|
Unit Overview: This unit will examine the role geography may have played in the events of a Revolutionary War campaign. Unit Objectives:
Grade Level: 8-12 Subjects: History and Geography Prerequisites: Students should have previous knowledge of the themes of geography and should be able to access web sites. Differentiation: Students may be grouped to accommodate
various abilities. The lessons provide for a range of abilities
in the different tasks and can be easily modified. For example, map work may be substituted for more extensive
computer tasks. Advanced students may apply more difficult GIS programs
to the lessons. Web Links: http://www.ushistory.org/march/index.html, provides the lesson, http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm, http://topozone.com provide the geography, “Gorman, Judith, war and geography, grades 8-12
|
Required Materials
Base map of New England and Mid Atlantic states for students to fill in using “Clarisworks” draw program or GIS software Lessons: 1. Reviewing the themes of Geography and applying them to Background to the Campaign 2. How to Read a Topographic Map 3. Applying geography to Howe’s Voyage, Part 1, Landing at Head of Elk. 4. Applying geography to The Landing, Part 2, Landing at Head of Elk. (This completes 10 days of instruction) 5. Applying geography to Washington Watches Howe, Part 3, Landing at Head of Elk. 6. Applying geography to A Storm Intervenes, Part 4, Landing at Head of Elk 7. Applying geography to After the Deluge, Part 5, Landing at Head of Elk
|
|
|
Suggested Procedure (Pedagogy): Title: Themes
of Geography in the background events leading to the Philadelphia
Campaign, Revolutionary War
Overview: The students will examine the background of events in the Revolutionary War leading up to the Philadelphia campaign and apply themes of geography to those events. Objectives: 1. To review the background of events leading up to the Philadelphia Campaign in the Revolutionary War. 2. To reveal the themes of geography in the unfolding of the events. 3. To help students begin to analyze history from a geographical perspective Grade Level: 8-12 Subjects: History and Geography Time: 4 50 minute class periods Prerequisites: Students should have knowledge of the themes of geography and the historical background of American History leading up to the Revolutionary War. Required Materials: -History and geography text books for background material -Computers with Internet access -Large wall map of New England and the Mid Atlantic -Individual maps of New England and Mid Atlantic colonies Optional
Technologies: Base map of New England and the Mid Atlantic states on computer for students to fill in data using “Clarisworks” draw program . Suggested
Procedure: Opening – The teacher should review the themes of geography; location, place, region, human environment interaction, and region. Write the themes on the chalkboard or overhead projector, give the definition and ask the students to think of examples of each them. Ask the students what these themes have to do with history and ask if they can think of examples. Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 (depending upon the number of computers), and tell them they are going to examine the unfolding of events in the Revolutionary War and apply the themes of geography to those events. Development – Give each student a definition sheet on the themes of geography and assign a group to each computer. Have the groups go online to http://www.ushistory.org/march/index.html. Show the site to the students but explain to them that they will examine the first two parts in this unit, The Background to the Campaign and the Landing at Head of Elk. Have the students click on to The Background to the Campaign. Go over the events on the first page to review the background and have the students locate and label their maps (blue for American troops and red for British) with the events that took place in Boston, Philadelphia, Lexington, and Concord. Also label New York (city), the Delaware River, Trenton, and Morristown as explained on the first page. After marking their maps according to information on the first page, have each group find themes of geography in the information so far. Have each group give one example of each theme of geography in the information. Discuss their findings to emphasize the meaning of each theme, giving an historical perspective when applicable. For example: “region” can be named as New England, Mid Atlantic, marshlands, mountainous, etc. but also, from a military perspective as “enemy region”, or “friendly territory” etc. Proceed to the next page on line, “Background to the Campaign, the British”. Read the page and ask the groups to mark the locations (red for British) on their maps indicated on the page and report their findings. Examine and discuss any other geographical themes on the page. Ask each group to report their findings. Proceed to the next page, “Background to the Campaign, the Americans”. Discuss the theme of movement in the first few paragraphs of this page. Have the students identify the locations mentioned and mark their maps, (red for British, blue for Americans) and add troop strength on their maps, using a key. Have the groups trace the movements discussed on the page. Ask the groups to speculate about what decisions the generals had to make that concerned the movement of troops. http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm (On this site, click on “Historic Maps”, go to “U.S. Military Academy Atlas, p.2, click on American Revolution, #2.Operations around NY and Trenton”) Find Morristown, New Jersey, scan the area on the map asking students to comment on what they see. Scan and locate where Howe’s troops have been, speculate on the decisions both sides have had to make. Have the groups identify the absolute locations of General Howe’s troops and General Washington troops. Ask the students to speculate on how geography may now play a very important role in the movements of each side. Closing – The teacher should review with the class the events in the Background to the Campaign and how the themes of geography entered into the events. Ask the students to think of questions that the generals would have had to ask themselves throughout their movements so far. Have each group write 2 examples of each theme of geography in the introduction and 2 questions that could arise in the events listed for each theme. Student Activity – Online Suggested
Assessment: 1. Participation in the activities and discussions 2. The map, judging completeness, accuracy, and neatness 3. Written examples of the themes of geography and questions from the introductory material online. Resource
bar: Definitions: tyranny - arbitrary or oppressive exercise of power; cruel and unjust use of force or authority rhetoric – pretentious, inflated language in speech or writing monopoly – exclusive control or possession of something Loyalists – colonists who remained loyal to the British government during the Revolutionary War feint – false appearance or show. In warfare, to divert attention from the real point of attack. vacillate – to move to and fro; to waver in mind or between courses of action flotilla – fleet of small vessels; small fleet wary – habitually on the alert; watchful morale – attitude or condition of an individual or group with respect to …courage, confidence, and high spirits (Macmillan Dictionary for Students, Macmillan, 1981, New York) StandardsGeography Standard 17: The Uses of Geography: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past Credits:Judith
Gorman, Anwatin (6-8), 256 Upton Ave.S, Minneapolis, MN55405, 612-668-3190 Location -- Where are things located? A location can be specific (for example, it can be stated as coordinates of longitude and latitude or as a distance from another place) or general (it's in the Northeast). Place -- What makes a place different from other places? Differences might be defined in terms of climate, physical features, or the people who live there and their traditions.
Human-environment interaction -- What are the relationships among people and places? How have people changed the environment to better suit their needs?
Movement -- What are the patterns of movement of people, products, and information? A study of movement includes learning about major modes of transportation used by people, an area's major exports and imports, and ways in which people communicate (move ideas).
Regions -- How can Earth be divided into regions for study? Regions can be defined by a number of characteristics including area, language, political divisions, religions, and vegetation (for example, grassland,
marshland, desert, rain forest). “Gorman, Judith, War and Geography, grades 8-12 Lesson Two Title: How to Read a Topographic Map Overview: The students will learn how to read a topographic map and practice reading topographic maps that are around or near the historical events in this unit. Objectives: Students will: 1. Read instructions on how to read a topographic map 2. Examine topographic maps 3. Note the location and movement possibilities of the American and British troops from the last lesson and hypothesize on how the topographic information may have influenced them. Grade
Level: Grades 8-12 Subjects: History and Geography Time: 3 class period of 50 minutes Prerequisites: Students should be able to access web sites Required
Materials: Internet access 1 computer per group of 3 or 4 1 transparency of How to Read a Topographic Map 1 transparency of a topographic map overhead projector and classroom screen Optional
Technologies: Suggested
Procedure: Opening – Review with the class the findings so far of how geographic themes can be applied in examining the movements of British and American troops in the events leading up to the winter of 1777. Bring them up to date on the locations of George Washington’s troops and General Howe’s troops. Development - Have the students resume their groups and on their computers go to http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm This time they should click on “topographic maps” on the left column and go to How to Read a Topographic Map. This page could also be projected on to a pull down classroom screen (or transferred previously to a transparency and projected) in order to keep the information on sight while the class proceeds to read a topographic map. Next have the class or groups click back to the site and go to Examples of Topographic Maps. Avoiding advertisements, have the students go to “Cultural Features and Map Symbols” and, referring to How to Read a Topographic Map projected on the classroom screen, have the students scan in Ocean City, Maryland. Examine the computer map and markings in all directions (using the black arrows) and ask them to relate what they can read from the map. Next, click back to the site and go down to “Streams” and click on Washington, DC. Have the groups scan east to the Chesapeake Bay and examine the eastern shoreline of the Chesapeake, noting streams, and other topographic markings. Tell the class this area is for future reference because General Howe and his armada will be passing through here. Click back to the site and go to reading “Waves and Currents” and have the class click on Ocean City, Maryland, this time looking at the water currents. This site too is for future reference since this will be on the route of the British armada. Have the students scan the area noting as much as they can about the water currents and waves. Next click back and instruct the students to go to “Geologic Structures” and go to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, share information on that site and then go to Strasburg, Virginia, and compare the sites referring to the information on “How to Read a Topographic Map”. Finally, on this site, have the students go to “Ocean Basins” and click on New England, find Long Island, scan south along the coast and note the ocean depths in the region where General Howe and the British would sail. Optional activities, explore additional sites on “Topographic Maps” on Symbols of Topographic Maps, and/or Landforms on Topographic Maps and discuss findings. ClosingReferring to the classroom screen projecting “How to Read a Topographic Map”, ask the students to recall examples of the markings. Remove the transparency on “How to Read a Topographic Map” and replace it with a transparency of a topographic map of one of the historic areas (downloaded from the web site). Ask the students to try and recall what the markings mean. Have them in groups decide on and write on paper 5 specific geographic elements and an example of each, learned from reading the topographic maps that could have affected the British and/or American troops, giving specific locations and topographic markings for each example. Student Activity – Online Suggested Assessment1. Student attentiveness and participation online and in discussions 2. Written assignment of examples from topographic maps of geographic elements that could have affected Revolutionary War troops. Resource bar:Definitions: topography – detailed description or drawing of the natural and artificial surface features of a place or area armada – fleet of warships (Macmillan Dictionary for Students, Macmillan, 1981, New York) Standards:
Geography Standard 17: The Uses of Geography:
How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past
Here's How: 1.Thin brown lines represent contours or points of similar elevation. The closer together they are, the steeper the terrain.
2.Contour lines form "v" shapes in valleys or along stream beds. The point of the "v" points uphill.
3.Blue represents water.
4.Green represents orchards and forested areas.
5.Purple markings are those that have been "photorevised," or added to the map since the original map was published..
6.Red areas represent urban areas, although the maps will often indicate special buildings of significance within the urbanized area.
7.Roads and highways are represented in black and red.
8.The
scale on 1:24,000 topographic maps means that one inch equals 2000
feet Lesson Three Title: Applying Geography to Howe’s Voyage, Part 1, Landing at
Head of Elk Overview: The students will examine the beginning of a progression of events in the Revolutionary War and apply geographic information in analyzing the movements of British and American troops. Objectives: Students will: 1. Map and analyze British and American troop movements from a geographical standpoint. 2. Apply knowledge learned from political, physical, and topographic maps. 3. Hypothesize on the affects of geographic elements on American and British troops. Grade Level: Grades 8-12 Subjects: History and Geography Time: 2 50 minute class periods Prerequisites: Students should have completed lessons one and two of this unit. Required Materials: Internet access 1 computer per group of 3 or 4 A wall map of New England and the Mid-Atlantic states Blank outline map of New Jersey and surrounding areas, (find at http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm, go to “Blank Outline Maps” left column) Adhesive wall poster paper Markers - red, blue, and black Optional Technologies: Base map of the Mid-Atlantic states on computer for students to fill in using “Clarisworks” draw program. Suggested Procedure: Opening – Review with the students where the American and British are so far in the Philadelphia Campaign, locating the troop positions on the wall map. Illicit from the students what they recall about the mission or goal for each side. Have the students resume their groups and go online to http://www.ushistory.org/march/index.html. Let them click on Background to the Campaign for a few minutes of review and then have them click back to Landing at Head of Elk and read together the introduction. Discuss again the who, what, why, where, and how of the information they know so far. Tell the students they are now going to zoom in on the troops and as geographers analyze what they’ve got ahead of them. Development – Have the groups click on to Landing at Head of Elk and read together the first page, “Head of Elk, Maryland. Go over the information carefully, questioning the students on the details of who, where, what, etc., and emphasizing the mission and obstacles probably facing each side. Have the students click on the next page, “Head of Elk: Page 1 of 5, Howe’s Voyage”. Read together the first paragraph and discuss the information and the animated map. Have the students now go to http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm, click on U.S. Maps on the left side and then click on Color Landform Atlas of the United States. Have the students then click on NJ for New Jersey and choose “shaded relief map” to view the relief map of the state and surrounding area. Ask the groups to try and locate Sandy Hook, New Jersey and Morristown, New Jersey and Wilmington, Delaware to see the geography around the British and American troops at the beginning of this piece. Have the students at this point take their blank outline maps of New Jersey and label Sandy Hook and Morristown, New Jersey; Philadelphia, PA; Wilmington, Delaware; and New York City, and include a legend depicting 17,000 British troops, and 260 ships at Sandy Hook (color red), and 11,000 troops of the Continental Army who moved from Morristown, NJ to Wilmington, DE (color blue). Have the groups search the maps web site (above) for political maps of the above states to locate the cities or refer to classroom maps or an atlas. Now that their maps are marked, the groups are ready to zoom in on the information on page 1, “Howe’s Voyage”, refer to their maps, and begin a topographic look at the areas to be covered by the British troops and the American troops. Assign each group an area to research topographically using the web site http://geography.about.com/mbody.htm. Have them click on “Topographic Maps” and locate their assigned areas as learned in Lesson Two, How to Read a Topographic Map. Have each group report on their findings and describe their assigned place from the topographic map information as well as the “shaded relief map” information referred to earlier. Now point out the wall chart with the geographic categories, general & troops, and mission (see hand copy example or file Head of Elktable.doc). Ask the students to verbally respond to what should be written in each category, according to their information so far. Have students volunteer to come forward and fill in the chart, using red markers for the British information and blue for the American information. Students should decide in the groups how to add the information to their outline maps. At the wall chart category of “Place”, ask the group assigned to research the topographic maps for those named places to give their geographic information to describe the places the troops would encounter. Ask the class to now think of the outcome for each side to fill in the Human Environment Interaction category. Now tell the class to put on their General hats (figuratively) and analyze the predicaments for each side. Have each group look at their information and write 5 questions facing each general at this point. One question should be a “what if” question and 3 questions should include different geographical concerns that relate to the specific information they have so far. Closing - Have each group present their questions and why they asked those questions. They may use any of the maps in their presentations, having the class go online to observe the topographic sites or physical or political maps. Write on the board any further questions that may arise during the presentations. Student Activity – Online Suggested
Assessment: 1. Participation in the group activities and discussions 2. Completeness, accuracy and neatness of outline map 3. Group presentation 4. Written questions
Resource
Bar: Definitions: scores – indefinitely large number, very many Standards: Geography Standard
17: The Uses of Geography: How to Apply Geography to Interpret the
Past Lesson Four Title: Applying geography to The Landing, Part 2, Landing at Head of Elk Overview: Students will read about and study the landing of the British troops at the head of the Elk River in Maryland after 34 days of difficult navigation. They will look at the geography, the human environment interaction, and hypothesize on the effects on the condition and future of the British troops at this stage. Objectives: Students will: 1. Discuss new detailed information and vocabulary concerning the British troops 2. Discuss information on the geography involved in the landing by studying physical and topographic maps and viewing a satellite image of the region 3. Hypothesize on the condition of the British troops and the decisions facing General Howe. Grade Level: Grades 8-12 Subjects: History and Geography Time: 2 50 minute class periods Prerequisites: Students should have completed lessons one through three of this unit. Required Materials: Internet access 1 computer per groups of 3 or 4 maps wall chart from previous lessons markers Optional Technologies: Base map of the Mid-Atlantic states on computer for students to fill in using ”Clarisworks” draw program. Suggested Procedure: Opening – Review with the students the information learned to this point, referring to the wall chart, maps, and web site on the Virtual Marching Tour of the Revolutionary War, Background, and Landing at Head of Elk, Part 1. Read the questions the students asked in the previous lessons to speculate on the conditions of the American and British troops. Review the points of geography learned by questioning the students on the information they have learned from studying the physical and topographic maps of the region. Have the students resume their groups and log on to Part 2, “The Landing.” Development: Read with the class each paragraph, including the links to definitions of underlined words and phrases. Go back to the first paragraph and ask a student to fill in the wall chart with information from that paragraph. Do the same for the second paragraph and ask students to comment on the condition of the soldiers. What explains their condition? What would you be wondering about if you were one of those soldiers? Read the third paragraph. Have the students find and examine the “narrow river neck” on their map web sites, http://topozone.com, and type in Elkton, Maryland to see the head of the Elk River. Ask the groups to write down their observations and add the Elk River to their outline maps. (Advanced students may apply GIS software for further study of the Elk River and other areas in these lessons.) Read the remaining paragraphs, discuss and add the information to the wall chart. Closing: Have the groups discuss all the information they have learned and again write questions concerning the location of the troops, the place, the effects on the troops, their movements past and future, and any other questions they can think of. The groups could trade questions with another group and offer answers to their questions. The combined groups can then choose their 3 best questions and answers to share with the whole class. At this point, assign an essay. Tell the students that they may confer in their groups for this and discuss their findings, decide on what facts should be included, and write it together if they choose. The essay: they are to write a report predicting the chances for success of each side. Tell the students to write as though they are geographers. They should include in their reports the conditions faced by the British starting at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and the Americans, beginning at Morristown, New Jersey, the mission for each side and what they believe the effects on that mission would be. The students should be specific on geographic elements they observed from the beginning (at the starting points mentioned above) to the points the troops have reached so far. Finally, they should make comments on what kind of character and leadership they think these situations required of the generals. Tell the students that we will be adding that aspect of history as they continue to follow the troops in this campaign. Student Activity: - Online Suggested Assessment: Students
will be assessed on their: 1. Participation in the group activities and discussions 2. Efforts applied to interpreting their topographic map findings 3. Written questions at the end of the activity 4. Group presentation of questions 5. Final essay Resource Bar: Definitions: logistics – branch of military science concerned with the movement, procurement, and maintenance of equipment, facilities, and personnel mercenary – working or acting for money or material gain only frigate - three masted, square-rigged sailing warship carrying one row of guns broadside, in use from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries (Macmillan Dictionary for Students, Macmillan, 1981, New York) Standards: Geography Standard 17: The Uses of Geography:
How to Apply Geography to Interpret the Past
|
||
|
Credits
|
||
