The Great Plains: A harsh welcome to settlers
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/15/g912/
greatplains.html
A lesson plan for Grades 9–12 Earth/Environmental Science
About this resource
- Appropriate grades
- 9–12
- Subjects
- science (environmental science, technology and innovation), social studies (United States history)
- Provider
- National Geographic
Legal
This catalog record is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. This license applies to the content of this page only and does not apply to the referenced website.
The physical environment often dictated not only the trails North American settlers used in their move westward but also their destinations. The lure of open spaces and inexpensive land was so great that many pioneers risked dangerous conditions to reach the Great Plains.
In this lesson students will consider the experiences of settlers on the American Great Plains in the late 1800s and explore the ways in which humans use technology to overcome obstacles in the physical environment.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Science (2005)
Grades 9–12 — Earth/Environmental Science
- Goal 1: The learner will develop abilities necessary to do and understand scientific inquiry in the earth and environmental sciences.
- Objective 1.06: Identify and evaluate a range of possible solutions to earth and environmental issues at the local, national, and global level including considerations of:
- Interdependent human and natural systems.
- Diverse perspectives.
- Short and long range impacts.
- Economic development, environmental quality and sustainability.
- Opportunities for and consequences of personal decisions.
- Risks and benefits of technological advances.
- Objective 1.06: Identify and evaluate a range of possible solutions to earth and environmental issues at the local, national, and global level including considerations of:
- Goal 2: The learner will build an understanding of lithospheric materials, tectonic processes, and the human and environmental impacts of natural and human-induced changes in the lithosphere.
- Objective 2.06: Investigate and analyze the importance and impact of the economic development of earth's finite rock, mineral, soil, fossil fuel and other natural resources to society and our daily lives:
- Availability.
- Geographic distribution.
- Conservation/Stewardship.
- Recycling.
- Environmental impact.
- Challenge of rehabilitation of disturbed lands.
- Objective 2.06: Investigate and analyze the importance and impact of the economic development of earth's finite rock, mineral, soil, fossil fuel and other natural resources to society and our daily lives:
