Introduction:HistoricalmapsareanexcellenttoolforteachingabouttheearlyhistoryofTennes-see.Inthislesson,studentswillanalyzeandcomparetwoearlyTennesseemaps.ThelessonisintendedasanintroductiontothestudyofexpansionandstatehoodinTennessee.
GuidingQuestions: Whydopeoplecreatemaps?
Whatkindsofinformationdomapsconvey?
HowdidTennesseechangebetween1795and1818?
LearningObjectives:Inthecourseofthelesson,studentswill Analyzehistoricalmaps
DrawinferencesfromhistoricalmapsaboutearlyTennesseehistory
CurriculumStandards:8.39Identifytheleadersandeventsandanalyzetheimpactofwesternexpansiontothedevel-opmentofTennesseestatehood,including:(G,H,P,TN)
WilliamBlount JohnSevier RockyMount TreatyofHolston CumberlandGap Riversystems NatchezTrace JacksonPurchase
6.8.RH.7Integratevisualinformation(e.g.,incharts,graphs,photographs,videos,ormaps)withotherinformationinprintanddigitaltexts. Page1of4
ChangingTimesandChangingBoundaries:MapsofEarlyTennesseeLessonplansforprimarysourcesattheTennesseeStateLibrary&Archives
Author:RebeccaByrd,NewCenterElementary
GradeLevel:8thgrade
DateCreated:May2015
Visitwww.tn.gov/tsla/educationoutreachforadditionallessonplans.
MaterialsNeeded:1)ClassroomTreasuremap(createdbyteacher)
2)AMapoftheTennesseeGovernment,formerlypartofNorthCarolina3)MapofTennessee,18184)MapofKentuckyandTennessee5)TennesseeCountySelectionMap
Background:“StepstoTennesseeStatehood”“WilliamBlount,RockyMount&theTreatyoftheHolston”“NatchezTrace&theJacksonPurchase”Theseaboveessaysareavailableathttp://www.teachtnhistory.org/index.cfm/m/104/Content_Essays“WilliamBlount”Author:TerryWeeks SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture“NatchezTrace”Author:JohnD.W.Guice SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture“JacksonPurchase”Author:BlytheSemmer SourceLocation:TennesseeEncyclopediaofHistory&Culture
LessonActivities:
LessonActivity1–Introduction
Dividestudentsintogroupsof4or5andgiveeachgroupthetreasuremapcreatedbytheteacher.Somestudentswill igureoutthemeaningofthemapquickly,othergroupsmayneedsomeminimalinstruc-tions.Allowstudentstosearchuntilsomeonelocatesthe“treasure.”
Debrief:1) Askthestudentshowtheywereabletodeterminethepurposeofthemapandmeaningofthesym-
bols2) Askthestudentsaboutthe“treasure”object.Isitsomethingthattheyconsidera“treasure”?Whyor
whynot?3) Explaintostudentsthatbynotingwhatisincluded,emphasizedorexcludedonamaptheycandraw
inferencesaboutwhatisimportanttothemapmaker.
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LessonActivitiesContinued:
LessonActivity2:AMapoftheTennesseeGovernment,formerlypartofNorthCarolina
Giveeachstudentacopyof“AMapoftheTennesseeGovernment,formerlypartofNorthCarolina.”Tellthestudentstospend5minutessilentlystudyingthemapandtakingnoteofthedetails.Resisttheurgetoletstudentscommentoraskquestionsbeforethetimeisup.Ifpossible,projectthemapontoawhiteboardforreferenceduringdiscussion.Oncetheviewingtimeisover,askstudentstosharetheirobservations.Discusstheirobservationsandaskfollow-upquestionsasnecessarytobringoutthefollowingpointsfromthemap:
Riverswereemphasizedbecausetheywereusedfortransportation Geographicfeaturesthatwouldimpedetravelsuchasmountainsareprominentfeatures Roadswerenotimportantbasedontheirabsencefromthemap LargepartsofthestatewerestilloccupiedbyNativeAmericans Fewsettlementsexisted
Havethestudentssummarizetheirdiscussionbycompletingthefollowingsentencestem: In1795,Tennesseewas____________,_______________,and__________________.LessonActivity3:MapofTennessee,1818PassouttheMapofTennessee,1818.Askstudentstocarefullyobservethismapfor5minutesandmakenoteofsimilaritiesanddifferencestothepreviousmap.Askstudentstosharetheirobservations.Discusstheirobservationsandaskfollow-upquestionsasnecessarytobringoutthefollowingpointsfromthemap: Similarities: -AreasoflandstillbelongtoNativeAmericans Differences: -Manymoretownsareshownonthemapimplyingpopulationgrowth -Riversandothergeographicfeaturesarelessemphasizedimplyingthemapisprobablynot intendedforusebytravelers -Manycountiesexistandtheirboundariesareemphasizedonthemapimplyingthe existenceofastronggovernmentandtheimportanceoflegallyrecognizedland claims.Havethestudentssummarizetheirdiscussionbycompletingthefollowingsentencestem: TheMapofTennessee1818showsthat___________,______________,and________________.
Thismapalsofeaturesafewerrors,including1)ReelfootLakeislocatedoutsidethestate,2)Severalcoun-tynamesaremisspelled,3)MiddleTennesseeseemstobeshiftedalittlefurtherwestthanitshouldbe.
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LessonActivitiesContinued:
Assessment:ExitCardAskstudentstopredictwhatamapofTennesseein1840mightlooklikebasedonthetrendsidenti iedinthepreviousmaps.Studentdescriptionsshouldcontainatleastthreespeci icexamplesofwhatwouldorwouldnotbeonthemap.Note:AsyouteachadditionallessonsonTennessee’sexpansion,havestudentsreferbacktoanddiscusstheirpredictions.ExtendingtheLesson:1)Havestudentsdrawtheirpredicted1840MapofTennesseeandcompareittotheMapofTennesseeandKentucky.
2)HavestudentscomparetheMapofTennessee1818withamapofmoderncountiessuchastheonefoundathttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/tennessee_map.htmlandnotethechanges.
3)Havestudents indthemistakesintheMapofTennessee1818.(Mistakeslistedearlierinthelesson.)
3)Havestudentsresearchthehistoryoftheirhomecountytodeterminewhenandwhyitwasformedandwhatgrouporentitypreviouslyclaimedthelandfromwhichitwasformed.
1796MapofTennessee,TSLAMapCollection.
AllmapsfeaturedinlessonplanareinthecollectionsoftheTennesseeStateLibraryandArchives.Page4of4