Grades 6-8 Lesson Plan - Changes in Attitude about the Role of Woodlands

Map 7 Main Page

Core Map: William H. Brewer, "Map Showing in Five Degrees of Density the Distribution of Woodland within the Territory of the United States," (Washington, 1873). In Francis A. Walker, Statistical Atlas of the United States Based on the Results of the Ninth Census, 1870 (Washington, 1874). Newberry Library call number: Govt I 10.2 At 6(1) (Printable PDF version of the Core Map)

Overview
In this lesson students investigate the historical aspects of a map of 1873 that shows forest cover in the United States. Students examine this map to learn about the historical changes in attitudes about the environment that have taken place in the United States.

Objectives
By the end of this lesson students are expected to:

1. envision environmental changes over time.
2. identify evidence of environmental features on a historic map.
3. analyze factors that contribute to historical changes in attitudes about the environment.
4. prepare and evaluate positions regarding a current environmental issue.

Key Terms
woodlands, density, constitution, environment, distribution, conservation

Materials
Computer image or overhead of the core map, copies of the core map for students, current map of Adirondack Park (see Resources), role cards

Time
Three hours

Getting Started

1. Brainstorm with students the types of natural ground cover in the United States. Select "natural landscapes" from the menu-on the core-map to view illustarions of various landscapes (images are also availabel from the Resources page).

2. Record these ideas in a random order on either a board or overhead projector.

3. Discuss how the occurrence and distribution of ground cover may change over time (i.e., human and natural activities).

Developing the Lesson

1. Present the core map on the computer, in printed form, or on an overhead transparency.

2. Have students explain the use of two items (title and key) help them understand the information on the map.

3. Discuss this information as a class.

4. Ask the students to infer what woodland cover looked like both 100 years before this map and what it looks like today. They could draw the areas of woodlands of these times on outline maps you provide, or you could get class consensus and draw the areas on a transparency outline map. Discuss their reasoning as you do this.

5. Compare their guesses about woodlands of today to a contemporary map of woodland (see Resources).

6. Focus on the Adirondack region of upstate New York by zooming in on that portion of the core map. It is the area of woodland north of the Mohawk River and west of Lake Champlain. Compare how the woodland in this area has changed (or not) between 1873 and today. (See Resources for examples of maps of the contemporary woodlands of the Adirondack region.)

7. Provide students with the followign information: Adirondack Park is an area of about six million acres that was created in as a forest preserve in 1885. The New York State constitution of 1894 stated in Article VII, Section 7:
   The lands of the State, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve, as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold, or exchanged, nor shall the timer thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.

   There is still private land and commercial activity within the boundaries of the park. Many citizen lobby groups and commercial enterprises have tried to change the legal status of the Forest Preserve.

8. Assign a small group of students to one of the roles described in the role cards. They should research the park and the interests of the people they represnt in the park. This can be done using printed resources (such as tourist guidebooks and maps) or electronic resources (see Resources). They will then each present their views to the class, which will take notes on the presentations. Presentations can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Be specific in your expectations. Students could create maps, graphs, charts, copies of historical documents, or illustrations, or they could present them as a speech. These can be created electronically or on hard copy. Set a comfortable time limit and require all students to participate in their group's presentation.

9. Have students write their opinion predicting the future of the Adirondack forest preserve. Their paper must state a clear opinion, support it with two details from the presentations other than theirs, refute the strongest point made by those who oppose their view, and contain a summary.

Evaluation
There are several opportunities for evaluation in this lesson. Students could be evaluated on their research, their presentation, their work within their group, and their writing.

For their writing:

For 4 points, the student clearly states their opinion, provides two details from the presentations other than theirs, refutes the strongest point made by the opposition, and provides a summary.

For 3 points, the student clearly states their opinion, provides one detail from the presentations other than theirs, refutes the strongest point made by the opposition, and provides a summary.

For 2 points, the student clearly states their opinion, provides one detail from the presentations other than theirs or refutes the strongest point made by the opposition, and provides a summary.

For 1 point, the student clearly states their opinion, and attempts to provide a detail from the presentations other than theirs, refutes the strongest point made by the opposition, or provides a summary.

For 0 points, the student does not clearly state their opinion, provide any detail from the presentations other than theirs, refute the strongest point made by the opposition, or provide a summary.

Extensions

1. Adapt the area of study to fit your local interest. Many areas around the United States experience the same political and economic pressures as the Adirondacks. The Nature Conservancy (see Resources for web site link) preserves, state park systems, national forests and wilderness areas, and local parks are all areas that could be used as your focus. In urban areas, riparian environments could provide the richest history of change in use.
2. Project Wild is an organization that conducts seminars for outdoor and environmental education and distributes lessons and other materials to participants. (See Resources for web site link.)
3. Inventory environmental sites found in your area today. Have the students choose one and gather information on the site. Have them create a guide to the site, being sure to include how the area has changed within historic time.