| This time, I'm not talking about the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) test; this time, we actually pulled out the map of Missouri to take a look at it. To get our bearings, I asked students to point to Joplin (our fair city) on the map. Sadly, only one or two could do so. Granted, this particular map did not have cities labeled, but my students were pointing closer to Jefferson City and Columbia than to our Southwest Missouri location. Next, I started asking about the states surrounding Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. You might imagine some of the answers I received. | |
Needless to say, if for no other reason than watching for severe weather, we will continue to delve into geography as the year progresses.
The map activity we actually did concerned Native American Indian tribes who lived in our state. Students had a little coloring time in which they matched the names on the map key with the regions of our state which hosted those particular tribes. Just familiarizing ourselves with the names of those tribes is an accomplishment.
In addition to the map activity (and a quick word search), students read a page with a highly-condensed history of Indians in Missouri. In combination with the history lesson, they identified what they thought were the themes to the article and we tried to find evidence in the text to support their thoughts.
The map activity we actually did concerned Native American Indian tribes who lived in our state. Students had a little coloring time in which they matched the names on the map key with the regions of our state which hosted those particular tribes. Just familiarizing ourselves with the names of those tribes is an accomplishment.
In addition to the map activity (and a quick word search), students read a page with a highly-condensed history of Indians in Missouri. In combination with the history lesson, they identified what they thought were the themes to the article and we tried to find evidence in the text to support their thoughts.
