in progressAdirondack Curriculum Project - www.adkcurriculum.org
NYS Content Area Standard

Social Studies
Standard 1:   History of the United States and New York
Students will demonstrate skills  by researching a probable experience and writing about it from that person’s point of view

Standard 3: Geography
- Investigate how people depend upon and modify the physical environment.
- Describe the relationships between people and environments and the connections between people and places.

Title: An Adirondack Expedition

Grade Level: 7th Grade

Author: Cindy Ryan
Whitesboro Central School

Email: cryan2@wboro.org
Adirondack Curriculum Content Area
_X_ Natural History
_X_ Human History
___ Culture & the Arts
___ Government & Civics
___ Economy
___ Health, Recreation & Life Skills

Investigative Question or Issue: What were some of the experiences of the first people to explore the Adirondacks? 

Challenge:  
Learn about an aspect of exploring the Adirondacks in the 1800s and share it with others by creating a postcard in which you pretend that you experienced it first-hand.  

Student Handout 

Context for Challenge: This is an activity that will nicely follow lessons on Lewis and Clark.The following sequence is suggested:
1. Teach students about Lewis and Clark in part by sharing excerpts from their journals.  The journal entries you choose should include Lewis or Clark’s descriptions of new geographic features and species they encounter.
 

2. Ask students what they know about the Adirondacks.  Give a mini-lesson on early travel to, and exploration of, the Adirondacks.
 

3. Ask students to work in small groups to complete the following:
- brainstorm geographic features and species that early explorers of the Adirondacks would have encountered, as well as unique experiences they might have had
- filter out these ideas before sharing the best ones with classmates (at this point you or a student should record student ideas on chart paper)

4. Show students a short film about the Adirondacks.  Ideally, choose a film that focuses on the natural and human history of the Adirondacks. 

5. With students, edit and add to the list you made in Step Three.

6. Divide the chart into categories.  Potential categories include: animals, insects, seasons and other natural phenomena, and geographic features.

7. Find resources relating to these topics. 

8. Divide students into groups.  Assign each group a category and give them the relevant resources.  Also give them copies of the accompanying student handout (see below) and blank 5x7 index cards. 

9. Pass around postcards so that students can become familiar with their structure.  Discuss with students the writing style they should use (descriptive, yet brief and to the point).

10. When the students have finished making their postcards, which will probably take three or four class periods, ask volunteers to read aloud or pass around their work.  Or have the students “mail” them to each other!  Then hang the postcards on the wall for all to see!           

Quality Standards:

Postcard is:
  • creative
  • neat
  • informative
  • true to the standard format of a postcard (see below)
Postcard includes:
  • a picture (on front); picture includes at most 1 print from Internet and the rest is drawn by hand
  • a brief description of picture (on back)
  • a title or caption (on front)
  • appropriate information about the aspect chosen by the student in the form of a note to a friend or family member (on back)
  • fictitious addresses of the sender and recipient (on back)
  • fictitious postage and postal stamp (on back)


Adapted for the Adirondack Curriculum Project from the work of Education By Design TM and Leading EDGE, LLC ©ACP 2002

   Product Quality
Checklist
Date: ________                                                                     Class Period: ________
Product Author(s):

 

 Product Title/Name:

Evaluator Name(s)
 
 Observed Standard/Criteria
Possible
Points
Rating
   Postcard is creative
10
 
  Postcard is neat
 10  
  Postcard is informative
10
 
  Postcard includes a picture on front that includes at most one print from Internet with the rest drawn by hand
25
 
  Postcard includes a brief description of picture

 

Postcard includes a title or caption
 5  

Postcard includes appropriate information about the aspect chosen by the student in the form of a note to a friend or family member
25


Fictitious addresses of the sender and recipient
5


Fictitious postage and postal stamp
5













 
TOTALS
 100  

nyga Produced at the 2008 Adirondack Geography Institute
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