What is a Border?
Intermediate
One class period
Program Segments
1812 The War at Sea (2 ½ minutes)
Spring 1813 The British Invade (7 minutes)
NCSS Themes
III: People, Places, and Environments
V: Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
VI: Power, Authority, and Governance
IX: Global Connections
Canadian (Ontario) Concepts
Interactions and Interdependence
Environment
Power and Governance
Canadian (Ontario) Specific Expectations – Seventh Grade
Describe the major causes and personalities of the War of 1812
Describe the impact of the War of 1812 on the development of Canada
Describe the different groups of people
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- map information about people, places, and environments
- investigate why people and places are located where they are located and what patterns can be perceived in these locations
Focus Questions
1. How are borders determined?
2. When and why do borders change?
Key Concepts
Physical Borders, Political Borders, Expansionism
Instructional Resources:
The War of 1812 DVD
Colored Pencils
Paragraph Rubric
Blank Map (89.9 KB)
handout
Procedures:
1. The teacher will lead a discussion that will clarify and define the difference between “physical” and “political” borders.
A political border is one established by treaty, but does not have any natural separation like a major river, ocean, sea, or mountain range.
A physical border is made up of one or more of the following: A mountain range, ocean, major river or sea. For example, the English Channel is a physical border between the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. The Rhine River is a physical border for Germany separating it from several other European countries.
2. The teacher will show the students what the borders looked like before and after the War of 1812 and explain who controlled what areas.
3. The class will view The War of 1812 paying particular attention to the segment that describes what happened to Native Americans at the end of the war.
4. The teacher will lead a discussion with the students about how the borders of North America would look if the war had ended differently.
5. The students will create an alternative ending for the War of 1812 and create new borders for North America on a blank map. The students must provide a key that shows which nations control which areas. It may be important to advise the students to think carefully about the natural geographic border when they create their new version of the map of North America.
6. The students will write a paragraph to explain their alternative endings to the war.
7. The teacher will use the Paragraph Rubric provided. A teacher-created example would be good to share, along with a paragraph for the students to help clarify the task.
Assessment Tasks
Students will complete a map that depicts an alternative ending to the War of 1812 and a paragraph that explains that ending.
Paragraph Rubric
|
|
Level 5 |
Level 4 |
Level 3 |
Level 2 |
Level 1 |
|
Organization |
Paragraph(s) are very well-organized, with topic sentence, at least three supporting sentences, and insightful conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are well-organized, with topic sentence, at least three supporting sentences, and a conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are adequately organized with topic sentence, at least two supporting sentences, and conclusion |
Paragraph(s) are poorly organized; few detail sentences; no topic sentence or no conclusion |
Organization unclear; no topic sentence; no more than two detail sentences; no conclusion |
|
Content |
Content is well thought out with accurate content information that supports the writers thesis |
Content is accurate and supports the writers thesis |
Content is not well thought out with inaccurate content information that may or may not support the writers thesis |
Content is inaccurate and does not support the writers thesis |
Lack of any content that supports the writers thesis |
|
Word Choice |
Effective and specific verbs and nouns engage the reader; writing flows smoothly |
Specific verbs and nouns are used frequently; writing flows smoothly most of the time |
Specific verbs and nouns are used occasionally; writing flows smoothly at times |
Several overused verbs and nouns; writing does not flow smoothly throughout |
Verbs and nouns are uninteresting; writing does not flow smoothly |
|
Conventions |
Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are correct |
No more than two errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
No more than three errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
No more than five errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
Multiple errors in spelling, capitalization, and/or punctuation |
Related PBS Resources
Road QuestExplore the shape of states across the United States by matching each state's shape with its license plate before time runs out in this online interactive game.pbskids.org/wilsonandditch/plategame/index.html The Demise of the Great American FrontierExamine maps created by Frederick Jackson Turner and census data showing the end of the frontier in the early 19th century. Display visual data by developing a series of shaded maps using census data to show the moving frontier.www.pbs.org/fmc/lessons/lesson1.htm Mapping an EmpireCompare maps of the Roman Empire in 44 BC and 116 AD to investigate the expansion of the Roman Empire during that time period. Draw conclusions about the effectiveness of specific emperors and the pros and cons of expanding the empire so quickly.www.pbs.org/empires/romans/educators/lesson4.htmlDownload
What is a Border? (412.0 KB)
Lesson (PDF)
