Paddle-to-the-Sea+Reinforcing+Activity


 * // Paddle-to-the-Sea //**

Reinforcing Activity

Strand: Geography Topic: Places and Regions Content Statement: 6. Regions can be determined using various criteria (e.g., landform, climate, population, cultural or economic).

Benchmark Grades: 3-5  Benchmark A: Use map elements or coordinates to locate physical and human characteristics of North America. Benchmark B: Identify the physical and human characteristics of places and regions in North America. Benchmark C: Identify and explain ways people have affected the physical environment of North America and analyze the positive and negative consequences. Benchmark D: Analyze ways that transportation and communication relate to patterns of settlement and economic activity.

The first step part of the activity will be to read //Paddle-to-the-Sea// aloud to the class, showing them the pictures and extra facts that it includes.

I will pass out a graphic organizer post-reading and students will get into groups of roughly three or four and will work together to complete the graphic organizer. Students will fill in the graphic organizer based on the many different places that Paddle encounters and compare and contrast all of the different aspects of each place. Including culture, economics, physical features, and environment. Once the graphic organizer is complete we will reconvene as a whole class for teacher led discussion. That is when we’ll analyze the influence of communication and transportation in the development of the locations mentioned in this story referencing the arrows connecting each location. For example, they would look at how Paddle’s journey from Canada to America and back would differ from how students today might travel and communicate which helps students make connections.