Sessions

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Session 1: Where is the United States?

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

hemisphere, equator, prime meridian, continent, relative location, border and gulf 

Students will identify their global address 

Students will describe their community's location using latitude and longitude 

Students will identify the five major lines of latitude, prime meridian and international dateline on a map 

HOMEWORK:

Write a letter that you might send to a student in another country. In your letter, describe where you live. 

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Session 2: The American Landscape

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: landform, sea level, plateau, source, tributary, mouth, basin and canyon.

Students will learn how to use an elevation map

Students will summarize what a river system is

Students will identify major American landforms and be able to tell why each are important to the United States.

HOMEWORK:

On an index card, make a postcard that shows a landscape found in the United States. On the back of the card, describe what the picture shows.

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Session 3: Climate in the United States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: temperature, precipitation, climate and humidity

Students will understand how American landforms influences regional climate

Students will understand how humidity and precipitation are related

Students will distinguish the difference between weather and climate 

Students will evaluate a climate map in order to answer questions about a specific region

Students will explain what a meteorologist does 

HOMEWORK: 

Write a paragraph about the best weather day you experience during the week. Be ready to share it with the class. 

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Session 4: Natural Resources

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

natural resources, renewable, groundwater, industry, mineral, nonrenewable, environment, conservation

Students will learn who John Muir was and why it is important to America's natural resources.

Students will identify major sources of fresh water in the United States.

Students will identify how Americans use fuel. 

Students will explain why conservation is important.  

HOMEWORK: 

Make a list of three activities you do during the week and what natural resources you used in each activity.

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Session 5: The American People

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: culture, patriotism, immigrate, population, rural, urban and suburb

Students will discover the importance of national monuments, especially Mount Rushmore National Monument. 

Students will describe the relationship between culture and patriotism

Students will understand the importance of immigrants in the United States

Students will describe the relationship between rural, urban and suburbs

HOMEWORK: 

What changes have taken place in your neighborhood?

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Session 6: United States Government and Symbols

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

government, constitution, democracy, republic, legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch, checks and balances, majority rule. 

Students will identify the roles and responsibilities of the three branches in the United States government. 

Students will examine the Presidential Seal and other symbols of the United States.

Students will summarize the importance of majority rule in our government. 

Students will recognize the duties American citizens have. 

HOMEWORK: 

Think of a law that you think should be changed or a new law that should be passed. Make a petition for your class and family to sign. Be sure to explain to the class why the law should be changed or passed. 

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Session 7: United States Economy

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

economy, free market, factors of production, profit, supply, demand, manufacturing and service industry

Students will identify who makes most of the decisions about a business in a free market economy

Students will describe the relationship between profit, demand and supply in most businesses

Students will give examples of different types of jobs in the manufacturing and service industries

Students will summarize how the American economy has changed over time

HOMEWORK: 

Citizenship Skills: Make an Economic Choice activities

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Session 8: Understanding Regions

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

region, interdependence, natural vegetation, ethnic group, modify, technology and communication

Students will understand what a region is and how regions depend upon each other. 

Students will compare and contrast different types of regions (political, physical, economical and cultural)

Students will explain how a part of the United States can be in more than one region. 

Students will describe how transportation and technology connect regions.

Students will learn how to read a Land Use and Resource map.

HOMEWORK: 

Draw a map of your house. Divide the house into different regions based on what is done in each area. Then explain why you divide your house the way you did. 

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Session 9: United States Regions

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: county, county seat, municipal and treaty

Students will discover the five regions of the United States: 

The West, The Midwest, The Northeast, The Southeast and The Southwest

Students will understand the relationship between cities, counties, states and federal government services

Students will understand the importance of special districts including voting, school and police districts within the city or county level 

Students will identify why Benjamin Banneker is so important to the planning of Washington, DC.   

HOMEWORK: 

What is your state capital and county seat? 

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Session 10: Neighboring Countries

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: province, territory, commonwealth, tropics, rain forest and tundra

Students will survey Canada, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico and Greenland

Students will explain what a territory is and how it becomes a state.

Students will identify different US territories on a map.  

HOMEWORK: 

Choose one of the neighboring countries we covered in class. Create a poster about that country to present in next week's class. 

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Session 11: Geography of the Northeast

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: harbor, glacier, blizzard and quarry

Students will discover how glaciers formed the Great Lakes and many of the other lakes in the Northeast 

Students will understand how blizzards effects the area they occur in 

Students will analyze the climate found in the Northeast United States

Students will understand how people in the Northeast use trees, farming and mining stone to make a living 

HOMEWORK: 

Why is farming a larger industry in the southern parts of the Northeast than in the northern parts of the region?

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Session 12: New England States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: specialize, candidate, campaign, ballot, volunteer

Students will explain how New England has affected artists

Students will explain why some factories have left New England

Students will describe how English settlers have effected the United States

HOMEWORK: 

Research volunteer options in your community. Write a paragraph describing a volunteer job you would like to have. Be sure to describe how that job would help your community. 

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Session 13: Mid Atlantic States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: skyscraper, commute, urban sprawl and pollution

Students will understand why New York City is a global city

Students will examine the elements the make up a modern city

Students will describe the many problems overcrowded cities have

Students will explore Upstate New York, the Jersey Shore and Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Students will learn how to read a Population Map

HOMEWORK: 

Design your own city that solves many problems that current overcrowded cities have. 

 

Session 14: Geography of the Southeast

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: peninsula, wetland, piedmont, fall line, growing season, hurricane, fertilizer

Students will compare how are all wetlands in the Southeast are alike

Students will explain what causes waterfalls to form on many rivers in the Southeast

Students will contrast the climate in the Southeast from north to south

Students will discover why the Southeast is a good region for farming

HOMEWORK: 

Choose a state located in the Southeast. Research and complete a state report about the location you chose.

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Session 15: Ports of the Southeast

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: raw material, international trade, import and export

Students will compare and contrast old ports and new ports

Students will examine the elements that make up a modern port

Students will contrast imports and exports

Students will explain how container shipping has changed the shipping industry

HOMEWORK: 

Write a short story that takes place on a ship. Describe your story's setting, characters and main events.

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Session 16: Atlantic Coast States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: state legislature, governor, food processing, pulp and high-tech

Students will discover the importance of lighthouses

Students will understand how cities are the economic centers in the Atlantic Coast states

Students will compare how state governments are like the federal government

Students will examine the old and new industries found in Atlantic Coast states

HOMEWORK:

Why do you think many high-tech companies are in cities that have colleges and universities?

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Session 17: Gulf Coast States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

Sun Belt, tourism, resort, barrier island, mainland, wildlife refuge, coral and reef

Students will discover the importance of the Sun Belt

Students will identify some tourist attractions in the Gulf Coast states

Students will understand the why people int he Gulf Coast states have fish farms

Students will compare and contrast the barrier islands and the Florida Keys

HOMEWORK:

Plan a one week trip through the Gulf Coast states. In your plan, list each day and each stop. 

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Session 18: Inland South States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: tradition, reclaim, habitat, endangered and extinct

Students will understand the importance traditions and tourism in the highlands

Students will contrast how shaft mines and strip mines are different

Students will understand the evolution of mining techniques in the Appalachian Mountains

Students will discover what all national parks in the Appalachian Mountains have in common

Students will explain the difference between endangered and extinct animals

Students will describe how Bill Monroe became the Father of Bluegrass

HOMEWORK:

Choose a national park from the Appalachian Mountains region and create a travel brochure about the park.  

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Session 19: Geography of the Midwest

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: prairie, tornado, drought and ore

Students will summarize the geographical features in the Midwest

Students will understand how the Great Lakes affect the Midwest landscape

Students will summarize the different types of worst weather phenomenon that occurs in the Midwest

Students will describe what natural resources use the land in the Midwest

Students will learn how to read a historical map

HOMEWORK:

Choose a national park from the Appalachian Mountains region and create a travel brochure about the park.  

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Session 20: Transportation in the Midwest

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

flatboat, migration, steamboat, entrepreneur, stockyard, assembly line, mass production and industrial economy

Students will discover how steamboats changed river travel

Students will summarize how railroads changed the Midwest

Students will define mass production

Students will understand how mass production changed the economy of the Midwest

Students will learn how Samuel Clemens played an important literary role

HOMEWORK:

Imagine that you are reporter in 1913. Write a newspaper story about Henry Ford's new assembly line. Research what an early automobile looked like and include a drawing of one. 

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Session 21: Great Lake States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: architecture, hub, barge and freight

Students will discover why and how the Great Lakes culture is so diverse

Students will identify some of the service industries in the Great Lake states today

Students will define mass production

Students will analyze why the Midwest rivers and lakes are so important

Students will practice using the five step method of solving a problem

HOMEWORK:

Make a brochure to advertise one of the cities, events or attractions from the Midwest.  

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Session 22: Plains States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: urbanization and meatpacking

Students will identify how the Plains states have inspired artists

Students will discover how farming has changed in the Plains states

Students will summarize how city industries depend on farms and ranches

Students will explain how the Plains influenced Laura Ingalls Wilder

HOMEWORK:

Why are most farms in the Plains region larger today than they were in the past.   

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Session 23: Geography of the Southwest

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words:

mesa, butte, rain shadow, cloudburst, arroyo, aquifer, reservoir, aqueduct and irrigation

Students will identify the plains and deserts in the Southwest

Students will learn how the climate varies in the Southwest

Students will explain how humans overcome the challenge of finding and using water in the desert

Students will analyze the many types of land resources in the Southwest

Students will learn how to tell fact from fiction in historical records

Students will identify multiple causes and effects

HOMEWORK:

How do elevations in the Southwest change as you move from east to west?   

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Session 24: Resources in the Southwest

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: arid, migrant worker, commercial, conflict, compromise and cooperate

Students will explain why some farm work in the Southwest is temporary

Students will explore the role of the Southwest in the American oil industry

Students will justify why it is important to protect the Rio Grande

Students will understand how to resolve conflicts using the four step process

HOMEWORK:

Why do farmers in the Southwest depend on rivers more than farmers do in some other parts of the country?  

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Session 25: Texas and Oklahoma

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: aerospace, reservation, crude oil, refinery and dredge

Students will categorize old and new industries in Texas and Oklahoma

Students will explore the many diverse cultures in Texas and Oklahoma

Students will understand how an oil rig operates

Students will explain why Wilma Mankiller is important to the Cherokee nation

HOMEWORK:

Research Mae C. Jemison and write a one page biography about her career. 

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Session 26: New Mexico and Arizona

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: observatory, xeriscape and evaporation 

Students will explain how early paintings and photographs have led to the population growth in Arizona and New Mexico

Students will discover how tourism, manufacturing and technology have changed economies in Arizona and New Mexico

Students will explain how humans overcome the challenge of finding and using water in the desert

Students will discover how John Wesley Powell explored and preserved natural resources in Arizona and New Mexico

Students will learn how to read a road map

HOMEWORK:

How do you think the invention of air-conditioning affected population growth in the desert? Explain your answer. 

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Session 27: Geography of the West

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: Continental Divide, volcano, lava, crater, earthquake, fault and timberline

Students will draw generalizations about volcanoes and earthquakes

Students will explain how geography affects the West's climate changes

Students will identify the variety of natural resources in the West

Students will learn how to read a Time Zone Map

HOMEWORK:

What part of the West would be the perfect place to live? Explain your answer. 

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Session 28: Environment of the West

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: public land, hydroelectricity and ecosystem

Students will discover how natural resources are manage through the United States government

Students will understand how a hydroelectric dam operates

Students will explore how people protect the environment in the West

Students will discover how Margaret Murie helped to protect the wilderness in the West

HOMEWORK:

Why is it important for people to protect the environment? Explain your answer. 

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Session 29: Mountain States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: satellite, Global Positioning System and consumer

Students will explain how technology helps people live in the mountains

Students will explore cities and industries in the Mountain states

Students will discover how Eppie Archuleta created a new art form

Students will learn how to distinguish fact from opinion

HOMEWORK:

Write a paragraph to describe life in the Mountain states today.

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Session 30: Pacific States

LESSON OBJECTIVES: 

Students will define the following vocabulary words: microchip, archipelago, crossroads and heritage

Students will discover why California's economy is diverse

Students will compare and contrast the economies in Oregon and Washington

Students will understand how Alaska and Hawaii's separation from the lower 48 states creates a completely unique culture. 

Students will evaluate how people live in rain forests

Students will learn how to make a thoughtful decision