Land Use Change:
Why is this Good to Know?
BY: Kathy Lamb Kozenski, fall/2012
Classroom sessions/estimated time: 2-5 class periods with use of a computer lab: 1-3 to work through the
Tutorial and 2 for small group research and presentations (optional)
Grade Level(s): high school (tailored for students in Geography & History of the World and Advanced
Placement Human Geography)
Purpose: Students will understand the geographic concept of land-use change in regards to urban areas
throughout Indiana: land-use change in terms of physical and human systems.
National Geography Standards (2nd Edition):
Geography Standard 1 (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
Geography Standard 3 (3.1, 3.2, 3.3)
Geography Standard 4 (4.2)
Geography Standard 9 (9.2, 9.3)
Geography Standard 12 (12.1, 12.2, 12.3)
Geography Standard 17 (17.2, 17.3)
Geography Standard 18 (18.1)
Indiana GHW Academic Standards:
3.2, 3.5, 5.3, 5.5, 12.2
AP Human Geography:
 Use and think about maps and spatial data
 Understand and interpret the implications of associations among phenomena in places
 Recognize and interpret at different scales the relationships among patterns and processes
 Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process
 Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places
ELA Common Core: Understanding the concept of “text” to not simply be words but images, maps, data…
The possibilities become limitless.
Grades 9-12
I. Reading Standards for Literature, A. Key Ideas and Details 1 and 2
II. Reading Standards for Information Text, A. Key Ideas and Details, 1, 2, and 3
B. Craft and Structure, 4, 5, and 6
C. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, 7
D. Range of Reading of Level of Text Complexity, 10
III. Writing Standards, A. Production and Distribution of Writing, 4, 7, 8, and 9
IV. Speaking and Listening Skills, B. Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas, 4
V. Language Standards, A. Conventions of Standard English, 1 and 2
Objectives: Upon completion of this lesson and series of activities, students will be able to...
1. describe what a GIS is and why a GIS is utilized,
2. provide a few examples of GIS producers of a particular GIS software and note one item that is unique
to that software,
3. explain Landsat, LiDAR, Remote Sensing, orthophotography, and satellite imagery,
4. identify areas of land-use change (urban expansion/contraction) from the available Indiana imagery and
explain why these areas of change were identified,
5. demonstrate comprehension of the materials through successful completion of the “Settlement and
Indiana: Urbanization” Student Worksheet.
Background: Any of the school/school corporation permissions needed to utilize the various websites should
be taken care of prior to the start of this computer laboratory work:
IndianaMap = http://www.indianamap.org AND http://maps.indiana.edu/ie8.html
IndianaView = http://www.indianaview.org
MultiSpec = https://engineering.purdue.edu/~biehl/MultiSpec
America View = http://www.americaview.org
Indiana Spatial Data Portal = http://gis.iu.edu
GENI = http://www.iupui.edu/~geni
NASA: LandSat = http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov
Word Press = http://wordpress.com
Materials Required:
 Duplicates of the Student Tutorial (Land Use Change: A GIS Tutorial) OR
 Access to the on-line tutorial via GENI and Word Press
 Duplicates of the Student Worksheet, Settlement & Indiana: Urbanization
 Copies of the “Ticket Out the Door” questions
Procedures:
1. Introduce the upcoming activities as a study of land-use change: what does this mean to the students?
Discuss or provide examples.
2. Guide the students through the Land Use Change: A GIS Tutorial in whatever method works for you,
your students, and your school. This Tutorial may take about three sessions as students work through the
directions, learn about the various software and imagery, address technical difficulties, and answer the
questions. Your task is to be the guide. The hope is that students will become more familiar with the
concept of spatial data, spatial thinking, and various mechanisms that provide spatial data for use in a
variety of formats.
3. Students will work through the Settlement and Indiana: Urbanization Student Worksheet individually or
in pairs.
4. IF small group presentations (question 7 of the Student Worksheet) are chosen, an additional day of
small group research and discussion and a day of presentations may be required.
5. As a group, read through the information about the Indiana Geographic Information Officer
(http://www.in.gov/gis/gio.htm) and watch the 5-minute YouTube video about the statewide Indiana
mapping project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB84YB8K1Es).
Assessment:
 Student participation in class: stay focused on tutorial and worksheet.
 Student completion of the Tutorial and Worksheet.
 Small group work (optional)
 Ticket-out-the-Door: See the following 15 questions; add your own as needed.
Resources:
 IndianaView http://www.indianaview.org for connections to Indiana spatial data
 AmericaView http://www.americaview.org/k-12-earth-observation-day > several K-12 lessons revolving
around the use of satellite imagery in the classroom – created by educators with contact information
provided
 USGS Land Change Science web information http://gam.usgs.gov
 See videos about: Professional Urban Planner (Phil Roth), College Student using Geography & GIS
(Brian Hanson), GIS Software Developer (Larry Biehl)
 Dirt! the Movie, http://www.thedirtmovie.org (a fabulous, one-hour video about the importance of soil
and human/environment interaction) (IF you would like a free copy of the video, contact the GENI office
at geni@iupui.edu making a request with name and address and grade levels that you had utilize the
tutorial; also, we would like to hear your thoughts, and those of your students, on the tutorial.)
 Jobs in GIS (ESRI) http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis/careers-in-gis#videos_panel (short videos from
various individuals utilizing GIS in the field)
 What is GIS? (ESRI) http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis (easy to understand explanations)
 GIS-related essays and books: http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis/books (not necessarily quick reads)

Geography and GIS in Education, a three-part YouTube video series by Joseph Kerski (provides a background
explanation about GIS and the value in the classroom; type in the title and search)

Lessons related to Geography & History of the World, Urbanization and Human & Environment
Interactions: Resources, Hazards, and Health Academic Standards, http://www.iupui.edu/~ghw and
follow the Lesson Plans and Activities link
IndianaMap
IndianaView
MultiSpec
AmericaView
Indiana Spatial Data Portal
GENI
NASA LandSat
Word Press
USGS Land Change Science
Ticket Out the Door:
1. What is GIS?
2. Why is orthophotography valuable?
3. Why is metadata important?
4. On the IndianaMap website, provide three examples of the type of spatial data that you can
find:
5. GPS means:
6. A GPS latitude and longitude location represents (one, two, many) point(s) of data.
circle one
7. Why is remote sensing important to human and environmental studies?
8. What is the IndianaView?
9. In a traditional Landsat image, red represents what?
10. Why does red represent vegetation coverage in Landsat imagery?
11. List one job that utilizes GIS:
12. LiDAR means:
13. Explain why LiDAR is an improved technology over previous aerial photography tools.
14. Name one GIS software package or provider company:
15. Why is census data important to planning ahead?
16. Where might you find a Landsat image of Iceland?
17. If you were studying sea ice, what resources from the “Land Use Change” unit of study
might you utilize?
18. In your community, what is an important issue that is spatial in nature?
19. How would you locate the population data for your community?
20. If you were building a new restaurant, what types of data would you want to consider?
21. State two reasons why understanding land use change is important?
22. Remote Sensing can aid in the study of _____________ and _____________ (provide two
examples).
23. The GPS device in many vehicles and cellular telephones helps to provide travel
information for specific routes. GPS is based upon thousands of points of data, which
are based upon _____________ and ______________ (both start with an L).
24. Explain why the United States Geological Survey (through IndianaView and
AmericaView) would be interested in understanding the Earth better?
25. How does Remote Sensing help us to understand the Earth better?
26. How would the IndianaMap help you study land use in your community?
27. How many counties are in Indiana?
28. Approximately how many layers of data are available, through the IndianaMap, for each
county in Indiana?
29. Who is the state’s current Governor?
30. Who is the state’s current Geographic Information Officer?