Own My State
Using knowledge of map-making with an emphasis on scale, students create a map of a fictitious country with five states.
Author Grade Level Duration National Geography Standards Element Two: Places and Regions 5. That people create regions to interpret Earths complexity. Penney Klaproth 4-5 1-3 class periods Arizona Math Standard STRAND 1 Number and Operations CONCEPT 3 Estimation GRADE 4 PO 2 Make estimates appropriate to a given situation or computation with whole numbers and fractions. GRADE 5 PO 1 Make estimates appropriate to a given situation or computation with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.
Arizona Geography Strand 4
CONCEPT 1 World in Spatial Terms GRADE 4 PO 2 Interpret political and physical maps using the following map elements: Title, compass rose, symbols, legend, scale, road map index and grid (latitude and longitude) GRADE 5 PO 6 Construct maps, charts and graphs to display geographic information.
Overview The formation of political boundaries is important to our understanding of how the world and its groups interact. The students will learn how geographical landforms separate political entities. This will also be a lesson in cooperative decision-making. Purpose The students will cooperatively create a map of a new country consisting of 5 states with common boundaries. The map will feature political boundaries, a compass rose, labels, and a mileage scale. Materials Colored pencils or crayons in the following recommended colors: o blue o brown
o green o black Large sheets of cardboard such as posterboard or tagboard, one (22in. x 28in.) for each group of five students OR large white construction paper (12in. x 18in.). Chart paper for recording brainstormed ideas Tools for measuring such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and tape measures Arizonas Topography and Rivers map Arizonas Landforms and Rivers map Group Performance Assessment Rubric Individual Assessment Worksheet and Answer Key
Objectives The student will be able to: 1. Explain why boundaries are important.
My Own State
2. How landforms and people contribute to the creation of boundaries. 3. Use estimation to determine distances on a map using a mileage scale. 4. Make a map including a mileage scale. Procedures Prerequisite Geography Skills: basic map reading skills and knowledge of landforms Prerequisite Math Skills: basic measuring skills and knowledge of ratio SESSION ONE 1. Have students examine the Arizonas Topography and Rivers map and Arizonas Landforms and Rivers map. As a whole class, brainstorm common features on both maps and write the responses on chart paper. 2. Brainstorm reasons for creating boundaries, with specific emphasis on the Colorado River border with California and Nevada, as well as the Four Corners shared by Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. 3. Tell students that they are going to make a map of a new country that will incorporate the brainstormed map elements while also keeping in mind the reasons borders are necessary. Explain that each student will make his/her state on the same poster or paper as that of four other students. These 5 states will equal a new country. 4. There will need to be a border around the edge of the poster board for labels, keys, etc. The students may pencil this in before they add color. 5. The students will determine where they want to draw the boundaries of their As country. a group they must decide where and why the boundaries are to be drawn on their collective map. Students discussions should also incorporate their personal ideas and feelings for where their boundaries should lie paralleling political, religious, and cultural beliefs used for drawing boundaries in the real world. 6. Discuss possible restrictions for drawing their state boundaries. For example, the students may notice that a blue line (river) makes a natural boundary such as the Rio Grande and the Colorado. Brown may be a desert or mountains. 7. Students decide which color(s) they will use for their map section and begin coloring boundary lines for their states. Remind them that their five states together will constitute a new country. 8. Once boundaries are decided upon and drawn with a dark marker for each state, the students must decide how large their country is in relation to the world. Possible student prediction: Country A is one-twelfth of the earths surface in area. Country A is 600 miles from east to west and 1000 miles from north to south. Now have one student look in the atlas to determine the actual area and circumference of the earth. (Area= 197, 000,000 square miles and Circumference = approximately 25,000 miles.) The students can then multiply their estimated dimensions and get the area of their country (Country A equals 600,000 square miles). 9. Now they can determine the relative size of their country by comparing their area to the earths real size. 10. The students work as a group to create a scale for the mileage on their country map using both metric and U.S. customary measures. Major landforms and water bodies should be clearly labeled.
My Own State
11. The students should also include names for each state as well as the country. The students should include a key for features not already labeled on their map. The map should have a title. 12. Before the formal assessment, assemble as a whole group to discuss students rationales for drawing their boundaries as well as ...