LEARN NC

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

Your town in the past, present, and future

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/18/g35/yourtown.html

A lesson plan for Grade 3 and 5 Social Studies

Provider: National Geographic

About this resource

Appropriate grades
3 and 5
Subjects
social studies (economics, geography), thinking skills (critical literacy, higher order thinking, information literacy, research skills)
Provider
National Geographic

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Creative Commons License

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In this Xpeditions lesson, students use pictures of Bodie, CA from 120 years ago to inform their exploration of how places change based on environmental and economic issues.

Students will:

  • research an environmental issue concerning their town or region;
  • make a class list describing the different facets of this environmental problem;
  • draw two pictures of their town in fifty years, one with the environmental problem fixed and one with the problem worsened;
  • discuss how studying this problem might contribute to its solution; and
  • devise a plan to educate the community about the environmental issue.

Xpeditions provides detailed instructions for completing the lesson, links to necessary web resources, and suggestions for assessment and extension activities.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 3

  • Goal 4: The learner will explain geographic concepts and the relationship between people and geography in real life situations.
    • Objective 4.04: Compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment to meet their needs.
  • Goal 5: The learner will apply basic economic principles to the study of communities.
    • Objective 5.05: Distinguish and analyze the economic resources within communities.
    • Objective 5.07: Identify historic figures and leaders who have influenced the economies of communities and evaluate the effectiveness of their contributions.

Grade 5

  • Goal 4: The learner will trace key developments in United States history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring countries.
    • Objective 4.01: Define the role of an historian and explain the importance of studying history.
    • Objective 4.02: Explain when, where, why, and how groups of people settled in different regions of the United States.
  • 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.