VISITING THE HEARTLAND

Linda Weatherwax

Preview of Main Ideas

Being in the middle may not be the best for waiting in line, but being in the middle of the United States does have its advantages. The states in the heartland of our country are first in many important ways. For example, this region grows more food than any other region in the United States. It is also a leader in the production of automobiles and steel. Working with this lesson and its extensions make up a comprehensive unit on the Midwest. Students should discover many other ways in which the Midwest is special.

Connection with the Curriculum

This lesson can be used in geography, language arts, reading, and art classes.

Teaching Level: Grades K-4 (works best at grade 4.)

Objectives Classification Outline (also see objectives classification matrix below.)

Objective #1: The student will be able to compare the different ways in which people view and relate to the Midwest region.

Essential Element: Places and Regions.

Standard #6: How culture and experience influence people’s perception of places and regions.

Knowledge Statement #1: How to describe the student’s own community and region from different perspectives.

Knowledge Statement #2: Ways in which different people perceive places and regions.

Skill Set #1: Asking geographic questions.

Skill #1: Ask geographic questions- Where is it located? Why is it there? What is significant about its location? How is its location related to the locations of other people, places, and environment?

Skill Set #2: Acquiring geographic information.

Skill #1: Locate, gather, and process information from a variety of primary and secondary sources including maps.

Skill Set #5: Answering geographic questions.

Skill #2: Use methods of geographic inquiry to acquire geographic information, draw conclusions and make generalizations.

Theme: Place and Regions.

Objective #2: The student will prepare a travel brochure featuring the physical and human characteristics of Midwestern states.

Essential Element: Places and Regions.

Standard #4: The physical and human characteristics of places.

Knowledge Statement #1: The physical characteristics of places (e.g., landforms, bodies of water, soil, vegetation, and weather and climate.)

Knowledge Statement #2: The human characteristics of places (e.g., population, distributions, settlement patterns, languages, ethnicity, nationality, and religious beliefs.)

Skill Set #3: Organizing geographic information.

Skill #1: Preparing maps to display geographic information.

Skill Set #5: Answering geographic questions.

Skill #1: Present geographic information in the form of both oral and written reports accompanied by maps and graphics.

Theme: Place and Region.

Objective #3: The student will use research tools like card catalogs, periodic guides, encyclopedias, and a thesaurus to gather data (a non- geographic objective).

Objective #4: The student will effectively present ideas both orally and in writing (a non- geographic objective).

Materials

1. Library resources on individual states.

2. Travel brochures.

3. Paper and other materials for drawing.

4. National Geographic’s video “Heartland.”

5. The book, The Heartland, by Diane Siebert.

Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson

Pre-lesson Preparation

Make an “eye-catching” bulletin board of a gigantic pair of eyeglasses from colored construction paper. Fill the letters with diverse scenes of the Midwest cut from magazines, postcards, brochures, etc. Later students can change the bulletin board to reflect scenes from the next region of study. Caption the board with simple, bold letters spelling out “See the USA: Heartland.”

Opening the Lesson

Read Diane Siebert’s books, The Heartland, or watch National Geographic’s video Heartland. You may pass out the “5 themes” chart to be filled out during or after each. Discussion held after listening and viewing.

Developing the Lesson

1. The teacher explains that students will be putting together information about a state into a travel brochure that should help convince others to travel to that particular state. (Show examples of brochures at this time.)

2. Students are divided into 12 small study groups, one for each of the Midwestern states. Each group creates categories that will need researching for the travel brochures. (See included list of definitions and qualifications of state categories.)

3. Students can create questions from categories. Examples:

            What is the climate like?

            What scenery is of particular interest?

            What types of recreation are offered?

            What popular tourist attractions are there?

            What types of entertainment are offered?

4. Students will research questions for their state using various resources such as the textbook, encyclopedias, atlases, magazines, travel guides, almanacs, maps and other materials.

5. Students should go back to the information gathered and come up with possible reasons why people would want to visit their state. Discuss all positive effects.

6. Students need to think of descriptive words before actually writing their scripts. The words need to create imagery through all the senses. Brainstorm words that describe nouns that really reflect their states. Encourage the use of a thesaurus.

7. Groups then describe the organization of brochures.

Examples: A separate section on different seasons and what each has to offer. A separate section on climate, scenery, tourist attractions, history, entertainment, etc. What a weekend would be like in that state. Take a reader on an imaginary trip. (Morning, afternoon, and night of each day.)

8. Decide how to fold their papers and where the pictures are going to be located. Draw pictures on separate paper and then glue them one. Do the writing on lined paper and follow the same procedure. All brochures should contain a map of the state (political or physical). They also could include all that state’s official flower, bird, tree, flag, etc.

Concluding the Lesson

Each group prepares oral presentations of the travel brochures to share information about their state with the rest of the class. Other activities mentioned below can also be included to show at the oral presentation.

Extending the Lesson

Social Studies application:

1. Interview someone in your family or community who is from or who has been on vacation in a Midwestern state.

2. Make a resource map of the Midwestern states to show various crops, minerals, or manufactured products.

3. Prepare a table in the room to display examples of products grown, mined, and manufactured in the Midwest.

4. Read newspapers and magazines and bring in articles about current events in the Midwest. Display on a bulletin board.

5. Assign groups to study the growth and history of different kinds of transportation used in the Midwest including canals, river boats, railroads, covered wagons, etc.

6. Locate on a map and categorize place names that reflect Indian and European influences.

7. Take a field trip to any place of geographical or historical right here in our part of the Midwest.

Language Arts application:

1. Write a persuasive paragraph on why they think one state is “better” than another.

2. Write acrostic poetry using the names of states written on state shapes:

            O___________

            H___________

             I___________

            O___________

3. Make a dictionary of words associated specifically with the Heartland.

4. Make a word search or crossword puzzle using vocabulary emphasized in your study.

5. Read aloud or use as trade-book instruction those books that have a setting in the “Heartland.”

Art Application:

1. Design a state stamp. It could show how the state shows the Earth’s resources.

2. Make a state-shape mobile of Midwestern states.

3. Design a license plate illustrating an important event in Midwestern history.

4. Draw a picture of your favorite state’s attraction on the “front” of a student-created postcard. On the “back” write a note to a friend telling about that attraction.

Assessing Student Learning

Did students participate in the discussion?

Did the students use varied resources to effectively acquire the information for the question for their state?

Did students contribute to the final product of a travel brochure on a Midwestern state?

GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS CLASSIFICATION MATRIX – GRADES           K-4   

Title:          Visiting the Heartland          Author:     Linda Weatherwax

Note:  See also Objectives Classification Outline in the lesson.

Handouts

Handout A

Handout B

Definitions and Qualifications of State Categories*

            *Teacher and/or students may prefer to come up with own definitions that all agree up on and resources validate.

1.                  Agriculture/Products:  that which is produced from farming.

2.                  Climate:  the general weather conditions of a region (hot, humid, cold, dry, seasonal).

3.                  Entertainment/Recreation:  play and amusement offered in state, which may not be necessarily offered in others.  Michigan offers snow skiing, which can not be offered by all states.

4.                  Famous/Special: something important and unique from other states.

5.                  History:  something of importance to the United States’ past—not just to the particular state even though it happened there.

6.                  Industry:  production and sale of products and services.

7.                  Inhabitants:  people or animals that live on the land (Examples in this book are of people).

8.                  Location:  simply where the state is in relation to other states, the world, latitude, and longitude.

9.                  Natural Resources:  forms of wealth supplied by nature (ore, coal, oil)**

10.              Topography:  physical features of an area (mountains).

11.              Tourist Attractions:  things that people would travel to that state to see.

12.              Tradition:  a set of customs unique to the state and passed down from generations.

13.              Vegetation:  plant life of a region (tropical rain forest, coniferous forest, swamp, tundra).

**Teachers and/or students may broaden these definitions to meet their own needs.  For example, timber could be included under natural resources, as well as under vegetation, if the definitions were broadened.

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