Name: Caple, Bonnie
E-mail: bonniecaple@yahoo.com
Topic: Early Arkansas Geography
Grade: 7th grade
Time: 2class periods
Ark. Hist. Framework: 1.19, 1.1.15, 6.1.15
Objective: The student will locate and describe historical Arkansas while
using a historical map.
Set: Discuss how Arkansas looks to us today.
Ask these
questions
Where
was Arkansas back during the Paleo-Indian years?
How
did Arkansas look back in 10000BC?
Has
geography of Arkansas changed a lot over the years?
Why
or why not
Materials: Arkansas History text book, Historical Atlas, Overhead projector and
transparencies and construction paper.
Key Terms: Upland, Ozarks, Plateau, Coastal Plain, Ouachita, Quarry, Mississippi
Alluvial Plain, Climate, Delta, Barite, Antimony, Mercury, Alluvial, Loess, Crowley's
Ridge, Grand Prairie
Key Facts:
1. Once we were covered with water which
slowly receded leaving behind mountains, valleys and prairies.
2. The land then became drier.
3. The land was divided into three regions
a) Uplands (consisting of the Ozarks, Ouachita, and the Arkansas River Valley.
Most of North West Arkansas
occupies the southern portion of the Ozark Plateau. The oldest mountains
eroded into this plateau are the Boston Mountains.
The Buffalo, King and White rivers go through
here leaving fertile valleys. Trees are Oak, Hickory, Walnut
and Maple.
The Ouachitas are Southern Arkansas
River Valley are at the western most reach of the Appalachian Mountain range.
They are the oldest North American Mountain range and are covered with
Pine, Tupelo, Oak, Hickory, Cottonwood, and Gum trees. The rivers
are Maumelle, Fourche Lafave, and the Ouachita. Some of the many minerals
are Chert, Novaculite, Barite, Antimory, and Mercury.
b) Coastal plain is the southern part of the state with many rivers.
The Ouachita, Saline, and Red rivers leave a fertile narrow strip of land good
for farming and the rest of the soil is bad. Timber, such as pine trees,
will grow. The Arkansas River travels NW to SE to the Mississippi River.
It is beautiful but floods often leaving good farm lands and is used as
transportation route.
c) Mississippi Alluvial Plain (eastern Arkansas) is a broad, flat Area of
rich soil forming what we call the Delta farmlands.
The Grand Prairie is between the White and the St. Francis Rivers. Crowley’s
Ridge is some high ground formed a long
Time ago, this ridge is cover by Loess.
Activities: Students will first define key terms.
Students
will read pages from text.
Class
will look at an unmarked map of the United States and locate Arkansas.
On
a large Arkansas physical map use markers to locate, color, and label in
the three regions.
Make
cut out resources from construction paper and place them on the
proper regions.
Closure: Students will first define key terms.
Students
will read pages from text.
Class
will look at an unmarked map of the United States and locate Arkansas.
On
a large Arkansas physical map use markers to locate, color, and label in the
three regions.
Make
cut out resources from construction paper and place them on the proper regions.
Assessment: Students will first define key terms.
Students
will read pages from text.
Class
will look at an unmarked map of the United States and locate Arkansas.
On
a large Arkansas physical map use markers to locate, color, and label in the
three regions.
Make
cut out resources from construction paper and place them on the proper regions.
Resources: An Arkansas History for Young People by T. Harri Baker and Jane
Browning
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