Our group decided to plan our unit on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for two reasons. First, the Upper Peninsula is a region that is overflowing with great natural beauty, technical engineering and small town charm. We wanted to capture and teach our fourth graders about this wonderful area in Michigan. Secondly, the Upper Peninsula is commonly overlooked, or passed over quickly when units are taught on the state of Michigan. We believe that this is a serious oversight and we wanted to help teachers and students acknowledge the magnificence of the Upper Peninsula.

Skills:

We assume the fourth graders know that Michigan has an Upper Peninsula. Skills we assume the students have are:

• Language arts background

• Math skills

• Fine Motor Skills
• Ability to work individually
• Ability to create a map (including a key)

• Knowledge of how to access Internet and search engines
• How to listen, and follow directions
• What an acrostic poem is
• How to work collaboratively as part of a team
• Terms for the unit (see page 12 and 13 for list of terms)
• Exactly what Michigan’s Upper Peninsula consists of

• Students will use the Internet and access search engines to discover items that they want and need.
• Students will also use a word processor to complete their written activities.
• The overhead projector will also be used.

Strands:

We have included the Michigan Framework for Social Studies Education Content Standards as the rationale for the lesson plans in this unit.
 
 
 
 

Disciplines:

The disciplines we integrated into our unit plan are as follows:

• Social Studies

• Math
• Science
• Technology
• Language Arts
• Art

Core Democratic Value:

This controversy includes two values: promotes the general public as well as the general good. The locks would be positive for both values. The locks are now helping people transport goods everyday.
 
 

The people involved in the incident includes the 29 crewmembers of the Edmund Fitzgerald along with the captain of the "Fitz", Captain Eric McSorley. Also included in the list of players are the crew of the Arthur M. Anderson, and her captain, Captain Bernie Cooper. The Arthur M. Anderson was the vessel that trailed eight to ten miles behind the Edmund Fitzgerald and aided in the "Fitz’s" navigation when her radar failed. She was the last to communicate with Captain McSorley. Fifteen minutes later, the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared from the Anderson’s scopes.

Also included in the bulletin board will be the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Ironically, the electricity at the lighthouse had gone out briefly during the evening of November 10, 1975, so it was unable to provide helpful navigation for the Edmund Fitzgerald.
 
 

Sight:

Read-aloud books (Days 6, 9, 12)

• Students will look at pictures found in the books.

• Students will be able to look at information and pictures on springs.

• Students will use the Michigan Waterways and Tributaries Map.

• Students will read various pamphlets about the Upper Peninsula to create a postcard.

• Students will look at various cities in the Upper Peninsula on a map.

• Students will be able to look at the displays of many historical artifacts inside the museum.

Mining For Chocolate (Day 1)

• Students will be able to smell the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

Mining For Chocolate (Day 1)

• Students will be able to eat the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

• Students will be able to eat a hotdog from the hotdog stand.

Shipwrecks (Day 4)

• Students will take turns putting their hands inside a container filled with water touching several items similar to those of a shipwreck.

• Students will be able to make a circuit board and use it by touching the correct answers to create a complete circuit.

• Students will use the computer keyboard to search the Internet for information about springs.

• Students will be able to touch their chocolate chip cookies.

• Students will be able to touch the wood and cardboard to build their projects.

Read-aloud books (Day 6, 9,12)

• Students listen as the books are read aloud.

• Students will listen as the sheet is read.

• Students will hear facts about the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.

• Students will listen to their classmates read their acrostic poems and/or letter about their voyage on the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.

1. Hard chocolate chip cookies, toothpicks, paper towels
2. Computers, Internet, pictures of Kitch-iti-kipi
3. Michigan waterways and tributes map (available from the Department of Natural Resources), writing materials
4. Big plastic containers, water, paper towels, a watch, a boot, a shoe, a wheel, men’s jewelry, hats for each of the containers
5. Fact sheet about the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, writing materials, lined paper
6. The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (book), white drawig paper, writing utensils, markers, crayons, rulers, glitter
7. Mackinac Bridge summary sheet, 6 volt battery, light bulb, aluminum foil, manila envelopes, wire, writing material
8. Handout on Earnings From Copper Mines in 1924
9. Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp (book), writing utensils, crayons

9. Pamphlets from the Upper Peninsula, postcards, writing utensils
10. Puzzle activities on logging
11. 2-24" long cardboard pieces, 6-1" by 1" boards, 2-12" long cardboard pieces, 1 toy boat, string, hole punch, wood glue
12. Geography map information, plain sheets of white paper, crayons, markers, an example map done with a key
13. Time line facts, writing utensils, lined paper
14. Writing materials, lined paper, plain sheets of white paper, crayons, markers, brochures of the Upper Peninsula
15. Map of Upper Peninsula, writing utensils, atlas, access to Internet

Strand 1:

- Sequence chronologically the following eras of American History and key events…

- Understand narratives about major eras of American and world history
 
 

Strand 2:

- Describe, compare, and explain the locations and characteristics of places, cultures, and

settlements.

- Describe, compare, and explain the locations and characteristics of ecosystems,

resources, human adaptation, environmental impact, …

- Describe compare, and explain the locations and characteristics of economic activities,

trade, political activities, migration, information flow, and the…

- Describe and compare characteristics of ecosystems, states, regions, countries, major

world regions, and patterns…
 
 

Strand 3:

- Explain the meaning and origin of the ideas, including the core democratic values…
 
 

Strand 4:

- Describe and demonstrate how the economic forces of scarcity and choice affect the

management of personal financial resources…

- Describe how trade generates economic development and interdependence…
 
 

Strand 5:

- Acquire information from books, maps, newspapers, data sheets, and other sources,

organize and present information in maps, graphics…

#1

Destination: Whitefish Point Light and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Address: 110 Whitefish Point Road ? Paradise ? MI- 49768

Contact Person: Tammy Henning

Phone Number: 1- (800) 635-1742

Hours/Days: May 15^th ? October 15^th ? 10AM-6PM ? Monday-Saturday

Cost: $6.00 adult - $4.00 children

Food: None inside the museum, but there is a hot dog stand outside.

Length of Tour: 1 * hrs

Comments: Reservations are required. The tour also includes a trip to the lighthouse,

Boardwalk, bird observatory, gift shop, and theater.

Connection to Social Studies: The museum displays many historical artifacts, such as, the actual bell from the shipwreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.
 
 

#2
Dossin Great Lakes Museum

Location: Strand Drive, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan 48207

Contact Person: Walter Weaker

Phone Number: (313) 852-4051

Hours/Days: Wednesday - Saturday / 10 am till 5 pm

Admission: $2.00 adults, children free

Tour length: 60 minutes

 
 
 
 

Day 1 Objective:  Mining Earth’s natural resources. Imitating the mining process through extracting chocolate chips out of a cookie.      Period length:  50 minutes	Day 2 Objective: Students will learn about what a spring is This will be done by using the Internet and pictures of Kitch ? iti ? kipi. Period length: 50 minutes	Day 3 Objective: Students will look at and examine the Tahquamenon Falls ? where the water originated from and where it flows to. Period length: 50 minutes	Day 4 Objective:  Students will learn about the shipwreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and identify some of the items that were aboard it.              Period length: 60 minutes
Day 5 Objective: Students will complete their letter from the previous lesson about their voyage.  Period length: 35 minutes	Day 6 Objective: Students will compose an acrostic poem using the word "lighthouse". Period length: 35 minutes	Day 7 Objective:  Students will learn facts about the Mackinac Bridge while making a circuit board.             Period length: 35 minutes	Day 8 Objective:  Students will learn about where copper comes from and how it gets to be in the form that we currently use. They will also discuss the steps included in the process. Period length: 50 minutes

1. Upper Peninsula: the most northern part of the state of Michigan.
2. Peninsula: body of land surrounded by water on 3 of its sides.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Locks: gates enclosing a stretch of water (located at each end) that are

 

 
 
 
 
 

built into a river or a canal and used to raise a ship from one water level to another.

4. Soo Locks: locks that are located on St. Mary’s river (which connects

 

 
 
 
 
 

Lake Superior and Lake Huron) that lift ships and freighters from one body of water to the other.
 
 

5. Mackinac Bridge: bridge that connects the Lower Peninsula with the

 

 
 
 
 
 

Upper Peninsula.

6. Lake Superior: the largest of the five Great Lakes that borders on the

 

 
 
 
 
 

northern part of the Upper Peninsula.

7. Spring: upward flow of water from underground to the surface and into

 

 
 
 
 
 

the air.

8. Waterfalls: the steep falling of the water of a stream or a river

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

9. Kitch-iti-kipi: name of springs located in the Upper Peninsula of

 

 
 
 
 
 

Michigan.

10. Tahquamenon Falls: name of waterfalls located in the upper peninsula of

 

 
 
 
 
 

Michigan.

11. Shipwreck: the sinking, destruction, and loss of a ship.
12. S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald: Great Lakes iron ore freighter that sank in Lake

 

 
 
 
 
 

Superior in 1975.

13. Lighthouse: buildings located on the coasts of lakes and oceans built with

1. Natural Resources: non-manmade resources that are located in or on the

Objective:

The students will learn about mining Earth’s natural resources by imitating the mining process through extracting the chocolate chips out of a chocolate chip cookie.

Rationale:

This is a great way to start off the unit because it motivates the children.

Strand II

Benchmark:

6. Human/Environment Interaction. Describe, compare and explain the locations and characteristics of ecosystems, resources, human adaptation, environmental impact, and the interrelationship among them.

Social Studies and Science

Skills Used:

Students will demonstrate predicting, experimenting, observing, and discussing throughout this activity.

Materials:

Hard chocolate chip cookies (one per student)

Toothpicks

Paper towel

Procedure:

1. Show the class a chocolate chip cookie. Tell them that the cookies represent the land and the chocolate chips represent minerals, like coal, which they will be mining from the cookie.
2. Distribute the cookies to the students (but tell them that they cannot eat them). Ask students to estimate how many chips are in their cookies.
3. With their toothpicks students will attempt to extract the chips from the cookie. This should be done doing as little damage to the cookie as possible. Cookies should stay flat on the piece of paper towel, as the hills cannot be picked up. After a few minutes of mining ask students if they wish to change their estimate of how many chips are in their cookies.
4. After students have completed the activity, ask them to share with the class, the difficulties they had with their mining operations. Ask them to predict whether mining companies might have the same kind of difficulties.
5. Have students brainstorm ways to reclaim their land (the cookies). Can the cookie be put back together? Remind the students that most of the soil and rocks mined are sterile and plants can not grow in it.
6. Give the students new cookies to eat (one per student).

The students will be able to explain the mining process both orally and in writing. The students will also share with the class how difficult, or easy the procedure was. What were the difficulties they had in class with their mining operations? The students will also write about this activity in tomorrow’s journal entry.

Discuss what a spring is, how they were formed, and why water continues to flow through them. Place students in groups to search the Internet for about ten minutes for information on springs. When they are finished, join together as a class to review what was found.

Example internet site:

http://www.landscapecamera.com/tahqnote.html/

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/bigspring/spring.html/

Background Information:

Kitch ? iti ? kipi, Michigan’s largest spring, is located 12 mile west of Manistique in Palms Book State Park. Also known as "The Big Spring," it is two hundred feet across, and forty feet deep. Over 10,000 gallons of water a minute gush from the many fissures in the underlying limestone. The flow continues throughout the year at a constant temperature of 45- degrees.

A self-operated raft allows visitors to guide themselves to points overlooking the fascinating underwater features. Ancient tree trunks, lime-encrusted branches and swimming trout appear suspended in thin air as they slip through crystal clear waters far below. Clouds of sand are kept in constant motion by the gushing waters, creating ever-changing shapes and forms.

First, activate prior knowledge concerning waterfalls. Examine where students think the water first came from and where it flows to? Next, have the students use the Michigan Waterways, and Tributaries Map (available from the Department of Natural Resources) to trace the flow of water into and out of Tahquamenon Falls. Were the predictions correct? Where does the water come from and where does it flow?
 
 
 
 

Background Information:

The Tahquamenon Falls are two sets of waterfalls. The Upper Falls is more than 200 feet across and has a 50-foot drop. It is the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. The Lower falls are much smaller. The tea-colored water thunders down the Upper Falls in majestic beauty. Tahquamenon Falls are located in Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Newberry, in the central eastern part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This state park has a beautiful tourist attractions that feature wildlife, woods, and camping.
 
 

Objective:

Students will learn about the shipwreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and identify some of the items that were aboard the ship.

Rationale:

This activity will give students an introductory look at the shipwreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. Students will compare their own viewpoint about the matter raised with that of another individual (6.1.2).

Materials:

Big plastic containers each containing: a watch a wheel

Water a boot men’s jewelry

Paper towels a shoe hats

Opener:

The teacher will say to the class, "Today we are going to learn about the shipwreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. We are also going to go to the bottom of Lake Superior to find out what was left over from the ship."

Procedures:

1. The teacher will start the lesson by telling the students some background knowledge about the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, including its wreck in 1958.
2. The teacher will then ask the students for some explanations of what would cause a shipwreck.
3. Then the teacher will tell the students that the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck was caused by one of the Lake Superiors worst storms.
4. The teacher will talk about some other facts about the ship and provide the students with a fact sheet to follow along.
5. Next, the teacher will tell the students that they are going to go diving find some things similar to those left behind from the ship.
6. The teacher will set up large containers filled with water and several items, such as, a watch, a boot, a shoe, a wheel, some men’s jewelry, and some hats.
7. The children will take turns sticking their hands inside the container and pulling out one item each.
8. The children will then take their item back to their desk with them.

Wrap ? Up:

The teacher will tell the class, "Now that we have seen some items that might be found at the bottom of Lake Superior, what can you tell me about them?" Are they in good shape? Who do you think owned these items? The class will then discuss what they found. What could be different between the items they found and the actual items on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
 
 
 
 

Evaluation:

The students will then take the role of one of the men aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. They will write a letter about themselves and their voyage. They will include something about the important item that they brought with them (the item will be the same thing that the student found in the container). Papers may then be shared with the class.
 
 

Some Facts about the SS Edmund Fitzgerald:

• The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious of all the shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes.
• The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost on Lake Superior on November 10. 1975.
• The 729-foot ship disappeared with her entire crew in one of Lake Superior’s worst storms.
• There were 29 people aboard the ship and they were all men.
• The ship was lost 17 miles north by northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.
• The bronze bell from the ship was recovered on July 4, 1995.
• The bell weighed 200 pounds and is now on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Students will finish the letter from Day 4. This letter should be written as if they were on the ship, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
 
 

After reading the book The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses by Samuel Willard Compton and Michael J. Rhein, the students will make acrostic poems using the word lighthouse (final copy will be done on plain sheets of white paper).
 
 
 
 

L____________________________________

I_____________________________________

G____________________________________

H____________________________________

T____________________________________

H____________________________________

O____________________________________

U____________________________________

S____________________________________

E____________________________________
 
 

Objectives:

Students will learn facts about the Mackinac Bridge while using a circuit.

Rationale:

Strand II Geographic Perspective

Benchmarks:

7. Describe, compare, and explain, the locations and characteristics of economic activities, trade, political activities, migration, information flow, and the interrelationships among them.
8. Describe and compare characteristics of ecosystems, states, regions, countries, major world regions, and patterns, and explain the processes that created them.

Mackinac Bridge Summary Sheet, wire, 6 volt batteries, light bulbs, manila envelopes, aluminum foil, masking tape, writing utensil.

Procedures:

1. Read summary and discuss with students.
2. Students will have all supplies in front of them
3. First, each student will write 5 yes or no questions they would like to know the answers to.
4. Next, they must find the answers using various resources available (this may take more than a few minutes depending on the types of resources that are at hand).
5. On the front cover of the manila envelope, the students will write their question out leaving room for the yes or no answers.
6. Next to each question a hole will be punched. After each question, two holes will be punched, one in the yes column and one in the no column.
7. On the inside of the envelope (the backside of the front cover) students will use tin foil to connect the hole punched for the question to the hole punched for the correct yes or no answer.
8. After this is done with each of the questions, be sure that no aluminum foil is touching each other, or the wrong answers. To do this place masking tape on any overlaps of aluminum foil
9. Close the manila envelope and seal it with masking tape.
10. Have the student test their own circuit boards by attaching two wires to a 6 volt battery as well as to a small light bulb. When these wires are placed, one on the question hole, and one on the correct answer hole, the light bulb will light up.

Students will do two other students circuit board tests.
 
 
 
 

Evaluation:

Students should know how to the circuit board works, as well as the answers to their questions.

Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula’s are about four miles apart in distance from shore to shore. Before the Mackinac Bridge was built, the only way to get from one side to the other side was by boat. In 1923, the Michigan State Legislature established a car-ferry service to help people get to both peninsulas. These ferry boats safely carried over 30 million people and their cars back and forth across the Straits of Mackinac for 34 years. Eventually, the ferry service became so busy, that people began to ponder the idea of building a bridge to connect the peninsulas. Building such a bridge would have cost about $30 million dollars back in 1923, so the idea was dropped. Through the years however, people continued to propose this idea. Traffic through the ferry system finally became so heavy that the State of Michigan began to consider more seriously building a bridge. Finally, after many years of studying this project and many months of trying to finance the project, a deal was set. Dr. David B. Steinman, one of the world’s greatest engineers of the time was hired to oversee the project.

Building of the Mackinac Bridge began on May 7, 1954. This was no easy task because of the many hazards of marine construction over the dangerous, turbulent Straits of Mackinac. The brave workers had nerves of steel as they stood high above the water day in and day out for 3 * years. During construction they used 42,000 miles of wire in the main cables and over one million steel bolts to build the bridge. Sadly, five brave men died as they fell from various parts of the bridge.

Nicknamed, Big Mac, the bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957 and is the world’s longest suspension bridge. The final cost to build the bridge was almost $100 million dollars. The bridge is five miles in total length and weighs over one million tons. Thousands of vehicles including cars, trucks and campers cross the bridge every year. There is a one-way toll of $1.50 to cross the bridge. The money is used to pay the Mackinac Bridge Authority Workers and to help paint and keep the bridge in good condition.

• Students will learn where copper comes from and how it gets to be in the form that we currently use.
• Students will discuss the steps included in the process. The steps in bringing copper to the market include:

1. Mined copper ore is processed into a fine, gray powder called concentrate.
2. Many mines mix the concentrate with water so they can ship it easier.
3. At a smelter, the copper concentrate is make into copper cathode.
4. The copper cathode and rod are sold to both traders and directly to wire companies.
5. Copper plays a huge role in our everyday lives.

• Students will explore their knowledge of everyday uses of copper.
• Students will discuss their prior knowledge of how we mine copper from the Earth and how it is a valuable natural resource.
• Students will think about what each job includes in order to make the copper mine run smoothly and effectively.
• Students will learn about and discuss the jobs that are needed in a working copper mine.
• Students will look at and learn about the wages of mine worker from 1924.
• Students will predict how different the wages are today, 2001.
• Students will learn what kind of conditions miners worked in.
• Students will discuss which job they think they would want to do if they worked in the mines.
• Students will be able to understand about the many uses of copper.
• Students will begin to learn about the Earth’s natural resources.

Unit:

Upper Peninsula and Logging

Content Areas:

Language Arts and Social Studies

Objective:

Student will read a narrative about logging and make connections to other social studies concepts. They will use the text for fourth grade and apply parts to concepts needed to be grasped for the grade level. Topics such as character analysis, applying knowledge learned, and story mapping.

Rationale:

It is important for students in fourth grade to have an understanding of reading a chapter book and applying knowledge from it to use for application.

Materials:

Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp (book) By: Janie Lynn Panagopoulos

writing utensils

crayons

Procedure:

1. Activate prior knowledge about logging.
2. Review basic historical facts about logging before reading (see additional handouts).
3. Read the chapter book together.
4. Ask questions throughout to indicate retention.
5. Do hands-on activities throughout the story.

The students will understand the concept of reading and applying knowledge learned from an informational/fictional book about logging in Michigan.

Loggers not only had to cut the trees, they also had to get the logs to the sawmills to be cut into lumber. Since logs ate very heavy, this was no simple task. It was easier to move logs in the winter when they could be loaded on sleds and pulled along icy roads. In this way the heavy logs could be moved to riverbanks and floated downstream to sawmills in the spring when the water was too high. Loggers stamped their own mark on the ends of logs to keep their logs from getting mixed up with logs from other camps. Some sample log marks are shown below. One log has been left empty so that you can design your own log mark. You might want to use your initials or a symbol in your design.
 
 

Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Your answers should spell a common logging word.
 

Column A	Column B
___ 1. Poor logging season	K. turn left
___ 2. Good logging season	B. used to carry logs in winter
___ 3. Log mark	L. warm winter with little snow
___ 4. Logging sleds	M. a brand stamped on logs
___ 5. Tote road	J. used to move logs in spring
___ 6. Teamsters	U. cold winter with spring rains
___ 7. River	E. logging road
___ 8. Board foot	R. man who drove a team of horses
___ 9. Gee	C. turn right
___10. Haw	A. 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, 1 foot thick

Have the children take one pamphlet from the pile that has been collected from the Upper Peninsula. Have them read their pamphlet on their own and create a postcard to send to someone as if they had visited the place themselves. Be sure to review what is included in a post card, how to address it, and valuable information about the place they "visited." Have them send it to another student in the class, and have the other student read it, and then look at the corresponding brochure. The postcards would then keep on rotating, and continue on until each student has gained information on many different place in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
 
 

Historical Background:

During the last half of the nineteenth century lumbering was a big business in the Upper Great lakes region. The huge white pines and other trees that grew abundantly in northern Michigan, northwestern Wisconsin, and northeastern Minnesota became the prime resource for an industry that made a tremendous impact upon the economy and history of these states. Logging camps, sawmills, and boomtowns sprang up through the area, while the vast forests quite literally turned into towns and cities in America’s young Midwest.

What’s the Chance of Forest Fire?

When the lumberjacks had finished their work, they left behind the dead stumps and branches from the trees that they had cut. When these dried they were a perfect place for forest fires to start- and they did! In the year 1871 two huge fires, the Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin and the great Chicago fire, burned over thousands of acres of land and killed more than a thousand people. Today we know more about how to prevent such fires. Test your knowledge of forest fire prevention by reading the statements below and placing an I for Increased beside the things that increase the danger of fire and a D for Decreased beside the things that decrease the danger of fire.
 

_____ It is cool and cloudy

_____ Farmers clear their land by burning

_____ Loggers have cut all the trees in a forest leaving only brush & stumps

_____ A storm is moving through with rains and wind, but no lightning.

_____ Campers leave their fire to burn out by itself

_____ Forest lands are damp from a long, heavy rain

_____ There has been no rain for weeks

_____ Lightning is streaking the sky

_____ Loggers cut only part of the forest, leaving many young trees

_____ It is a hot, windy day

_____ Farmers clear away dead brush and stumps with machinery

_____ Someone throws away a cigarette that is still burning

Match the lumberjack’s kitchen terms listed below with the ones we use today.
 

_____dinner	1. Kitchen, dinning room
_____ long sweetening	2. biscuits
_____ grub	3. Eggs
_____ sinkers	4. Oven
_____ doorknobs	5. Poor cook
_____ jerk the hash	6. A pile of pancakes
_____ pratties	7. Sugar
_____ stack	8. Serve the food
_____ belly burgler	9. Doughnuts
_____ baker	10. Pancake
_____ cackleberries	11. Food
_____ black lead	12. Cook’s helper
_____ box up the dough	13. Noon meal
_____ crumb chaser	14. Knead bread
_____ flappers	15. Coffee
_____ cookhouse	16. Potatoes

Title:

Soo Lock Construction

Objectives:

Students will know what a lock is, and how a lock works. The students will also be able to understand the good that the locks brought to the people of Michigan.

Rationale:

7. Describe major events

16. Explain and demonstrate how businesses confront scarcity and supplying the marketplace.

19. Describe how trade generates economic development
20. Acquire information from maps, text, etc.

2-24" long cardboard pieces string

6-1" by 1" boards hole punch

2-12" long cardboard pieces wood glue

1 toy boat

Opener:

An important part of the Upper Peninsula is the great Soo Locks. Locks lower and raise ships so they can pass through a canal. In the Upper Peninsula ships needed to go through Lake Superior and Lake Huron to ship products. The problem to this is that Lake Superior’s waters are 20 feet higher than lake Huron’s. Before Locks, the people would have to unload from one ship and reload to another, which wasted a lot of time. The Locks were invented in 1855.

Procedure:

1. Assign people four to a group by having them count off.

2. Have the students take their six boards and make 2 U’s by using wood glue, and then

let these dry.

3. Now take the cardboards (24") and punch four holes in each.

4. Now take the other cardboard pieces and punch four holes in each corner.

5. Take string and hang the smaller pieces in between the two sides (two big pieces).

6. Connect two long pieces to the posts using wood glue.

7. Raise and lower your Locks by pulling the string.

8. The students have now created a Lock. Have them put the toy boat on it and try it out.

Closure:

Now you can see how a lock works. This was a great idea, with these Locks thousands of ships pass through these canals. Industry went up due to this great invention.

Discuss the controversy surrounding the building of the Soo Locks. (See introduction, controversy section.)

Evaluation:

Does everyone seem to understand how the locks work and how important they are? Were the students excited to build their projects?

Resources:

The Mighty Soo: Five Hundred Years at Sault Ste. Marie (book), by Clara Ingram Judson

Lesson:

With the information below make a geography map of the Upper Peninsula. Make your own key; work in groups of two or three maximum.

• Western half of the Upper Peninsula is part of the Superior Upland. This is a very mountainous area. Michigan’s highest point is here; it is 1,979 feet tall Mount Arvon.
• Isle Royale is covered with forests.
• Much of the Upper Peninsula is forest.
• The Upper Peninsula has all types of land; flatlands, hills, and mountains. Beaches, islands, forests, and swamps.
• The eastern half of the Upper Peninsula are part of the Great Lakes Plains. The plains are lowlands that are hilly places.

Lesson:

The students will have to unscramble the facts below and put them in order in a time line. The students can work in groups of two.

• 1957 Mackinac Bridge opened
• 1840 Douglass Houghton found rich copper deposits in the Upper Peninsula Michigan, which was now a scene for the "copper rush." In the 1800’s Michigan led the nation in copper and iron.
• 1668 father Jacques Marquette founded a mission at Sault Saint Marie.
• The French built a fort at St. Ignace during the 1680’s which became a great fur trading center called Fort DeBuade.
• 1634 Jean Nicolet also reached the Upper Peninsula.
• 1890 the state had 2.1 million people.
• 1694 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac was appointed to command Fort DeBuade.
• The French were the first non-Indians in Michigan. Began in 1618 and Etienne Brule’ reached the Upper Peninsula.
• 1837 Michigan became the 26^th state. Stevens T. Mason was the first state governor.
• Between 1694 and 1837 the Upper Peninsula became part of the state of Michigan.

Lesson:

Students will count off numbers one through five. The groups will have different subjects that they will need to focus on in the Upper Peninsula. Some examples are lakes, museums, attractions, entertainment, etc. This will be done by drawing out of a hat. The groups will then get brochures that match with their given subject or topic. Each group will find information regarding the specific topic. The students will then write a short persuasive essay to make that subject as interesting as possible for one to want to visit. The students can also use plain sheets of lined paper for drawings if they choose to. Students will then share their information about their topic with the rest of the class.

Students will select different cities off of the map of the Upper Peninsula and calculate the distances from one city to another.

Rationale:

Benchmark used: Acquire information from books, maps, newspaper, data sheets, and other sources to organize and present information in maps. (Strand 5)

Materials:

Map of the Upper Peninsula, writing utensils, atlas or access to the internet.

Opener:

The teacher will say to the class, "Today we are going to look at a map of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We are also going to figure out the distances between different cities located in the Upper Peninsula."

Procedures:

1. The teacher will start the lesson by passing out a map of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the class.
2. The teacher will ask the children to look at the map and think about what they think the distances are between some of the cities listed on the map.
3. The teacher will choose two cities and tell the children her guess.
4. Next, the teacher will demonstrate to the children how to figure out the correct distance either by using an atlas or the internet.
5. Once the teacher has modeled for the students how to do the activity, she will have them get into pairs.
6. The teacher will instruct the students to pick 10 different cities and guess how far apart each city is from another city.
7. The teacher will have the children use an atlas or the internet to figure out the correct distance in miles.

The teacher will ask the children "How many of you guessed right on your distances? How many guessed wrong? Were you surprised with your findings?" The class will discuss their answers.

Evaluation:

The students will write on a sheet of paper how long they think it would take to drive from one of these cities to the other. They will also write a guess of how far they think their home is from Escanaba, MI.
 
 

Internet Sites

http://innovations.copper.org

http://sos.state.mi.us/history

http://www.upmichigan.com/4seasons/

http://www.wpbnb.com/

http://www.exploringthenorth.com/bigspring/spring.html

http://www.bluebirdmeadows.com/15-45.htm

http://www.uptravel.com/uptravel/coe.htm

http://landscapecamera.com/tahqnote.html

www.exploringthenorth.com/lights/lights.html

www.shipwreckmuseum.com/fitz/edmundmain.phtml

www.uplive.com

www.topozone.com
 
 

Other References

Brill, Marlene Targ. Celebrate The States: Michigan. New York: Marshall Cavendish,

1998.

Compton, Samuel Willard, and Rhein, Micheal. The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses,

Houghton Mifflin, 1989

Dunbar, Willis, and May, George. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State.

Willliam B. Eandmans Publishing Co. 1995

Fradin, Dennis Brindell. From Sea To Shining Sea: Michigan. Chicago: Children’s

Press, 1992.

Hillstrom, Kevin and Laurie. Adventure Guide to Michigan. Hunter publishing Inc, 1998

Hintz, Martin, Michigan. Children’s Press, 1998

Judson, Clara Ingram. The Mighty Soo. New York: Follett Publishing Company, 1955.

Lewis, Ferris. Michigan: Yesterday and Today. Hillsdale School Supply Publishers,

1960

Mitchell, John and Tom Woodruff. Michigan: An Illustrated History For Children.

Michigan: Suttons Bay Publications, 1987.

Modrzynski, Mike. Hiking Michigan, Falcon Press Publishing Co. Inc, 1996

Osolinski, Stan. Michigan. Portland: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co., 1977.

Panagopoulous, Janie Lynn, Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp

Sirvaitis, Karen. Michigan. Lerner Publications Co. 1994