 Adirondack
Curriculum
Project - www.adkcurriculum.org
NYS Content Area Standard
MST
Social Studies
Geography
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Title: POPULATIONS
- Pointing Out Population Undercurrents
- Locating Adirondack
Trends Involving Our Natural Surroundings
Grade Level: Social Studies & Science
Authors: Chris & Sarah Fink
Minerva Central School
Email: finkc@minervasd.org
finks@minervasd.org
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Adirondack Curriculum Content Area
_X_ Natural History
_X_ Human History
___ Culture & the Arts
___ Government & Civics
___ Economy
___ Health, Recreation &
Life Skills |
Investigative Question or Issue: What role has water played
in shaping populations in the Adirondacks?
Challenge:
In
this challenge students will be investigating the link between
populations and the waterways that they live near/in. Students will use
GIS to create an interactive map of selected locations in the
Adirondacks that they have visited and/or researched. These locations
could include:
a) Lake George at
Bolton Landing (Darrin Freshwater Institute)
b) Pond at Up Yonda Farm in Bolton Landing
c) Hudson River at North Creek
d) Minerva Lake
e) Hudson River at Tahawus
f) Arbutus Lake at the Huntington Wildlife Forest in
Newcomb
Prior to visiting each location, students will have
researched the human settlement near these
locations, all of which originally developed because their proximity to
water. Students will collect
data from primary sources, such as date of settlement and population of
settlements in various years. Transportation and economic issues
related to each location will also be incorporated into this research.
Students will then incorporate this human data into layers of the
interactive map. Students will also look at the plant and animal
"history" at each location, and incorporate this into a map layer.
While visiting each location, students will conduct hands-on scientific
research, including water
quality testing, macroinvertebrate sampling, and collecting sediment
cores. This data will be
used to assess the overall health of the ecosystem and as a comparison
to other locations.
Each student will be assigned to a specific role (such as recorder,
collector, equipment handler,
photographer, etc.), which will rotate for the different
locations.
After all of the historical and scientific data collection is complete,
the class will begin working with GIS software (ArcView 3.x) to
collaboratively create an interactive map. Each student will be
responsible for mapping one location, and will then combine data to
make one complete class map.
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Quality Standards:
1)
Each location on the map is interactive and includes appropriately
linked historical data, scientific data, and photographs.
2) Each location is easily identifiable by distinct map properties such
as color and symbol.
3) The map reveals connections between the historical spread of the
human population and the locations of major waterways.
4) The map shows the historical, present, and/or future biodiversity at
each location.
5) Map properties are consistent with accepted qualities of
"professional" digital maps (legible, well-organized, attractive
layout, includes scale, compass, and legend, effectively uses color,
etc.).
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Adapted for the Adirondack
Curriculum Project from
the work of Education By Design TM and Leading EDGE, LLC
©ACP 2002
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Project
supported in part by the New York State Museum Biodiversity Research
Institute