watersheds and family history

student section

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Introduction:

This lesson is titled "Watersheds and Family History"; and as the name implies, it deals with the value of water, specifically riviers, to the development of humanity. The second part of the lesson is broken into two parts. First, you are to trace your family history and then plot your results on maps to see if there is a correlation between movement of your families and waterways of the World and specifically the United

Lesson Objectives:

You will:

  1. learn how water affects human settlement in the world. By understanding this, you will learn how important clean water is for all of us.
  2. learn that people in the past and those in the present move where they do for the same reasons.
  3. take part in research projects that are based in the local community.
  4. use the internet and specific web sites to locate information.
  5. work in cooperative groups researching a local community of your choice.
  6. gain an appreciation of your family history by doing research and creating a family tree.
  7. identify the cultural characteristics of local communities.
  8. analyze the physical characteristics of the local area and identify what changes have occurred since the area was settled.
  9. discuss the relationships between the physical features and human features of the landscape.

Background:

Rivers and streams have traditionally influenced where people settled. A look at human migration in North America during past decades and centuries highlights this pattern of settlement. Examining a map, you can observe that most major cities in the United States and Canada are situated on rivers, lakes, or ocean harbors. In this lesson, you will observe what factors, including rivers and other bodies of water, have influenced human migration in your own families and communities. Rivers and lakes have also influenced the style of settlements and choices of occupation. Finally, you can learn how the cultures of immigrants have influenced the community and its inhabitants.

A good resource for lesson is the Historical Atlas of the United States, edited by Wilbur E. Garrett, published by the National Geographic Society (see Appendix C.)

 

  

 

Introduction:

  1. Student Information 4.1: Genealogy Research and Community History and Student Activity 4.2: Tracing the History of a Local
  2. Before starting these classroom activities, you will complete Student Information 4.3 as homework. You will also need to complete Part A of Student Activity 4.2.
  3. Discuss Student Information 4.1 with your class.
  4. Discuss and answer questions for Student Information 4.3: Movement and Cultural Diffusion.

Wrap Up:

  1. You will write an essay assuming the perspective of the area's first settlers and describe why the location was a desirable one for settlement, making specific reference to the local river or stream. The essay may take the form of a letter, a diary entry, or a narrative.
  2. Discuss the likes and dislikes of each area i.e. research community history, etc.

Extending the Lesson:

  1. Using census data about your community, graph or map the locations of various ethnic groups in your community.
  2. Identify various land uses of your community (residential, commercial, industrial, or public) and assess the locational relationships and advantages or disadvantages of each.
  • Why do certain commercial activities tend to be found in central business districts while others are located at the edges of the community? How do transportation resources influence the location of commercial activities?
  • Are older and newer businesses located in different places? Why?
  • Is the community growing or declining? Why? If the community is growing, where is the growth taking place and why is it occurring at that location?
  • What factors outside the community have influenced the growth or decline of the community?
  • Are efforts needed or underway to revitalize sections of the community?
  • How has the river or stream influ6nce!d land use and transportation?

3. Prepare a graph to illustrate the historic growth of the community population.

  • What has been the pattern of growth?
  • Did the population grow faster at certain times than at others? How have local or national events affected the rate of growth or decline?
  • What is the recent trend? Is the trend likely to continue? Why or why not? What internal or external developments are likely to change the pattern?

** See all accompanying worksheets 4.1 - 4.3.