Topic: ARKANSAS REGIONS AS THEY RELATE TO SLAVE POPULATION

Grade: Fifth (Could be adapted to any grade level.)

Time: One-two class periods

Ark History Frameworks: 1.19, 2.1.4, and 2.1.7 (for grades 7-12)

Objective: The student will be able to identify various regions of early Arkansas as they relate to slave population.

Set: Begin with a review of the six regions of Arkansas and their characteristics. Pose the question--How would these regional characteristics relate to slave population? Brainstorm.

Materials: Arkansas History Text, Historical Atlas of Arkansas (for extensions), Blank Arkansas Outline Map

Key Terms: plateau, ridge, alluvial, highlands, valley, plain, lowlands, delta, flood, cash crop, erosion, plantation, subsistence farming

Key Facts: *Arkansas is nearly evenly divided between highlands and lowlands
*The highlands include the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains
*The lowlands are divided between the Delta and the West Gulf Coastal Plain
*The highland farmers owned only 43% as many acres as farmers in the lowlands and only 30% as many slaves
*The highlands were made mostly of small subsistence farmers
*The lowlands contained nearly all of the larger plantations owned by market-oriented planters; focusing on cotton production in particular

Activities: Students will first review the six regions of Arkansas by using a wall map of Arkansas and their text. Students will then label the regions on an outline map of Arkansas. Define and discuss the key terms and facts and how they relate to the regions. Identify which regions are highlands and which are lowlands. After the map activitiy and disucssion is completed, have students write a paragraph explaining how the characteristics of the highland and lowland regions related to slave distribution in the 1800's. (A rubric can be developed and used to score the paragraph, but should be discussed with the students prior to the assigment being completed.)

By Mike and Debra Polston