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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

From boomtown to ghost town

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/16/g35/boomtown.html

A lesson plan for Grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies

Provider: National Geographic

About this resource

Appropriate grades
5
Provider
National Geographic

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In order to fully understand the geographic concept of natural resource use, students should learn about the ways that resource extraction affects the physical and human landscape. In this lesson, provided by National Geographic, they'll discuss how a specific economic activity in a region can facilitate the creation of towns, which often turn into ghost towns if the economic activity ends.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 5

  • Goal 1: The learner will apply key geographic concepts to the United States and other countries of North America.
    • Objective 1.04: Describe the economic and social differences between developed and developing regions in North America.
    • Objective 1.05: Explain how and why population distribution differs within and between countries of North America.
    • Objective 1.06: Explain how people of the United States and other countries of North America adapt to, modify, and use their physical environment.
    • Objective 1.07: Analyze the past movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America and compare it to movement today.
  • Goal 5: The learner will evaluate ways the United States and other countries of North America make decisions about the allocation and use of economic resources.
    • Objective 5.01: Categorize economic resources found in the United States and neighboring countries as human, natural, or capital and assess their long-term availability.
    • Objective 5.02: Analyze the economic effects of the unequal distribution of natural resources on the United States and its neighbors.
    • Objective 5.03: Assess economic institutions in terms of how well they enable people to meet their needs.
    • Objective 5.05: Evaluate the influence of discoveries, inventions, and innovations on economic interdependence.
    • Objective 5.08: Cite examples of surplus and scarcity in the American market and explain the economic effects.

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 5

  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.02: Use oral and written language to:
      • formulate hypotheses.
      • evaluate information and ideas.
      • present and support arguments.
      • influence the thinking of others.
    • Objective 4.03: Make oral and written presentations to inform or persuade selecting vocabulary for impact.
    • Objective 4.07: Compose a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama using self-selected topic and format (e.g., poetry, research reports, news articles, letters to the editor, business letters).
    • Objective 4.09: Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., clarification, essay, feature story, business letter).