Object Box: Mississippi River
Box 1 (of 5): Settlements and Cities
NCSS Strand: People, Places, and Environments
IL Social Science Standard: Goal 16.Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.
16.E.1 (US) Describe how the local environment has changed over time.
16.E.1 (US) Describe how the local environment has changed over time.
Activity: Students will be provided a blank map that shows the outlines of the states that border the Mississippi River. Students will begin by labeling each state. Next students will locate, plot and label a number of settlements or cities (at least 8 ) that lay along the River. Have students rank the settlements/ cities from 1 to 8 via different criteria: date founded (e.g. earliest to latest); population (e.g. smallest to largest); directionality of settlement (e.g. Northernmost to Southernmost), etc. Finally ask students to note any patterns among the different rankings: e.g. “Do the larger cities begin in the North and move South?”. Were the bigger cities established earlier than the smaller cities?”.
Resources: (1) Bowden, R. (2005). Settlements on the mississippi river. Mankato:
Heinemann-Raintree.
(2) http://www.mississippirivermuseum.com/
Resources: (1) Bowden, R. (2005). Settlements on the mississippi river. Mankato:
Heinemann-Raintree.
(2) http://www.mississippirivermuseum.com/
NCSS Strand: Production, Distribution, and Consumption
IL Social Science Standard: Goal 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.
16.E.2c (US) Describe environmental factors that influenced the development of transportation and trade in Illinois.
Activity: First students will find the distance along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans and back. Given the average speed of a steamer or barge, students will calculate the average time it would take to travel downstream going with the current and upstream against the current. Next students will find the distance from the same two cities via horse and cart. Given the average speed of wagon travel, students will calculate the average time it would take to make the trip South and back North. Have students compare the two times. Ask them to imagine how different travel and trade might have been if people didn’t have the River to use.
16.E.2c (US) Describe environmental factors that influenced the development of transportation and trade in Illinois.
Activity: First students will find the distance along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans and back. Given the average speed of a steamer or barge, students will calculate the average time it would take to travel downstream going with the current and upstream against the current. Next students will find the distance from the same two cities via horse and cart. Given the average speed of wagon travel, students will calculate the average time it would take to make the trip South and back North. Have students compare the two times. Ask them to imagine how different travel and trade might have been if people didn’t have the River to use.
Resources: (1) Raban, J. (1998). Old Glory : A Voyage Down the Mississippi. Boston: Vintage.
(2) http://www.steamboats.org/
(3) Bushey, J. (1984). The barge book. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
(2) http://www.steamboats.org/
(3) Bushey, J. (1984). The barge book. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books.
Box 3 (of 5): Flooding
NCSS Strand: People, Places, and Environments
IL Social Science Standard: Goal 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.
17.C.3a Explain how human activity is affected by geographic factors.
Activity: Students will be given an outline of the River and the states it borders from North to South. Students will trace to average width of the River in blue. Next using the flood timeline, students will trace the width of the river. For example, students may trace the River’s width during the flood of 1927 in red. Next they might trace the Rivers flood width in 1993 in green. After students have traced a number of flood widths (5 or 6), have the compile a table that shows: land area covered, the number of homes destroyed, lives lost, and damage estimates each flood caused. Ask students to note any patterns in the data, e.g. “Were earlier flood more devastating?”. Finally ask students to speculate on how building materials may have changed over time. Have these new materials helped lessen flood damage?
Resources: (1) Lauber, P. (1996). Flood: Wrestling with the mississippi. National Geographic
Children's Books.
(2) http://www.mississippi-river.net/mississippi-river-history.htm
17.C.3a Explain how human activity is affected by geographic factors.
Activity: Students will be given an outline of the River and the states it borders from North to South. Students will trace to average width of the River in blue. Next using the flood timeline, students will trace the width of the river. For example, students may trace the River’s width during the flood of 1927 in red. Next they might trace the Rivers flood width in 1993 in green. After students have traced a number of flood widths (5 or 6), have the compile a table that shows: land area covered, the number of homes destroyed, lives lost, and damage estimates each flood caused. Ask students to note any patterns in the data, e.g. “Were earlier flood more devastating?”. Finally ask students to speculate on how building materials may have changed over time. Have these new materials helped lessen flood damage?
Resources: (1) Lauber, P. (1996). Flood: Wrestling with the mississippi. National Geographic
Children's Books.
(2) http://www.mississippi-river.net/mississippi-river-history.htm
Box 4 (of 5): Habitat and Ecology
NCSS Strand: Time, Continuity, and Change
IL Social Science Standard: Goal 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States.
17.B.3b Explain how changes in components of an ecosystem affect the system overall.
17.B.3b Explain how changes in components of an ecosystem affect the system overall.
Activity: Students will be given an blank outline of the River and its surrounding regions. First have students draw and label the different ecological regions (e.g. flood plains, prairies, forests) as existed around the time of the first European settlers. Ask students to shade each of these regions with a light colored diagonal slash. For example, prairies might be shaded as /////// and forests labeled as ///////. Next have students draw and label these regions as they exist today. Have them to shade these regions with a dark colored diagonal slash facing the opposite direction. For example, prairie regions of today might be shaded as \\\\\\\. Ask students what they notice about the size of the regions over time. What factors might have contributed to this phenomenon?
Box 5 (of 5): Mark Twain
NCSS Strand: Individual Development and Identity
IL Social Science Standard: Goal 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.
18.A.3. Explain how language, literature, the arts, architecture, and traditions contribute to the development and transmission of culture.
Activity: Students will read passages from Twains’ book Life on the Mississippi. (Chapters 5, 10, 19, and 20). These passages recount his experiences with wanting to be a steamboat pilot from his early boyhood dreams through his apprenticeship to his anecdotes he later used in his compositions. Students will draw three large circles to represent these three times in Twain’s life. Next they will use the information in the above passages to record impressions, attitudes, and feelings about his desire to be a steamboat pilot from each of the above eras. For example, in the first circle students may record how Twain felt about the River when he was very young; students might use the middle circle to recount how Twain felt about working on the River as a young man, etc. Once all circles have been filled in, ask students to note if and/ or how Twain’s attitudes and descriptions about life on the River changed/ didn’t change as he grew older.
Resources: (1) Twain, M. (1883). Life on the Mississippi. USA: Oxford University Press.
18.A.3. Explain how language, literature, the arts, architecture, and traditions contribute to the development and transmission of culture.
Activity: Students will read passages from Twains’ book Life on the Mississippi. (Chapters 5, 10, 19, and 20). These passages recount his experiences with wanting to be a steamboat pilot from his early boyhood dreams through his apprenticeship to his anecdotes he later used in his compositions. Students will draw three large circles to represent these three times in Twain’s life. Next they will use the information in the above passages to record impressions, attitudes, and feelings about his desire to be a steamboat pilot from each of the above eras. For example, in the first circle students may record how Twain felt about the River when he was very young; students might use the middle circle to recount how Twain felt about working on the River as a young man, etc. Once all circles have been filled in, ask students to note if and/ or how Twain’s attitudes and descriptions about life on the River changed/ didn’t change as he grew older.
Resources: (1) Twain, M. (1883). Life on the Mississippi. USA: Oxford University Press.
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