years of national and regional development. Students will learn about the geographical, political, and technological issues that have influenced change in mountain communities using oral histories by Madison County residents. They will learn about the history of road building in the North Carolina mountains and the relatively recent decision to connect two halves of interstate highway in Madison County. They will compare and contrast the negative and positive changes that road construction has brought to the region and listen to the oral histories of locals who have experienced both good and bad effects. Through discussion with classmates, they will create a list of the advantages and disadvantages of both tradition and development.Students will then write an editorial in which they will clearly state their position on the Interstate 26 debate, and they will support their argument with evidence from the oral histories.

Learning outcomes

Students will:

• recognize the complexities of community development, and understand the arguments both for and against modernization.
• relate history to the personal experiences of North Carolinians through the use of oral histories.
• formulate their own opinions about this controversial issue and express them in an editorial.

Teacher planning

Time required

Three 50-minute class periods or two 90-minute block class periods

Materials needed

• Copies of the Madison County Oral History Excerpts handout — one per student
• Copies of the Interstate Construction Editorial Assignment handout — one per student
• Notebook paper
• Pencils
• Online and print resources for student research on the Interstate 26 corridor construction project in Madison County, North Carolina.

Technology resources

• Computer lab or individual student computers
• Access to the following oral histories:
  • Jerry Plemmons (1 min 35 sec)
  • Richard Lee Hoffman Jr. (1 min 21 sec)
  • Taylor Barnhill (2 min 12 sec)
  • Mayor Raymond Rapp (1 min 48 sec)
• Computer with internet and speakers
• CD player (in lieu of the computer, speakers and internet connection, if you have burned your own CD)

Handouts

Pre-activities

• Teachers should listen to the oral history excerpts and review the information resources included in this lesson plan.
• Students should be familiarized with the geography of the I-26 corridor. It is a nine-mile section of highway located in Madison County, North Carolina. Completed in 2003, I-26 now runs from Columbus, Ohio to Charleston, South Carolina. Localities mentioned in the oral histories include towns, mountains, and mountain passes in Madison County and Buncombe County, North Carolina. Find the area on a wall map or online by searching for Mars Hill, North Carolina on Google Maps.

Activities

Day one: Taking a look at geography and demographics

1. Explain to the students how western North Carolina’s rugged geography has affected that region’s development throughout history. The region is home to the Balsam, Black, Blue Ridge, Great Smoky, and Nantahala Mountains and several of the highest peaks east of the Mississippi River.
2. Focus on the importance of transportation in the process of regional and national development. Consider the impacts automobiles, the rail system, and modern highways have had both locally and globally.
3. Have each student access the Change in the Mountains story.
4. Looking at the first four sections from Change in the Mountains, use the website to review one mountain county’s (Madison County, NC) demographics from the colonial period to the early 21st century.
5. Emphasize to students that the mountains slowed development in western North Carolina for many years, but that technological advancements in transportation have opened the area to change.
6. Lead a class discussion about the demographics of western North Carolina. How have the demographics changed throughout the decades?
7. In preparation for the next class, ask students to think about building, development, and change that has or is occurring in their own communities and neighborhoods.

Day two: Listening to oral histories

1. Review what students already know about development in western North Carolina, asking them to summarize significant shifts throughout history.
2. Ask students to share stories about building, development, and change within their own communities and neighborhoods.
3. Introduce the concept of oral histories and discuss their value as we study important events. Mention that oral histories provide a chance for the “regular person” to record his or her experiences, not just the well-known or famous people often recorded in written history. Ask students to come up with more reasons why we should value oral histories, such as allowing minority groups to record and publicize their experiences, making connections between generations, passing on the art of storytelling, etc. More resources about oral histories are provided in the Supplemental Information section.
4. Give each student a copy of the Madison County Oral History Excerpts document, and ask students to take notes on the speakers’ experiences and opinions as they listen.
5. Play each of the following oral histories for the students or ask them to listen to these oral histories at their own computers. Allow time for them to record their thoughts or any other notes after each audio clip.
   1. Jerry Plemmons (1 min 35 sec)
   2. Richard Lee Hoffman Jr. (1 min 21 sec)
   3. Taylor Barnhill (2 min 12 sec)
   4. Mayor Raymond Rapp (1 min 48 sec)
6. Facilitate a class discussion:
   1. Which speakers did you feel support the construction of Interstate 26? Which are against the construction project? Did any of the speakers seem undecided?
   2. What are some of the specific negative and positive consequences of interstate construction expressed by the speakers?
   3. Ask for any other opinions or thoughts about the oral histories.

Day three: Discussing building, development, and changing communities

1. Divide students into small groups. Assign one student to be the recorder, and ask groups to brainstorm the positive and negative changes interstate construction could bring to a community. Some prompts that could be given to students:
   1. What are some reasons a business owner would support plans to bring an interstate highway through their town? What are reasons they would not support plans for interstate construction?
   2. Can you imagine ways a new interstate in your community would affect you personally?
   3. Is economic development necessarily a good thing? Why or why not?
2. Encourage students to think back on the experiences the class heard in the oral histories or stories they’ve heard in their own communities to come up with ideas.
3. Share the ideas that the groups have come up with among the whole class, writing a list of pros and cons on the board. Ideas of potential benefits that may be mentioned:
   1. commuting to school and work outside of town would be made easier, thus encouraging people not to move away for education and career opportunities
   2. more people coming through town would boost the local economy
   3. improving the town’s economy would create more jobs locally
   4. larger roads could handle increased traffic and improve safety

   Ideas of potential negatives that may be mentioned:

   1. new businesses brought by the interstate would offer only low paying service jobs
   2. these new businesses would eventually push out local businesses
   3. the community’s uniqueness would be erased as large numbers of new people passed through or moved to the area
   4. community closeness would be lessened
4. Give each student a copy of the Interstate Construction Editorial Assignment handout, and review the assignment with them.
5. Allow time for them to begin brainstorming ideas for their arguments.

Assessment

Assess students’ editorials for accuracy, completion, and appropriateness of argument, as described in the assignment handout.

Supplemental information

Information about the history of western North Carolina

• North Carolina’s Final Frontier: Settlement of the Mountain Regions, 1775 to 1838 – By Ron Holland from the North Carolina Museum of History, Office of Archives and History (2005).
• Change in the Mountains (colonial era to the beginning of the 21st century) – The lesson plan is part of this broader educational website from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2007).

Further Information about the Interstate-26 corridor

• I-26 Connector, Asheville, NC – A public information website, by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, that describes the I-26 corridor project
• The Political History of I-26: Dancing to the Tennessee Waltz – An opinion piece about how state-run highway construction and politics influence transportation planning (1992).
• Morning Edition – An eight minute NPR story describing the community debate over Interstate 26 in Madison County, NC (1998).
• The Unofficial Pages: I-26 Construction, Madison County, North Carolina – A website documenting the construction of two sections of I-26. The site was created by John Lansford, Project Design Engineer for these sections (1999-2003).
• Context Sensitive Solution Case Study I-26 TIP Project A-10C and A-10D: Madison County North Carolina – A case study of the I-26 corridor project by North Carolina State University’s Center of Transportation and Environment (2004).
• I-26, Corridor of Change – Electronic journal story by Rob Amberg, Madison County resident, photographer, and the oral historian who conducted each of the four oral histories included in this lesson plan (2007).

Complete oral histories

• Jerry Plemmons oral history
• Richard Lee Hoffman Jr. oral history
• Taylor Barnhill oral history
• Mayor Raymond Rapp oral history
• Environmental Transformations in North Carolina – These twenty-three oral histories, from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Oral Histories of the American South Collection, record stories of environmental change in North Carolina. Many of the interviews included in this online learning module are listed here as are others relating to the Interstate 26 corridor.