watersheds and family history

teacher section

 .

.

 

Introduction:

This lesson is designed to be taught on grade levels 9 -11. Its title is "Watersheds and Family History"; and as the name implies, it deals with the value of water, specifically rivers, to the development of humanity.

The second part of the lesson is broken into two parts. First, students are to trace their family history and then plot their results on maps to see if there is a correlation between movement of their families and waterways of the World and specifically the United States.

As was stated, this lesson can be adapted to the social studies curriculum for grades 9-11. It is a lesson that requires class time to get students started but then they should be able to continue on their own. The duration of it obviously depends on the teacher and the caliber of students you have; but whatever their ability is, they should find the lesson interesting and should realize the importance of protecting one of most important resources, water.

**** The lesson may need to be altered to fit the ethnic diversity of students as they research places all over the world from where their families have originated. We need to be cautious that this lesson does not offend students or their families depending on cultural backgrounds (i.e. worries about not being U.S. Citizens, etc.)

California State Framework Objectives

  • Integrated and correlated approach to teaching history-social science.
  • A multicultural perspective.
  • Critical thinking skills applied.
  • A variety of content-appropriate teaching methods to engage students in the learning process.

Lesson Grade Levels 9th, 10th, 11th

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

  1. learn how water affects human settlement in the world. By understanding this, they 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. will 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 their choice.
  6. gain an appreciation of their 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.

Evaluation

  1. Family tree diagram
  2. Teacher - student discussion
  3. Vocabulary quiz
  4. Student presentation (Family tree)
  5. Group presentations (Local community) Time: This lesson could be a quarter or semester project. It depends on how much value you believe this lesson has to Social Studies and interest it generates with your students.

Advance Preparation:

  1. As part of Lesson 1, distribute Student Information 4.1: Genealogy Research and Community History and Student Activity 4.2: Tracing the History of a Local Family (including U.S. and world base maps), so students have adequate time to do their genealogy research and complete their family trees. (For source of base maps, if needed, see National Council for Geographic Education, in Appendix C.) Assign students to complete Part A of Student Activity 4.2 by the first day of Lesson 4.
  2. Distribute Student Information 4.3: Movement and Cultural Diffusion as homework before beginning this lesson.
  3. Gather all necessary materials for this lesson. As you collect city, regional, state, national, and world maps for display, make selections that correspond to the genealogical data of your students. For example, if a large proportion of your students are of Asian descent, include a wall map of Asia.

    A. Calculate the number of locations to be plotted, and obtain sufficient colored map tacks or pins. A class of 30 students plotting four generations would need to plot 450 locations (30 black, 60 blue, 120 green, 240 red).

    B. This might be to massive for you, so you might "opt" to reduce the family tree lesson as far as the map is concerned but keep the drawing of the "tree" intact with at least four generations.

    C. Select books and magazine articles that discuss initial settlement and other historical periods of your community, as well as historic maps and photographs showing distinctive community architecture and street scenes. Along with these see if there is a web site that might contain historical information. Place them on library reserve, photocopy them, or otherwise make them available for student use. As appropriate, prepare a list of such resources.

Materials:

  • Student Activity 4.2: Tracing the History of a Local Family Per student
  • base map of your country
  • base map of world
  • markers - black, blue, red, green

 

  

 

Background for the Teacher:

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, students can observe that most major cities in the United States and Canada are situated on rivers', lakes, or ocean harbors.

In this lesson, students will observe what factors,, including rivers and other bodies of water, have influenced human migration in their own families and communities. Rivers and lakes have also influenced the style of settlements and choices of occupation. Finally, students 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.)

A. This is a great way to draw on past knowledge by referring to previous American History if you teach 11th grade or geography is your are a 9th grade teacher.

B. Remember when students can see the relevance of the lesson, they will respond positively and therefore it's easier to use the necessary skills critical thinking found in the California Framework.

Introducing the Lesson:

  1. Student Information 4.1: Genealogy Research and Community History and Student Activity 4.2: Tracing the History of a Local Family.
  2. Before starting lesson classroom activities, use Student Information 4.3 as homework and remind students to also complete Part A of Student Activity 4.2.
  3. Discuss Student Information 4.1 (Answers are in Appendix B.)
  4. Have students discuss and answer questions for Student Information 4.3: Movement and Cultural Diffusion. (Answers are in Appendix B.)
  5. Review Part A of Student Activity 4.2 (student family trees) to make sure students are ready to proceed with the rest of Student Activity 4.2. (Use corresponding Teacher Guide.)
  6. This is not a short lesson and therefore sounds massive. If you break it down it won't be confusing.

Developing the Lesson:

  1. Discuss information resources available about community history. Allow time for library or classroom research so students can complete Part B of Student Activity 4.2.
  2. Review the Observations and Analyses and Conclusions questions in Student Activity 4.2. (Typical responses are in the corresponding Teacher Guide.)
  3. Have students complete Part C of Student Activity 4.2, including displaying their genealogical data on large city, regional, U.S., and world maps, then answering the Critical Thinking Questions.
  4. It might be better if you took your desk calendar and plotted out the sequence of your activities and set due dates. This lesson is a great project as required by most grade levels and therefore take your time and enjoy.

Concluding the Lesson:

  1. Conduct a classroom discussion based on students' answers to the Critical Thinking Questions in Student Activity 4.2.

Assessing the Lesson:

  1. Direct students to write an essay. Ask them to assume 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. A good place for vocabulary quiz - see previous suggestions.
  3. Discuss the likes and dislikes of each area i.e. research community history, etc.

Extending the Lesson:

  1. Gather census data about the ethnic makeup of your community. Using these data, have students graph or map the locations of various ethnic groups in your community.
  2. Display a large-scale map of your local community in you classroom, or distribute individual copies to students. Have students identify various land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, or public) and assess the locational relationships and advantages or disadvantages of each. The following questions may be used to promote class discussions:
  • 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 influenced land use and transportation?
  1. Have students prepare a graph to illustrate the historic growth of the community population. Then ask the following questions:
  • 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.