Rural, Urban, Suburban: Stories of Place

In the two initial activities of this lesson, students will explore common stereotypes associated with people who live in various community types. The goal of introducing these stereotypes is to make visible ideas that can sometimes be unconscious in order to dismantle assumptions and prejudices. Through such reflection on the stories assumed about themselves and others, students are encouraged to recognize the ease with which we can construct fictional narratives about others. It is important to make this purpose clear to students before the activity. As preparation for this lesson, we encourage you to review your classroom contract and read through our Fostering Civil Discourse: How Do We Talk About Issues That Matter? resource.

Students may have a wide range of emotional responses to the journal prompt in Activity 1 and the image activity in Activity 2 on the first day of this lesson. Factors such as the length of time a student has lived in their area, their perceptions of people from different communities, and their sense of belonging to their location can influence their reactions. 

To ensure a respectful and constructive environment, it’s important to establish or review your classroom contract before beginning this lesson. This step reinforces classroom norms around engaging with challenging content and discussions, and it establishes the classroom as a brave space for students to express thoughts and emotions that may emerge from these reflections. 

As you review your contract, ensure that it explicitly acknowledges that, while you encourage the expression of different viewpoints and diverse voices, members of your community are responsible for maintaining an environment that respects the dignity and humanity of all. Consider how you and your students can respond if someone in your class violates your norms (for example, by validating negative stereotypes based on assumptions, mimicking others disparagingly, adopting accents, or mocking people’s beliefs, values, or ways of living). For more explicit strategies on how to respond productively in these scenarios, read human rights educator Loretta J. Ross’s resource “Speaking Up Without Tearing Down.”

Prior to teaching this lesson, be sure to read Teaching Note 1 about contracting for discussions and reflections on stereotypes.

• Invite students to briefly revisit their personal definitions of “home” from the previous class. Encourage them to refine their definitions in their journals during this reflection time, but ask them to keep the original definition unchanged by simply adding the revised definition below the original. Further explain that every time they evolve their definition, they should do so on the left side of the page, keeping the right open for related thoughts, quotes, ideas, drawings, etc.
   
• Present the following journal prompts for students to explore on their own. These prompts can be displayed on the board or projected on a screen. Inform students in advance that they’ll have the opportunity to share their thoughts after writing if they so choose.

  • Student Prompts:
     
    • Reflect on the town, city, neighborhood, or area where you live. What descriptors come to mind? Try to describe what it looks, sounds, feels, smells, or even tastes like.
    • Think of a specific community that is different from your own. What words might you use to describe the place? How do you think your description would compare to the way someone who lives there would describe the place? 

• Encourage students to share aspects of their reflections either in pairs or small groups. Alternatively, if they prefer not to share their written work, they can discuss their experience of attempting to capture the essence of the place where they live using the five senses.

• Let students know that today they will be examining three different community types and thinking about the people who live there. Explain that they will engage with a series of images depicting rural, urban, and suburban settings. Clarify that the images provide detailed snapshots of these areas but should not be viewed as comprehensive representations of any location.
   
• Then explain that the image analysis involves three steps for each image, which are included in the Urban vs. Rural vs. Suburban Image Analysis Slides. Inform students that these steps encourage them to reflect on the ways that assumptions and perceptions can influence our views of others.

• Students will do the following:
  • Describe the image objectively.
  • Respond to the image subjectively.
  • Extend their thinking beyond the image.

• Further explain that perceptions and assumptions often come from positive and negative stereotypes and generalizations. Inform students that while discussions about stereotypes can be challenging, this type of examination builds awareness around the influences that assumptions can have on our perceptions, thereby enabling us to envision a more complex and true reality. Therefore, take this time to review your classroom contract and the expectations for discussing stereotypes and generalizations in Teaching Note 1 as a class.  
   
• Distribute the Urban vs. Rural vs. Suburban Image Analysis handout and instruct students to work in pairs or small groups to answer the questions at the top of the page. Circulate around the room to ensure that students are following the classroom expectations and guidelines for constructive and conscientious conversations about challenging topics.

Before you begin, discuss the following questions in pairs: 

1. List common stereotypes about residents of rural, urban, and suburban areas.
   Rural:
   Urban:
   Suburban:
2. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Can you think of any personal experiences or people you know that support or challenge these stereotypes?
3. Discuss where these stereotypes might come from.
4. Do stereotypes about where you live accurately describe you or people you know?

• Proceed to the Urban vs. Rural vs. Suburban Image Analysis Slides, featuring nine images. We suggest modeling how to answer the questions on the first slide so that students can confidently proceed on their own. Because you will need time to facilitate a discussion and reflection after this activity, we recommend spending about 90 seconds per image. Students should note their analyses in notebooks based on the guided questions provided on each slide. 

• After the slideshow, students should discuss the following reflection questions on the Urban vs. Rural vs. Suburban Image Analysis handout in groups or pairs before moving into a whole-class discussion:

1. Images can evoke feelings, thoughts, and questions in us. When this happens, it can be helpful to name them and examine where they come from. 
   • Did any feelings, thoughts, or questions arise while analyzing the images? Describe them.
   • Where might those feelings, thoughts, or questions come from? 
   • Were some images more relatable than others? Explain.
   • Were there moments when you relied on assumptions or stereotypes to answer the image questions? How did this feel? 

• After reflecting together in small groups, bring the class back together for a whole-class discussion by asking open-ended questions. You can use the questions below and/or develop your own:
  • Student Prompts: 
    • What thoughts, realizations, and questions arose from this image analysis activity? 
    • What did your group have to say about the final question? (Were there moments when you relied on assumptions or stereotypes to answer the image questions? How did this feel?)
    • Did any new insights or thoughts emerge during that part of the discussion?

• Connecting back to the initial lesson, ask students to journal in response to the following prompt. This reflection will lay the groundwork for the next activity. Afterward, invite volunteers to share their thoughts with the class.
   
  • Student Prompt: 
    • In Pico Iyer’s TED Talk, he suggests that we have the freedom to choose our “sense of home,” define our community, and shape our identity, potentially moving beyond the rigid boundaries of past generations. 

How might stereotypes and generalizations, like the ones we examined during this lesson, make it harder for us to embrace a more inclusive and flexible understanding of community and home?

• Begin this lesson with a reflective journal exercise in response to one of the following prompts. Emphasize to students that these reflections are private. The focus should be on the emotions elicited by the experience rather than the specifics of the story itself.
   
  • Student Prompts:
    • Can you recall a time when an assumption or untrue story was shared about you? Reflect on the emotions that arose from that experience.
    • Consider a time when you shared an assumption or untrue story about someone else. Reflect on the motivations behind it and the feelings you experienced before and after the incident.

• Explain to students that in this lesson, they will engage with different perceptions of rural, urban, and suburban communities through a detailed examination of four Pew Data Reports from a 2018 research study titled “What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities.” Distribute the reading How Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities View One Another: Pew Research Study. To provide some context for the study, read the background out loud.
   
  • Background on the study: This research study explains that, while large demographic shifts are reshaping America, with increasing racial and ethnic diversity and an aging population, these trends are playing out differently across community types. It also explores how people in urban, suburban, and rural communities view themselves and each other.
     
• Let students know that they will use the Jigsaw strategy to examine and analyze these reports. Before beginning, consult Teaching Notes 2 and 3 for Jigsaw preparation and notes about how to define “rural,” “urban,” and “suburban” to aid in comprehension.
   
• Divide students into “expert” groups to analyze one of the four provided reports using the Analyzing Pew Research Data handout:
   
  • Data Report 1: A Majority of Rural Americans See a Values Gap Between Themselves and Urban Dwellers
  • Data Report 2: Majorities in Urban and Rural Areas Say Others Have a Negative View of People in Their Type of Community
  • Data Report 3: Most in Urban and Rural Areas Say People in Other Types of Communities Don’t Understand Their Problems
  • Data Report 4: Majorities Say They Understand the Problems People in Other Types of Communities Face
     
• “Expert” groups should work collaboratively to read their data report and answer the corresponding questions on the handout. Circulate around the room to assist student analysis and encourage discussion. 
   
• When groups have completed the questions, encourage them to focus on refining their comprehension of the data collectively and gearing up for participation in “teaching” groups. Before moving from expert groups to teaching groups, ask students to preview the questions on Part 2 of the Analyzing Pew Research Data handout and practice sharing information within the “expert” groups, enabling each student to succinctly summarize their findings and helping to foster confidence in their preparedness for the “teaching” groups.
   
• Transition students into “teaching” groups, composed of members from various “expert” groups. Once they are settled, each student will share their insights, thereby broadening the collective understanding of the research. Throughout this phase, circulate to provide support as needed, facilitating thorough completion of Part 2 of the Analyzing Pew Research Data handout by all participants:
   
• Which report did you read? What is one idea from your group’s discussion that you want to share? 
   
• Use the research and analysis to guide you through the following questions: 
  • Does the type of place we live in contribute to our sense of identity? 
  • Are the people who live in our communities—or communities like ours—inherently similar to us?
  • Conversely, are the people who do not live in communities like ours inherently dissimilar from us?
  • How can becoming aware of our assumptions and stereotypes challenge us to reconsider the borders and boundaries between communities?
     
• This lesson challenges us to consider the question, “How can where we live influence the stories others construct about us?“ Discuss this question using your new understanding from the research activity. Additionally, define the terms “stories,” “others,” and “us” in this context. 

• Reconvene students into their original “expert” groups to synthesize and share the insights gained from their “teaching” group discussions. To guide this reflective dialogue, display the following prompts for students to address in “expert” groups:
  • Student Prompts:
    • Reflect on the most enlightening or insightful information shared in your “teaching” group.
    • Share how your “teaching” group grappled with the pivotal question: “How can where we live influence the stories others tell about us?“ Discuss this question using your new understanding from the research activity.  
    • Consider why this pivotal question matters as we work on ways to “reimagine home.”
       
• Conduct a whole-class debrief using the following questions to reflect on the content and the Jigsaw activity.
  • Student Prompts:
    • Share a significant insight or thought you gleaned from this activity.
    • What questions did this activity raise for you? 
    • How can where we live influence the stories others construct about us? And why does this question matter as we work on ways to “reimagine home”?
    • What aspects of the activity worked well?
    • In hindsight, what changes would you make to this activity or your participation?