Social Studies Lab

View Original

Slow Down

In what part of the country have people LEAST limited their movement due to the coronavirus?

  1. How accurate was your prediction?

  2. What most surprised you about this data?

  3. How does the map describe levels of travel in your area?

  4. Explain whether that is an accurate description of where you live?

  5. Describe how the coronavirus has impacted your family’s travel.

  6. What is the big story this map tells?

  7. Why do you think there is such a difference in where people cut their travel?

  8. What is one consequence of this difference in where people cut their travel?

  9. What are some generalizations you could make about the parts of the country that have least limited travel (most red)?

  10. You will notice that in the dark red parts of America there are often little islands of yellow. What do you think those yellow islands are?

  11. A friend of mine lives in New York City, the heart of the American coronavirus outbreak, and has been sheltering in place for a while now. Another friend lives on a rural farm in a country with zero coronavirus infections, and has no travel restrictions in place. What about th eAmerican political system allows that sort of differentiation in rules?

  12. How will that differentiation impact the spread of coronavirus in America.

  13. Explain how federalism impacts the data from the map?

  14. Explain how ideology impacts the data from the map?*

  15. How much do you think mandatory versus voluntary travel restrictions impact how much people travel?*

  16. How much do you think income and wealth impacts how much people travel?*

  17. Here is a big federalism question for you: explain whether federalism makes our country better able to fight a foe like coronavirus.

  18. If you were the president, explain whether you would establish a mandatory nationwide order for all Americans to shelter in place.

Learning Extension

Read the NYTimes article: Where America Didn’t Stay Home Even as the Virus Spread

Action Extension

Find out what the travel restrictions are like where you live and share them in the comments section below. Also, no matter what the restrictions are, stay at home and wash your hands! And don’t be racist.

Visual Extension*