Ohio Through Time and Place

A Fourth Grade Exploration

Social Studies Standards ProjectOctober 19, 2006Susanne SmithJennifer Wolfe

Table of Contents History

Activities Websites

People in Societies Activities Websites

Geography Activities Websites

Economics Activities Websites

Government Activities Websites

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities Activities Websites

Social Studies Skills & Methods Activities Websites

History - Activities

• Fishbone Diagram for Cause and Effect: While studying the causes and effects of the frontier wars of the 1790s, students will complete a fishbone diagram. This will help students to identify how conflicts such as the Battle of Fallen Timbers changed the lives and futures of those involved such as the Native Americans.

• Timeline: After reading about how Ohio developed from a territory to a state, students will individually fill in a timeline with significant dates, words, and graphics that depict the period 1750-1875. Timelines will include at least five significant events during this time period and all students must include the following on their timeline: Northwest Ordinance, Ohio Statehood, opening of Ohio and Erie Canals.

• Design a Commemorative Stamp: Once students have completed the timeline activity described above, each student will select one event from the timeline and design a commemorative stamp for that event.

History – Activities cont.

• Invention Improv: Five students will be randomly selected to perform an “invention improv” in front of the class. Each student will be assigned an invention created by one of the following individuals for which they will act out using the invention without explicitly stating what it is: Wright Brothers, Charles Kettering, Garrett Morgan, Granville Woods, and Thomas Edison. The classroom of observers will then try to guess what the invention is that is being utilized.

• Wax Museum: Students will create a “wax museum” of famous Ohio inventors (Wright Brothers, Charles Kettering, Garrett Morgan, Granville Woods, and Thomas Edison). Each student will dress up like the inventor and write a brief description about the inventors life and inventions to accompany the “wax” figure.

History - Websites

• OPLIN Famous Ohioans– http://www.oplin.org/famousohioans/index.html

• OPLIN Evolution of Ohio– http://www.oplin.org/evolution/

• Flights of Inspiration– http://www.fi.edu/flights/

• 50states.com– http://www.50states.com/ohio.htm

• SHG Resources– http://www.shgresources.com/oh/timeline/

People In Societies – Activities• Amish KWL Chart: Students will begin this assignment as a pre-reading

activity. They will fill in the chart based on what they already know about the Amish people and what they would like to learn about them. After reading a brief selection on the Amish, the students will complete the chart by listing what they learned from reading the selection. Further, students could discuss as a class the questions they had that were not answered by the reading or additional questions they thought of as a result of the reading.

• Venn Diagram: Upon learning about the diverse immigrant groups that settled in Ohio during its history, students would complete a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting two distinct groups of Ohio residents. For example, two Native American tribes could be analyzed or one Native American tribe and another group such as African-Americans.

• Gather Oral Ohio History: Students will be given the chance to interview a speaker who moved to Ohio from a foreign country. Having previous exposure for the reasoning behind people’s immigration, the students will be able to ask relevant questions.

People in Societies – Activities cont.

• Immigrant Letter Home: After the students have had the opportunity to listen to the Ohio immigrant speaker and ask clarifying questions, the students will write a letter home (to a foreign country) describing their reasons for immigrating, their experience of moving, and their new life in Ohio.

• Journal Entry: Students will write a journal entry from the perspective of a Native American who has recently been displaced as a result of an influx of European settlers into Ohio.

People In Societies – Websites

• Ohio’s Amish Country

• http://www.gpubs.com/oac/

• Shelby County History

• http://www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/immigration/homepageimmigra.htm

• National Association of Counties

– http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm

• Ohio History Central

– http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/

• Ohio Kids History for Kids

– http://www.ohiokids.org/

Geography - Activities

• Word Sort: Students will be given slips of paper with various geography vocabulary terms written on it. They will sort the words individually in any manner they wish as long as they are able to explain the reasoning behind their sort upon completion of the task. This will serve as an opening activity to an investigation on maps and their uses.

• Map Creation: Using globes and other maps as resources, students will create a map of Ohio that depicts the following: Lake Erie, Ohio River, five landform regions, capital city, and bordering states.

• ABC Geography Game: This simple game begins when the teacher says the letter “A” at which point one or more students will raise their hands to be called on. The student that is called upon must state a geographic location beginning with that letter. Cities, counties, states, countries, continents, etc. are all acceptable.

Geography – Activities cont.

• Look and Draw/Write: Students will be divided up into two groups. One group will look at a picture of an Ohio landscape and write what comes to mind. The other group will read a poem or other piece of prose about Ohio’s landscape and will be responsible for drawing a picture that correlates. When both groups are done, students pair up with someone in the other group and share their work.

• Map Usage: Given a map with a linear scale on it, students will calculate the distances for traveling from their hometown to various other historically significant cities.

• KidsKonnect.com

– http://www.kidskonnect.com/Ohio/OhioHome.html

• Classbrain.com

– http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/

• Enchanted Learning

– http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/ohio/

• WorldAtlas.com

– http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/oh.htm

• Ohio Kids History for Kids

– http://www.ohiokids.org/games/puzzle.shtml

Geography - Websites

Economics - Activities• Classroom Jobs: Students would be assigned classroom jobs such as librarian,

travel agent (takes messages to the office), and recorder (attendance taker). In exchange for taking care of the duties associated with these jobs, the students would be “paid” in a classroom currency that could later be redeemed for an extrinsic reward, homework pass, etc. By holding “jobs” themselves, the students will be experiencing first hand what it is like to obtain and use income.

• Create-A-Product: The class would brainstorm together and ultimately vote to select a product that they will attempt to create, market, sell, and profit from. In conjunction with this activity, students would be able to make connections to economic concepts such as how resources are organized to produce goods and services to their own experience as entrepreneurs.

• Propaganda Project: Students would work in pairs or small groups to design a propaganda project surrounding either a real or fictionalized good or service. The whole class would learn about advertising tactics and methods of persuasion, so that these elements could be incorporated into the projects. Students would create a poster advertisement as well as a brief television commercial urging the buyer to “act now.”

Economics - Activities cont.

• Structured Note Taking: Because economic concepts such as supply and demand are foreign to many students at the is age level, it would be very beneficial to provide the students with partially filled in notes that would allow them to remain attentive during lectures, but at the same time it reduces their anxiety level. An example of these types of handouts would be a supply and demand curve already drawn in, but missing its proper labels and headings.

• Visual Flow of Market Reliance: To illustrate the interdependence of the Ohio, United States, and foreign economies, the students will create a visual representation of the flow of goods, services, and currency. By providing the students with a visual, they will be more able to grasp this seemingly large and abstract concept.

Economics - Websites

• OhioPix– http://www.ohiohistory.org/etcetera/exhibits/ohiopix/

• Ohio Memory An Online Scrapbook of Ohio History– http://www.ohiomemory.org/

• U.S. Census Bureau– http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/

• America’s Story– http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi

• Ohio Historical Society– http://www.ohiohistory.org/

Government - Activities• Branches of Government Circle Flip Book: Students would create a circle

flip book that would illustrate the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) as well as their primary responsibility and who they are headed by. The process of making the books would help to reinforce the material and upon their completion, the students would have a review guide.

• School Constitution: After learning about the significance and purpose of Constitutions of the United States and Ohio, students could work in small groups to write a constitution for the school. Each group could be assigned to write a different part of the constitution which would later be combined as a class for form the finished document.

• Sidewalk Chalk Drawings: Weather permitting, students would work in pairs to illustrate major state and national symbols (flags, seals, etc.) in sidewalk chalk.

Government – Activities cont.• Debate: Present students with an article about a current local or state

government issue. Divide the class up into two sides and have them brainstorm reasons why individuals should or should not support the issue as described by the article’s author. Several students from both sides will get the chance to explain their reasoning and then partake in a mini-debate with an opposing team member.

• Legislation Proposal: In small groups, students will draft legislative changes for the classroom or school. These proposals may be to install a new policy, revise a procedure, or remove a current rule. Students must come up with a rationale that supports their proposal.

Government - Websites

• State of Ohio Website– http://ohio.gov/

• First Gov for Kids– http://www.kids.gov/

• Ben’s Guide to US Government for Kids– http://bensguide.gpo.gov/

• Netstate– http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/oh_symb.htm

• Newseum– http://www.newseum.org/

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities - Activities• Freewrite: While the teacher is informing the incoming class of the school

rules, a comparison could be made to laws that govern citizens. After this brief introduction, students would be asked to freewrite based on the following prompt: Imagine that you went to a school without rules. Describe how the students and teachers would act? Explain what might go on during the day. Would you want to go to this school? Why do you think it is important for students and citizens to follow rules and laws?

• Citizenship Posters: Students will be divided into small groups of approximately four individuals. Each group will be assigned one of the six ways to show good citizenship (respect, fairness, reliability, honesty, wisdom, and courage) and will then create a poster illustrating the characteristic. This poster will define the attribute and give examples of how one would exhibit it. This project may be done at the beginning of the year to help students get to know one another. The groups could present their finished posters to the class and then display them on the walls of the room.

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities – Activities cont.

• Game of 20 Questions: After learning about those listed below who exhibited characteristics of good citizenship, the class could review by playing 20 questions to identify the individuals based on the facts of their lives. (Marie Aull-respect, George Washington-courage, Thomas Worthington-reliability, Abraham Lincoln-honesty, Garrett Morgan-wisdom, Florence Allen-fairness)

• Observation Log: Students keep a log of the examples of good citizenship that they observe at their school and share them weekly with the class.

• Student Council Elections: At the beginning of the school year, student council elections may be held in which student representatives must be chosen from each classroom. Those wishing to be elected would be asked to give a brief speech on why it is important for all students vote and further elect them. The class could be divided into groups and work as speech writing teams for the candidates.

Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities - Websites

• Kids Voting USA– http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/

• Sound Out– http://www.soundout.org/

• White House for Kids– http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/

• What Kids Can Do– http://www.whatkidscando.org/index.asp

• Ease History– http://www.easehistory.org/index2.html

Social Studies Skills – Activities

• Textbook Scavenger Hunt: Students will be given a scavenger hunt list that requires them to locate specific information in their Social Studies textbook by utilizing the glossary and index. The teacher may want to model how to use the various parts of the text before letting the students begin.

• Newspaper Article: Based on the teacher lecture about the scientific theory that glaciers shaped Ohio’s landscape during the last Ice Age, students would be asked to write a newspaper article about the glacial grooves observed at Kelleys Island and whether or not this supports the theory.

• Umbrella Graphic Organizer: After learning about the characteristics that make Ohio part of the Midwest (climate, landforms, and agriculture) students can illustrate their knowledge by completing an umbrella graphic organizer. This tool would allow them to input the main idea being discussed as the top of the umbrella and then list the supporting details as what holds the up.

Social Studies Skills – Activities cont.

• Ohio Landmark Brochure: Students would work in pairs to research an Ohio landmark and create a brochure for it to attract visitors. To complete this task, students would research the landmarks using atlases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspapers, and electronic resources.

• Two Facts and an Opinion Game: This is based on the game “Two Truths and a Lie” in which an individual tells the class two truths about themselves and one lie. It is then up to the class to determine which statement was false. This game could be adapted to help the students recognize the difference between facts and opinions. To begin, the teacher should model how to play the game both as the speaker and as the observer. It might also be a good idea to provide students with facts and opinions to read to the class until they become more familiar with the game and are able to make them up themselves.

Social Studies Skills –Websites

• OPLIN What Tree Is It?– http://www.oplin.org/tree/index.html

• OPLIN What’s That Snake?– http://www.oplin.org/snake/index.html

• OPLIN What’s The Point?– http://www.oplin.org/point/index.html

• Time for Kids– http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/

• CNN Student News– http://www.cnn.com/EDUCATION/

Thank you for reviewing our presentation!

• Board game• Interpret pic and draw pic and compare• Artistic representation• Poem• Word sort• Skit• Play script• Comic strip/cartoon• Song• Write quiz• Take test• Write, produce, film news program• Develop community service project• Read book B Is For Buckeye: An Ohio

Alphabet Edition by Marcia Schonberg

• Multigenre project• SWBTSF summary • Diarama• Shoe box scene