Discovering the Social Sciences
Essential Question: What do social scientists do?
Overview
Students learn why the study of the social sciences is important to understanding human behavior. In the Preview activity, they explore why studying familiar subjects is important. Each student brings four personal artifacts to class, such as an old family photograph or an advertisement for a toy they would like to purchase. In a Response Group activity, students discuss the artifacts from the perspective of each of these social science traditions: economics, geography, political science, and history. They learn that the social sciences offer powerful ways to understand individuals and society. In Reading Further, students explore how archaeologists use artifacts to understand the past. In the Processing activity, students complete a project specific to a social scientist of their choosing.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Create simple definitions for the terms economist, geographer, political scientist, and historian.
• Identify artifacts that social scientists use in their research.
• Draw conclusions from examination of artifacts from an archaeological perspective.
Language Arts
• Present and support choices. (speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary
social scientist, social science, economist, economy, geographer, political scientist, historian, archaeologist
Exploring Regions of the United States
Essential Question: How do geographers study the regions of the United States?
Overview
Students apply basic map skills to learn about the regions of the United States. In the Preview activity, they draw a map of their own home showing its different “regions.” In a Social Studies Skill Builder, they interpret a series of special-purpose maps depicting five regions of the United States and attempt to identify the locations at which five images of the United States were taken. In Reading Further, students discover why the Mississippi River is the most important river in the United States. In the Processing activity, students use their new map skills to explore three locations of their choice.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Interpret a physical map of the United States by using directions and latitude and longitude.
• Interpret special-purpose maps: elevation, annual rainfall, and population density.
• Hypothesize the locations of five photographs, using geographic information.
• Analyze the relationship between river systems and people.
• Research geographic information.
Language Arts
• Write reasons to support answers. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary scale, map key, line of latitude, line of longitude, global grid, special-purpose map, coastal plain, inland, plateau, basin, levee
A Train Tour of the Northeast
Essential Question: What are different parts of the Northeast like?
Overview
Students take a “train tour” to learn about the Northeast region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Northeast. Then, in a Writing for Understanding activity, groups of students sit on a “train” and listen to a tour guide while they view images of places in the Northeast. Through interactive experiences, students learn key concepts and facts about the Northeast. In Reading Further, students discover why Lowell, Massachusetts, was important to the economy of the Northeast and what life was like for factory workers there. Students conclude by writing a letter describing what they have seen on their tour. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Categorize key elements of the economy, geography, government, history, and people of the Northeast.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Northeast.
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of democracy, mass production, and laws.
• Analyze working conditions in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
• Conduct an interview. (speaking and listening)
Social Studies Vocabulary peak, American Revolution, canal, lock, skyscraper, mass production, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, mill, wage
Population Density and Life in the Northeast
Essential Question: How do people live in the Northeast?
Overview
Students learn how population density in the Northeast affects the lives of the people who live there. During the Preview, students analyze an image of the United States at night. In an Experiential Exercise, students use their bodies and desks to simulate the population densities of the Northeast and several comparative locales. As they physically create the population density for each locale, they respond to a series of questions about how population density might affect people’s lives. Afterward, students read and record notes about how life in the Northeast megalopolis differs from life in a small town. In Reading Further, students learn about some inventors and inventions that helped make the modern city possible. During the Processing activity, students create comic strips about life in the Northeast.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Simulate the population density of the Northeast and compare it with that of other regions of the United States.
• Evaluate the effect of population density on the lives of urban- and rural-dwelling northeasterners.
• Describe the relationship between inventions and changes in city life.
Language Arts
• Synthesize information from the reading into creative writing. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary megalopolis, population density, pollution
A Boat and Bus Tour of the Southeast
Essential Question: What factors have shaped the culture of the Southeast?
Overview
Students tour the Southeast region of the United States by boat and bus. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the region. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view images depicting life in the Southeast. At three of the tour sites, students engage in interactive experiences and learn key concepts and facts about the region. Finally, students write a letter about their excursions in the Southeast. In Reading Further, students meet the quilters of Gee’s Bend and view some extraordinary quilts. The letter-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Apply map skills to locate nine important places in the Southeast.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Southeast.
• Describe the major physical and human features of the Southeast.
• Identify the difficulties that early colonists faced in Jamestown, Virginia; some different southeastern musical traditions; and the ways in which life in America has changed since the civil rights movement.
• Hypothesize the impact of geographic location on art.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary swamp, savanna, hurricane, mineral, strip mine, delta, bayou, petroleum, plantation, segregation, abstract
The Effects of Geography on Life in the Southeast
Essential Question: How has geography helped shape daily life in the Southeast?
Overview
Students learn how geography affects life in the Southeast region. In the Preview, students explore how geography affects people’s choices. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students look at maps and answer questions about climate, elevation, natural resources, and bodies of water. Students then hypothesize and read about the effects of geography on life in the Southeast. In Reading Further, students explore the effects of Hurricane Andrew on Florida. In a Processing activity, they create illustrations that show how geography affects life in their own community.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Interpret geographic information from special-purpose maps and images of the Southeast.
• Hypothesize the effects of geography and read to confirm or correct.
• Report on the effects of Hurricane Andrew on Florida.
• Apply what has been learned by identifying the effects of geography in their own community.
Language Arts
• Summarize ideas as written hypotheses. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary foothills, navigable, fall line, natural resource, industry, agriculture, floodplain, tornado
A Crop Duster Tour of the Midwest
Essential Question: Why do we call the Midwest “America’s Heartland”?
Overview
Students tour the Midwest region of the United States. In the Preview, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Midwest. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view images of the Midwest. Through interactive experiences, students learn key concepts and facts about the region. Then students use their notes to write a letter about their excursions in the Midwest. In Reading Further, students learn what life was like in one Midwestern city—Detroit, Michigan—during World War II. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for this chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Describe the major physical and human features of the Midwest.
• Apply map skills to locate nine important sites in the Midwest.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Midwest.
• Categorize key elements of the economy, geography, transportation, history, and people of the Midwest over time.
• Write about Detroit during World War II from one of two points of view.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary frontier, prairie, fertile, livestock, feedlot, meatpacking, reservation, assembly line, transportation hub
Agricultural Changes in the Midwest
Essential Question: How has farming changed in the Midwest over time?
Overview
Students learn how agriculture in the Midwest changed from 1800 to today. In the Preview, students make and check predictions about farmer productivity over time, and hypothesize explanations. In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images of farm life in 1800, 1900, and today. Then they create act-it-outs to demonstrate their understanding of farm life during these periods. In Reading Further, students learn about the importance of the largest crop of the Midwest—corn. In a Processing assignment, they create images of Midwest farming over time.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Graph numerical information from text.
• Make and check predictions, and hypothesize explanations.
• Analyze images.
• Compare and contrast farm size, farm technologies, and farm life from 1800 to today.
Language Arts
• Articulate and support ideas in presentations. (speaking)
• Synthesize information for interview responses. (listening and speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary self-sufficient, dairy, reaper, combine, sod, canning, agribusiness, fertilizer, pesticide, maize, renewable resource
A Big Rig Tour of the Southwest
Essential Question: How have geography and history shaped life in the Southwest?
Overview
In this lesson, students take a “big rig tour” of the Southwest region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Southwest. In a Writing for Understanding activity, groups of three students sit in big rigs, listen to a tour guide, and view nine images of places in the Southwest. The trucks stop at three sites, where students learn key concepts and facts about the region through interactive experiences. In a Reading Further activity, students act as newspaper reporters writing about the Battle of the Alamo. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Trace the path of a tour through the Southwest on a map of the region.
• Analyze the design of the Hoover Dam.
• Identify the challenges faced by people along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Reenact and describe the land rush in Oklahoma.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
• Write a newspaper article. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary mesa, desert, adapt, aqueduct, dam, canyon, cave, cavern, border, mission, rebellion, capital
A Case Study in Water Use: The Colorado River
Essential Question: How do people depend on the Colorado River and share its water?
Overview
Students explore the history of how people have used and shared the water of the Colorado River. In the preview, students use a map to explore the geography of the Colorado River Basin. Then, in an Experiential Exercise, students act out the roles of people living near the Colorado River in four different time periods to understand how its water has been used and shared, and how it might be in the future. In Reading Further, students study the impact of floods on the Havasupai tribe and analyze the impact of water on life in Supai, Arizona. During the Processing activity, students create a poster to education people about the future challenges for water users in the Colorado River Basin.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify geographic features in the Colorado River Basin.
• Identify the impact of limited resources on people.
• Enact the experiences of groups that have shared water from the Colorado River.
• Make predictions about water resources.
• Create a map of water using the Colorado River and identify challenges water users face.
Language Arts
• Label maps to identify water users and show their locations in the Colorado River Basin. (writing)
• Create educational posters. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary source, tributary, river basin, drought, irrigation, reservoir, habitat, conversation, wastewater
A Van and Airplane Tour of the West
Essential Question: What are the features that have drawn people to the West?
Overview
Students take a “van and airplane tour” of the West region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the West. Then, in a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view nine images of places in the West. The tour stops at three sites, where students learn more through interactive experiences that teach key concepts of the chapter. Students then use their notes to write a letter about their excursions in the West. In Reading Further, students create a brochure to promote the Pacific Crest Trail. The letter-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify reasons why the West has attracted people.
• Apply map skills to locate nine important sites in the West.
• Trace the path of a tour through the West on a map of the region.
• Describe the physical and human features of the West.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary pass, expedition, geyser, technology, gorge, sawmill
Cities of the West
Essential Question: What attracts people to the cities of the West?
Overview
Students learn about seven cities in the West. In the Preview activity, students analyze their favorite television commercials. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students research, plan, and perform television commercials about cities in the West. In Reading Further, students plan television commercials to highlight the environmental appeal of Portland, Oregon. Finally, in the Processing activity, students use Venn diagrams to compare and contrast their own community with the western cities they like best.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify characteristics of the geography, history, people, economy, and recreational activities of seven cities in the West.
• Identify ways in which people in Portland, Oregon, keep the city beautiful and help the environment.
• Compare western cities to students’ own community using a Venn diagram.
Language Arts
• Analyze television commercials for their purpose, content, and persuasiveness. (speaking)
• Write a slogan and script for a television commercial to promote a city of the West, and perform the commercial. (writing and speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary mint, Mormon, oasis
Researching Your State’s Geography
Essential Question: How has geography influenced life in your state?
Overview
Students research the geography of their state using maps, atlases, library books, and the Internet. In the Preview activity, they identify some of the most important geographic features in their state. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, pairs of students design a board game that includes the geographic features they identified. Afterward, they take turns playing each other’s board games to test their geographic knowledge of the state. In Reading Further, students learn how archaeologists used geographic research to solve the mystery of an old American Indian village. In the Processing activity, they assess how successful their board game is as a teaching tool.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify the major geographic features of their state.
• Create a board game that details the geography of their state.
• Select an object for a time capsule from which archaeologists of the future could draw conclusions about the geography of where the student lives.
Language Arts
• Find information using maps, books, and the Internet. (reading)
Social Studies Vocabulary physical geography, human geography, demographics, geographic inquiry process
Researching Your State’s History
Essential Question: How can you learn about your state’s history?
Overview
Students learn how to investigate their state’s history. In the Preview, students identify and describe significant buildings from different eras in their state’s history and brainstorm ways of researching their state history. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students research a building in their state and use it to tell part of their state’s history. In Reading Further, students find out how a historian researched an important historic house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The script-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Sequence events on a timeline.
• Identify primary and secondary sources of information.
• Identify details of the settlement, growth, and development of our states.
• Research a building in their state to learn about state history.
Language Arts
• Write a script. (writing)
• Read a script. (speaking)
• Record questions to ask while doing research. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary primary source, secondary source, archive
Researching Your State’s Economy
Essential Question: What do you need to know to understand your state’s economy?
Overview
Students learn the fundamentals of a state’s economy. In the Preview activity, they identify jobs they know and then relate these jobs to areas of economic activity in their state. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students research one of eight economic activities and create a museum exhibit about that activity. Each figure in the exhibit “comes to life” to talk about the state’s economy. In Reading Further, students learn about real-world work projects for kids around the country. In the Processing assignment, students analyze the economy of their own community and compare it with their state’s economy.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify the primary economic activities of the state.
• Identify the three factors of production.
• Explain how the geography and natural resources of the state relate to the state’s economic activities.
• Create a museum exhibit about an important economic activity in the state.
• Make choices about whether to spend or save money.
Language Arts
• Research and organize information on the state’s economy. (reading and writing)
• Orally present information about one aspect of the state’s economy. (speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary good, service, scarcity, market, factor of production, tax, budget
Researching Your State’s Government
Essential Question: How does your state’s government work?
Overview
Students learn about their state’s government. In the Preview activity, students list state problems and propose solutions. In a Writing for Understanding activity, they play a game to learn the sequence of a state’s legislative process. After researching their state’s government, they write a letter to a state leader asking for help creating a new law to solve a problem. In Reading Further, they learn about a group of student citizens who helped create a new law. The writing assignment serves as the Processing activity for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify state problems and propose solutions.
• Define the three branches of state government and what each branch does.
• Identify some rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Language Arts
• Describe the process of how an idea becomes a state law. (writing)
• Write a letter to a state leader (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary federal government, state government, citizen, local government, system of checks and balances, republic, legislator, bill, state constitution, right of free petition
Essential Question: What do social scientists do?
Overview
Students learn why the study of the social sciences is important to understanding human behavior. In the Preview activity, they explore why studying familiar subjects is important. Each student brings four personal artifacts to class, such as an old family photograph or an advertisement for a toy they would like to purchase. In a Response Group activity, students discuss the artifacts from the perspective of each of these social science traditions: economics, geography, political science, and history. They learn that the social sciences offer powerful ways to understand individuals and society. In Reading Further, students explore how archaeologists use artifacts to understand the past. In the Processing activity, students complete a project specific to a social scientist of their choosing.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Create simple definitions for the terms economist, geographer, political scientist, and historian.
• Identify artifacts that social scientists use in their research.
• Draw conclusions from examination of artifacts from an archaeological perspective.
Language Arts
• Present and support choices. (speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary
social scientist, social science, economist, economy, geographer, political scientist, historian, archaeologist
Exploring Regions of the United States
Essential Question: How do geographers study the regions of the United States?
Overview
Students apply basic map skills to learn about the regions of the United States. In the Preview activity, they draw a map of their own home showing its different “regions.” In a Social Studies Skill Builder, they interpret a series of special-purpose maps depicting five regions of the United States and attempt to identify the locations at which five images of the United States were taken. In Reading Further, students discover why the Mississippi River is the most important river in the United States. In the Processing activity, students use their new map skills to explore three locations of their choice.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Interpret a physical map of the United States by using directions and latitude and longitude.
• Interpret special-purpose maps: elevation, annual rainfall, and population density.
• Hypothesize the locations of five photographs, using geographic information.
• Analyze the relationship between river systems and people.
• Research geographic information.
Language Arts
• Write reasons to support answers. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary scale, map key, line of latitude, line of longitude, global grid, special-purpose map, coastal plain, inland, plateau, basin, levee
A Train Tour of the Northeast
Essential Question: What are different parts of the Northeast like?
Overview
Students take a “train tour” to learn about the Northeast region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Northeast. Then, in a Writing for Understanding activity, groups of students sit on a “train” and listen to a tour guide while they view images of places in the Northeast. Through interactive experiences, students learn key concepts and facts about the Northeast. In Reading Further, students discover why Lowell, Massachusetts, was important to the economy of the Northeast and what life was like for factory workers there. Students conclude by writing a letter describing what they have seen on their tour. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Categorize key elements of the economy, geography, government, history, and people of the Northeast.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Northeast.
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of democracy, mass production, and laws.
• Analyze working conditions in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
• Conduct an interview. (speaking and listening)
Social Studies Vocabulary peak, American Revolution, canal, lock, skyscraper, mass production, Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, mill, wage
Population Density and Life in the Northeast
Essential Question: How do people live in the Northeast?
Overview
Students learn how population density in the Northeast affects the lives of the people who live there. During the Preview, students analyze an image of the United States at night. In an Experiential Exercise, students use their bodies and desks to simulate the population densities of the Northeast and several comparative locales. As they physically create the population density for each locale, they respond to a series of questions about how population density might affect people’s lives. Afterward, students read and record notes about how life in the Northeast megalopolis differs from life in a small town. In Reading Further, students learn about some inventors and inventions that helped make the modern city possible. During the Processing activity, students create comic strips about life in the Northeast.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Simulate the population density of the Northeast and compare it with that of other regions of the United States.
• Evaluate the effect of population density on the lives of urban- and rural-dwelling northeasterners.
• Describe the relationship between inventions and changes in city life.
Language Arts
• Synthesize information from the reading into creative writing. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary megalopolis, population density, pollution
A Boat and Bus Tour of the Southeast
Essential Question: What factors have shaped the culture of the Southeast?
Overview
Students tour the Southeast region of the United States by boat and bus. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the region. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view images depicting life in the Southeast. At three of the tour sites, students engage in interactive experiences and learn key concepts and facts about the region. Finally, students write a letter about their excursions in the Southeast. In Reading Further, students meet the quilters of Gee’s Bend and view some extraordinary quilts. The letter-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Apply map skills to locate nine important places in the Southeast.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Southeast.
• Describe the major physical and human features of the Southeast.
• Identify the difficulties that early colonists faced in Jamestown, Virginia; some different southeastern musical traditions; and the ways in which life in America has changed since the civil rights movement.
• Hypothesize the impact of geographic location on art.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary swamp, savanna, hurricane, mineral, strip mine, delta, bayou, petroleum, plantation, segregation, abstract
The Effects of Geography on Life in the Southeast
Essential Question: How has geography helped shape daily life in the Southeast?
Overview
Students learn how geography affects life in the Southeast region. In the Preview, students explore how geography affects people’s choices. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students look at maps and answer questions about climate, elevation, natural resources, and bodies of water. Students then hypothesize and read about the effects of geography on life in the Southeast. In Reading Further, students explore the effects of Hurricane Andrew on Florida. In a Processing activity, they create illustrations that show how geography affects life in their own community.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Interpret geographic information from special-purpose maps and images of the Southeast.
• Hypothesize the effects of geography and read to confirm or correct.
• Report on the effects of Hurricane Andrew on Florida.
• Apply what has been learned by identifying the effects of geography in their own community.
Language Arts
• Summarize ideas as written hypotheses. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary foothills, navigable, fall line, natural resource, industry, agriculture, floodplain, tornado
A Crop Duster Tour of the Midwest
Essential Question: Why do we call the Midwest “America’s Heartland”?
Overview
Students tour the Midwest region of the United States. In the Preview, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Midwest. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view images of the Midwest. Through interactive experiences, students learn key concepts and facts about the region. Then students use their notes to write a letter about their excursions in the Midwest. In Reading Further, students learn what life was like in one Midwestern city—Detroit, Michigan—during World War II. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for this chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Describe the major physical and human features of the Midwest.
• Apply map skills to locate nine important sites in the Midwest.
• Use a map of the region to trace the route of a tour through the Midwest.
• Categorize key elements of the economy, geography, transportation, history, and people of the Midwest over time.
• Write about Detroit during World War II from one of two points of view.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary frontier, prairie, fertile, livestock, feedlot, meatpacking, reservation, assembly line, transportation hub
Agricultural Changes in the Midwest
Essential Question: How has farming changed in the Midwest over time?
Overview
Students learn how agriculture in the Midwest changed from 1800 to today. In the Preview, students make and check predictions about farmer productivity over time, and hypothesize explanations. In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images of farm life in 1800, 1900, and today. Then they create act-it-outs to demonstrate their understanding of farm life during these periods. In Reading Further, students learn about the importance of the largest crop of the Midwest—corn. In a Processing assignment, they create images of Midwest farming over time.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Graph numerical information from text.
• Make and check predictions, and hypothesize explanations.
• Analyze images.
• Compare and contrast farm size, farm technologies, and farm life from 1800 to today.
Language Arts
• Articulate and support ideas in presentations. (speaking)
• Synthesize information for interview responses. (listening and speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary self-sufficient, dairy, reaper, combine, sod, canning, agribusiness, fertilizer, pesticide, maize, renewable resource
A Big Rig Tour of the Southwest
Essential Question: How have geography and history shaped life in the Southwest?
Overview
In this lesson, students take a “big rig tour” of the Southwest region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the Southwest. In a Writing for Understanding activity, groups of three students sit in big rigs, listen to a tour guide, and view nine images of places in the Southwest. The trucks stop at three sites, where students learn key concepts and facts about the region through interactive experiences. In a Reading Further activity, students act as newspaper reporters writing about the Battle of the Alamo. The writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Trace the path of a tour through the Southwest on a map of the region.
• Analyze the design of the Hoover Dam.
• Identify the challenges faced by people along the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Reenact and describe the land rush in Oklahoma.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
• Write a newspaper article. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary mesa, desert, adapt, aqueduct, dam, canyon, cave, cavern, border, mission, rebellion, capital
A Case Study in Water Use: The Colorado River
Essential Question: How do people depend on the Colorado River and share its water?
Overview
Students explore the history of how people have used and shared the water of the Colorado River. In the preview, students use a map to explore the geography of the Colorado River Basin. Then, in an Experiential Exercise, students act out the roles of people living near the Colorado River in four different time periods to understand how its water has been used and shared, and how it might be in the future. In Reading Further, students study the impact of floods on the Havasupai tribe and analyze the impact of water on life in Supai, Arizona. During the Processing activity, students create a poster to education people about the future challenges for water users in the Colorado River Basin.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify geographic features in the Colorado River Basin.
• Identify the impact of limited resources on people.
• Enact the experiences of groups that have shared water from the Colorado River.
• Make predictions about water resources.
• Create a map of water using the Colorado River and identify challenges water users face.
Language Arts
• Label maps to identify water users and show their locations in the Colorado River Basin. (writing)
• Create educational posters. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary source, tributary, river basin, drought, irrigation, reservoir, habitat, conversation, wastewater
A Van and Airplane Tour of the West
Essential Question: What are the features that have drawn people to the West?
Overview
Students take a “van and airplane tour” of the West region of the United States. In the Preview activity, a Geography Challenge introduces students to the West. Then, in a Writing for Understanding activity, students listen to a tour guide and view nine images of places in the West. The tour stops at three sites, where students learn more through interactive experiences that teach key concepts of the chapter. Students then use their notes to write a letter about their excursions in the West. In Reading Further, students create a brochure to promote the Pacific Crest Trail. The letter-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify reasons why the West has attracted people.
• Apply map skills to locate nine important sites in the West.
• Trace the path of a tour through the West on a map of the region.
• Describe the physical and human features of the West.
Language Arts
• Gather information from an audio tour. (listening)
• Synthesize information into letter form. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary pass, expedition, geyser, technology, gorge, sawmill
Cities of the West
Essential Question: What attracts people to the cities of the West?
Overview
Students learn about seven cities in the West. In the Preview activity, students analyze their favorite television commercials. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students research, plan, and perform television commercials about cities in the West. In Reading Further, students plan television commercials to highlight the environmental appeal of Portland, Oregon. Finally, in the Processing activity, students use Venn diagrams to compare and contrast their own community with the western cities they like best.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify characteristics of the geography, history, people, economy, and recreational activities of seven cities in the West.
• Identify ways in which people in Portland, Oregon, keep the city beautiful and help the environment.
• Compare western cities to students’ own community using a Venn diagram.
Language Arts
• Analyze television commercials for their purpose, content, and persuasiveness. (speaking)
• Write a slogan and script for a television commercial to promote a city of the West, and perform the commercial. (writing and speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary mint, Mormon, oasis
Researching Your State’s Geography
Essential Question: How has geography influenced life in your state?
Overview
Students research the geography of their state using maps, atlases, library books, and the Internet. In the Preview activity, they identify some of the most important geographic features in their state. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, pairs of students design a board game that includes the geographic features they identified. Afterward, they take turns playing each other’s board games to test their geographic knowledge of the state. In Reading Further, students learn how archaeologists used geographic research to solve the mystery of an old American Indian village. In the Processing activity, they assess how successful their board game is as a teaching tool.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify the major geographic features of their state.
• Create a board game that details the geography of their state.
• Select an object for a time capsule from which archaeologists of the future could draw conclusions about the geography of where the student lives.
Language Arts
• Find information using maps, books, and the Internet. (reading)
Social Studies Vocabulary physical geography, human geography, demographics, geographic inquiry process
Researching Your State’s History
Essential Question: How can you learn about your state’s history?
Overview
Students learn how to investigate their state’s history. In the Preview, students identify and describe significant buildings from different eras in their state’s history and brainstorm ways of researching their state history. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students research a building in their state and use it to tell part of their state’s history. In Reading Further, students find out how a historian researched an important historic house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The script-writing activity serves as the Processing assignment for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Sequence events on a timeline.
• Identify primary and secondary sources of information.
• Identify details of the settlement, growth, and development of our states.
• Research a building in their state to learn about state history.
Language Arts
• Write a script. (writing)
• Read a script. (speaking)
• Record questions to ask while doing research. (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary primary source, secondary source, archive
Researching Your State’s Economy
Essential Question: What do you need to know to understand your state’s economy?
Overview
Students learn the fundamentals of a state’s economy. In the Preview activity, they identify jobs they know and then relate these jobs to areas of economic activity in their state. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students research one of eight economic activities and create a museum exhibit about that activity. Each figure in the exhibit “comes to life” to talk about the state’s economy. In Reading Further, students learn about real-world work projects for kids around the country. In the Processing assignment, students analyze the economy of their own community and compare it with their state’s economy.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify the primary economic activities of the state.
• Identify the three factors of production.
• Explain how the geography and natural resources of the state relate to the state’s economic activities.
• Create a museum exhibit about an important economic activity in the state.
• Make choices about whether to spend or save money.
Language Arts
• Research and organize information on the state’s economy. (reading and writing)
• Orally present information about one aspect of the state’s economy. (speaking)
Social Studies Vocabulary good, service, scarcity, market, factor of production, tax, budget
Researching Your State’s Government
Essential Question: How does your state’s government work?
Overview
Students learn about their state’s government. In the Preview activity, students list state problems and propose solutions. In a Writing for Understanding activity, they play a game to learn the sequence of a state’s legislative process. After researching their state’s government, they write a letter to a state leader asking for help creating a new law to solve a problem. In Reading Further, they learn about a group of student citizens who helped create a new law. The writing assignment serves as the Processing activity for the chapter.
Objectives
Social Studies
• Identify state problems and propose solutions.
• Define the three branches of state government and what each branch does.
• Identify some rights and responsibilities of citizens.
Language Arts
• Describe the process of how an idea becomes a state law. (writing)
• Write a letter to a state leader (writing)
Social Studies Vocabulary federal government, state government, citizen, local government, system of checks and balances, republic, legislator, bill, state constitution, right of free petition