This will be the first of three activities that we are going to cover. The activities we are doing cover the state standard of Geography and Citizenship. The activities will be based on the logging rights in the Lake of the Woods area. We all know that it is illegal, but the question is should the logging companies be allowed in to clear out all the forest that was destroyed in the forest fires of 1999.
This first activity is going to cover the historical aspect of the
region. We are going to look at why
there is no logging allowed in there in the first place.
We will look at the different governments of the time, Canada and U.S.
We are also going to look at the Native American rights to the land, and
if they have any say in the logging of the area?
We are also going to look at the times when these laws were passed and
see if this was the only national forest that there is no logging allowed in?
The first thing that you are going to do is research the time era.
You will see what the views of the two different governments were on this
set of land. You will see what Canada wanted to do with the land on their
side of the border, and then see what they actually did do with it.
The other one you will see is what the American’s views were of the
time on what should be done with the land.
The other part you will see if there is any Native American ties to the
land, if they have hunting and fishing rights that are tied to a treaty.
The next part of the activity is you will research the law that made it
so that there was no logging allowed on the land.
Is this the only national forest where there is no logging allowed, and
if so what other national forest do not allow logging.
Also with the laws that were passed, was it the only one or were there a
number other ones. Was this an era of environmental laws. ?
Also, what was the sentiment of the American people towards logging?
Were they in favor of it or did they want the land set aside so that it
could not be logged out. Lastly,
what was the logging industry like when this law was passed, was it going strong
or on the decline?
After all research is done, you will take your findings and decide for
yourself what should have been done with the land?
Should it be what it is today, or should logging companies been allowed
in to log the trees? You will write
a 1-2page paper stating your case. In
the paper you will write what you think the law should be for the land.
You should state your reasons for your opinion and give a couple of facts
for your opinion. I will be looking for well-written papers, spelling and
grammar will be graded. The reasons
and the facts that you use will also be graded, so make sure you do a good job
of stating opinion.
So get your thinking caps on and have a good time with this.
Now that we have researched the history of the area, we will look at the
question posed at the beginning. Should
logging companies be allowed into the area to log out the burnt trees from the
area? This activity we will be
using maps and you will come up with a mental map of the area.
We will also look at the economic side of the question, how it will
affect people economically? Also we
will look at some of the physical and cultural characteristics.
The class will be split up into four different groups. In those groups you will do something called an expert
learner. That is in the groups one
from each group will go and research one of the four topics with people from the
other groups and then they will report their findings to their original groups.
After all the research is done the expert groups will come up in front of
the whole class and report their findings to the class.
The
first group will do map work. The
group will look at a map of the before and after the fire and then they will
show how much of the forest was damaged and how much burnt timber is left that
could be logged. The group will
draw a map of their findings and present it to the class.
The
second group will look at the economic impact that logging would have on the
economy. The group will research such things as who would benefit from the
logging and who would be hurt. What
if anything could be taxed so that the government would make money off of it? How would it effect the tourist economy of the area?
What would happen to the local economy if the trees were harvested?
The
third group will look at the physical characteristics of the area.
What would happen to the wildlife of the area if the logging companies
were to come in and harvest the trees? Would
pollution be a problem?
The
last group will look at the cultural characteristics.
What are the cultures of the area and what do they have to say about it.
Do the Native Americans play any role in the decision-making process?
How does the local authorities feel about the possibility of having a
logging company come and harvest the trees?
What does the national government think about the possibility of logging
the national forest? What do our
friends think on the other side of the border?
All
of these groups will present their information not only to their little groups,
but also to the whole class. All
groups will then turn in a summary of their research findings to me; these
should be 1-2 pages. Again, I will
be looking for high quality work in these presentations.
For this activity you will receive a group grade on your research and
also an individual grade for your part of the presentation.
It
is up to you people now, so lets get out there and make so really good
presentations.
This
is the finally activity that will be required for this standard.
This one I think all of you will have a good time doing.
You will be asked to describe three items, location, physical geography
and cultural geography of the area. You
will all stay in the same groups, the only difference is you as a group will
research the three areas and then turn in the information in a journal.
The things that I am looking for in the journal is what you did for the
day, what part you did to help the group accomplish their goal, what the other
people in your group did, and an answer to the question posed at the beginning
of the lesson. Do you think logging companies should be allowed into the
boundary waters to harvest the wood that was damaged by the forest fires?
For
the first part of the journal, under the location what I am seeking is where the
location of the logging would be? Is
the area set up for logging? Will
it effect anything on the Canadian side of the border?
The
next part is the physical geography aspect.
What type of terrain will the loggers be on?
Is there any lakes or rivers near by?
If so could they get polluted? What
wildlife may be endangered if the loggers come in to harvest?
The
last part is the cultural geography of the land.
How do the local people feel about it?
Does it benefit or hurt them? How
does Canada feel about it? What is
the Native American view on the situation?
What does the state and national government want?
Finally what does the logging companies want?
To
wrap this whole unit up we will do a news report.
The group that you are in will set up a news report.
The report will be about the whole unit that we did.
You can bring in any information that you researched throughout the unit.
You should try and incorporate both sides of the story into your report.
So if you have people who are really opposed to the logging, they could
be interviewed for their point of view, and vise versa.
The
group will assign roles for the different areas.
You will need a reporter, an anchor, producer, cameraman, writer, and
maybe some props of different people that you may interview in the report.
At the completion of this project the class will decide on the best one
and that one will be sent into CCTV.
The
report should be about 10 minutes long. You
will also be graded on the quality of the information that is presented in the
report. You will not be graded on
your acting ability; this is social studies not theatre 101. You will though be
graded on how well you got your information across in the report.
You will also be graded on the length of the report. You will be given an
overall grade for the report. You
will also be asked to hand in an outline of the report and who is doing what
task. You will also have to write about the experience of making this report in
your journals.
The
groups will sign up for days to take the camera and record your report. Once the report is filmed than you will have to edit it, and
come up with a final product. I
think that you all will really enjoy this so make the most out of it and just
have fun with it.
This evaluation is the one for the news report that they will have to do at the completion of this unit.
1. Outline of the report
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
2. Length of the report
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
3. Quality of the facts they reported on
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
4. The amount of facts that they used
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
4. How well they got their information across in the
report
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
5. Overall on the report
4. Excellent
3. Good
2. Average
1. Below Average
The unit that I am going to take them through will cover all areas of the
standard. One of the major things
that the students will get from this is that it is close to home.
The standard is not taught to them about something that is happening half
way around the world. Some of the
students may go up to the boundary waters and may have a strong view on this
question. So I think that it will
stick with them for years to come.
The second point is that all the work that they are doing is hands on.
They are not sitting in their seats taking notes and listening to a
lecture about this area. This all adds to the fact that when they are asked in the
future about what standards they learned they will remember the project that
they did, rather than some notes that they took from a lecture.
The unit is taken word for word from the standard.
They are taking both a historical issue and one that is a current issue
in the particular region that they live in. They are taking the region and
making a mental map of the area that we are studying, and on top of it they are
teaching it to their fellow classmates. This
way the students are not only learning from the teacher, but from each other.
The physical and cultural characteristics are getting even more attention
in this standard. The students are
describing them twice in the standard. This
is a good thing for the students though, since they have a harder time defining
physical and cultural geography. The
students don’t really see that there is more to geography than just maps, most
of them don’t see that there is a political side to it.
They also don’t see that cultures make up the region.
So they are really learning about this area more and in the long run it
will help them.
When the word money is brought up the students always get excited about
it. Here they can take what seems
like something that wouldn’t effect the economy at all and see how it makes a
big impact on it. Not so much
globally or even nationally, but locally how it would turn a small community
into larger one and what that would mean to the residents of the community.
Once the students have completed this unit they will have mastered this
standard and will take something from the standard that they wouldn’t have
been able to before. The students
will be able to take what they have learned from this standard and use it in
future ventures and may even make them take a stand on environmental issues if
they so wish.
The work that the students do for the unit not only shows mastery of the
state standard, but also fits the three areas of authentic performance
assessment. The three areas that it
fits under are construction of knowledge, discipline of inquiry and value beyond
school.
The students show construction of knowledge by the way they are able to
take facts and make specific judgements on those facts.
For this specific unit they are able to take prior knowledge from both
sides and make their own conclusions on the situation.
They are not just reproducing something that someone before them has
done. They are able to think for
themselves and construct their own opinion on the topic.
The students do their own inquiry throughout the whole unit.
If they have a question pertaining to the unit, they themselves have to
do the research to find out the answer. The
facts of the project are not just given to them they have to go out and find it
for themselves. They also just
don’t answer questions on a worksheet about the problem, they are asked to do
interactive projects with the material. At
one point they are teaching their peers about the material, which will make them
be more in-depth about the material. They
are taking the material and making it into something that they will take into
their lives beyond school and some standards that they are required to meet.
Which brings me to the next point, value beyond school.
Some students may have desire to be more active with environmental issues
and this gives them a chance to do it. They
are also not just keeping their findings in the classroom, they are asked to
make a news report that could be televised to other classrooms not only in the
school, but state and even nation wide. They
are also dealing with an issue that is important to people outside the
classroom. This would give the
students a chance to share their findings with them.
They could take them the news report and show them their findings.
They could even send it to a group that is involved in this issue and
show them what they have done.
The students cover all the areas with material that goes above and beyond
what anyone their age has done or will do.
The things that the students are asked to do are not even done in a high
school setting and these are just seventh graders.