The Southwest for Teachers

Place
What should they know?	__ What are the unique human made and natural characteristics of the region? __ What are the advantages or disadvantages for human habitation?
How can I help them to experience this?	What is a rain shadow effect? USA Today has a simple roll-over demo. Look up information on one of the geographical features of the southwest, the Colorado Plateau.
	Brainpop: Desert -The whole southwest isn't a desert, but it is the only regions demonstrating such a biome.
	Find out more about the minerals, fuels, and petrified forest. Make a land use and resource map from the information. Not many of the boom town mines left in AZ, but here are some ghost towns. Make a desert garden of your own. Check out the ideas and resources from the Desert Botanical Garden. Work with your class to make a solar oven or learn more about solar energy.
Location
What should they know?	____ Where is the region?
How can I help them to experience this?	*Blast Off to Earth! A Look at Geography* by Loreen Leedy *I have not read this book, but I did find some geography .
	Interactive Map - Roll your mouse over the map to determine state name and its capital. This map gives you attractions near major cities. What are the different types of land forms? Sure cartoons are nice, but what about real pictures?
	National Atlas - Create your own statistically accurate map about each region or part of the United States What's it like in your backyard? Begin learning about geography by looking out your window. With different regions and land forms, this idea could mold itself into a postcard activity that could be sent to other elementary schools. Having difficulty constructing visual using latitude & longitude? Check out this online example by Mr. Brad Bowerman. Then check out an online quiz. While this is a little advanced, size down the list and make your own geography dictionary with pictures!
Movement
What should they know?	__ What physical movement has helped form this region? __ How has geography affected interaction between this region and other regions?
How can I help them to experience this?	The Trail on Which they Wept by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler -This out of print book is set at a third grade level, but you can find other Trail of Tears books to go with these . Read and react to this poem. The Hispanic culture is an important part of the southwest. Read about historic Santa Fe, NM.
	Brainpop: Thunderstorms & Tornadoes -Watch the movie then try this activity (more complicated then the two liter bottle experiment, but it looks worth it). The intro to the National Geographic: Eye in the Sky (Tornadoes & Flash Floods) piece is worth playing alone. Color with the tornado safety coloring book .
	What causes climate? Find all weather related topics and Read up on Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, the Spanish explorer who left Mexico and searched the southwest for the seven cities of gold from PBS. Here's what Desert USA has to say. Why is it called Six Flags? As you read about the struggles for independence, Texas historically flew six national flags. Outside of the six flags, Texas history of independence also involved the historic fight for the Alamo. View pictures about the Oklahoma Land Rush, and discuss the impact upon the Native Americans who were unjustly moved there.
Human Interaction with Environment
What should they know?	__ How have people past and present interacted with the environment? __ How do people adapt to change and depend on this region?
How can I help them to experience this?	*Alejandro's Gift* by Richard Albert -This book is about a man who plants a garden and discovers many new friends.
	A short clip of Far & Away to recreate what the Oklahoma Land Rush was like. (check for legalities and watch for violence)
	Have a classroom debate whether a dam should be built is it taking water from someone else? There aren't many sites specifically involved with cattle drives, but this is a fourth grade lesson covering mapping of historic cattle drives and railroads. Harcourt Brace has their summary and pictures of a cattle drive here. After the into you could continue with a simulation game. This link is sparse, but it does provide the outline and the title of the book it is from. Learn about the Anasazi and the Hohokam to create a mural. The mural could expand from the native times to missions and settlements, to today. Discuss one of the most controversial and necessary elements of living in the southwest, irrigation. Make models of irrigation from ancient arroyos to the modern day aqueducts. Build an adobe house and compare them to the professional ones built today. Compare the front yard of a middle western home versus a home in Tuscan, AZ. Fold a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper in half and draw the differences on each side.



	*Part of an Independent Learning Project for Cambridge College* A Journey Through the Regions of the United States: Enhancing Learning with Technology (Thesis Available at Cambridge College) An online supplement to the Naperville District 203 fourh grade unit covering States & Regions Okay, but what's the point of this site?
Backgrounds from Absolute Background Textures Archive	Updated: April 22, 2004 --site map--	*All graphics were created by author, unless otherwise noted.