Where in the World Are We?
How Our Community Started From Prehistoric
Times Through Westward Movement
Author: Jane Barnes, Third Grade, Elmcrest Elementary
How Did We Get Here?
What Was Our Community Like from the Very Beginning?
The Great Basin Lake’s Crossing Bridge The City of Reno
Author: Jane Barnes
Title: Where in the World Are We? How Did We Get Here? What Was Our Community Like from the Very Beginning.
Grade Level: Third Grade
Historical Perspective: How Our Community Started From Prehistoric Times Through the Westward Movement - 1868
Nevada History Standard: H1.3.2 Using artifacts and primary sources, and investigate how individuals and families contributed to the founding and development of the local community.
Nevada History Standard: H2.3.2 Explain how memorials help us to honor and remember people.
Nevada History Standard: H3.3.1 Explain how the actions of heroes and heroines make a difference.
Nevada History Standard: H3.3.5 Explain how technology at home and in school impacts their lives.
Nevada Geography Standards: G5.3.1 and G5.3.5 Identify and use cardinal directions on a compass rose to locate places on a map. Construct a simple map including a title and symbols.
Nevada Geography Standard: G6.3.6 Locate and name the states surrounding Nevada.
Nevada Reading Standard: 1.3.1 Read texts aloud with fluency, accuracy, and appropriate intonation and expression; read high-frequency words to build fluency.
Nevada Reading Standard: 2.3.4 Restate facts and details in text to share information, distinguish main idea, and organize ideas.
Nevada Reading Standard: 6.3.2 Organize ideas using graphic organizers.
Nevada Writing Standard: 9.3.1 Use specific vocabulary and apply standard English to communicate ideas.
Nevada Writing Standard: 11.3.4 Organize and record information from print and non-print resources.
Background:
These lessons will help third grade students to learn how their state and community
started based on third grade social studies standards. These lessons will help to prepare
the students for more in depth study of Nevada in fourth grade. The children will
learn the geography of early Nevada. They will learn who lived here first. They will
learn about the explorers who first traveled through Nevada. Then they will learn about
the emigrants who passed through and settled in our community. Since these lessons
are probably the first or nearly the first exposure to the subject matter, the lessons are
designed to introduce content and skills. The time period will range from prehistoric
times through 1868.
The lessons are prepared to expose the children to primary source material from
explorers who first discovered the land that is our community. The children will make a
map showing where Nevada is located among its surrounding states. They will read and
be read to through a Power Point presentation about the chronology of settlement in
our community. They will listen to literature about the emigrants and express their
thoughts in writing. They will start notetaking skills by making a foldable that will
restate the main ideas of the lessons. The final project will incorporate art and writing
by using an artist’s rendering of the first log bridge that started the community of Reno.
Portfolio Table of Contents
Activities and Learning Goals:
Activity 1: Wordle Activity: Land description, John C. Fremont/State song, Home Means Nevada
Learning Goal: Students will work in pairs to compare and contrast two Wordles. They will use
a graphic organizer to help them complete the activity. Then they will write four sentences
describing the information found in the Wordles.
Activity 2: Student Project: Make a map showing Nevada and surrounding states
Learning Goal: Students will locate and name the states surrounding Nevada. They will then
make a map showing Nevada and surrounding states. The map will include a title, compass
rose, states, neighboring countries, Pacific Ocean, name and date.
Activity 3: Internet/Technology, Option 2, Power Point Photo Story, Where in the World Are We?
Learning Goal: The students will be exposed to a narrative with primary source pictures
depicting their community throughout the past. The presentation includes the land, Native
Americans, scouts, explorers, trails and settlements of Nevada. The presentation gives a chronological
view of whom and when people settled in their community, Reno, Washoe County, Nevada. The
children will then make a timeline to show the chronology of settlement in their community.
Activity 4: Literature Connection: Covered Wagons: BumpyTrails
Learning Goal: The teacher will read the book, Covered Wagons: Bumpy Trails by Verla Kay.
The students will them choose a topic from the story. They will write a four line rhyme and
illustrate the rhyme.
Activity 5: Foldable: Five Questions: Who? What? When? Where? and Why? was our community started
Learning Goal: The students will work in groups. Each group will be assigned a period
of time during which our community was settled. Each group will be responsible to answer
the questions based on the group assigned to them. Each group will then share and display their
results at a central board in the classroom.
Activity 6: Art Piece/Writing: Lake’s Crossing Bridge
Learning Goal: The students will create an art piece by creating a completed picture from a
puzzle. Once the puzzle is complete and the image can be seen, the students will write about
the image and share their writing with the other students.
Activity 1: Wordle Activity
Learning Goal: Students will work in pairs to compare and contrast two Wordles.
Both Wordles describe the land of Nevada. One Wordle was composed from John
C. Fremont’s description of the Nevada landscape around Pyramid Lake (a primary
source). The other Wordle was composed from the words of the Nevada state song,
Home Means Nevada. The students will be given the Compare and Contrast
Worksheet. They will respond to the questions on the worksheet. Then they will
write four sentences telling what they found out about the two Wordles.
The work will be evaluated based on the following criteria. A score of 4 can be
earned if all the questions on the worksheet are answered appropriately (not necessarily
totally correctly), and the sentences are written so that the content is derived from
the worksheet responses. A score of 3 can be earned if there are at least three
questions on each Wordle are answered appropriately, and at least three
sentences are written so the content is derived from the worksheet responses.
A score of 2 can be earned if two responses and two sentences are written
appropriately. A score of 1 can be earned if one question on each Wordle
and one sentence are written appropriately.
Once the written part of the lesson is complete, we will discuss the sources of
the materials used in the Wordles. At this time the teacher will discuss the
primary sources. The teacher will also discuss John C. Fremont and his role
in Nevada history.
Copies of the materials used in this lesson are the following:
Fremont, Brevet Capt. J. D. Reports of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky
Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California in the
Years 1843-44. Washington D.C., 1845, Selections from p. 601, 607.
Hopkins, Ellen. All for Our Country Check Out Nevada. Reno: Sagewolf
Books, 2003, p. 17. Selection: State Song: Home Means Nevada.
Copies of these sources are included in the portfolio.
Activity 2: Student Project: Make a map of Nevada and surrounding states.
Learning Goal: Students will locate and name the states surrounding Nevada.
They will be given a worksheet entitled Where in the World Are We? The
seven states on the worksheet are scattered and turned around. The students
will look at maps to identify the states. Then they will label and color the states in
crayon or colored pencil. On the map they are making. Next they will cut out the
states and fit them together like a puzzle. Then on a 12 x 18 piece of construction
paper they will glue the states toward the left of the paper. In order to complete
the map the students will give the map a title, label Carson City, Nevada, and draw
a star to signify it is the capital, label the Pacific Ocean, label Canada and Mexico,
draw a compass rose, and write their name and date on the finished map.
The map activity satisfies a Nevada Geography Standard. It also gives the students
a concrete basis to start to understand not only what is a state but also where Nevada
is located and why our community developed.
A perfect score of 4 can be earned if all the states are properly identified, located and
situated on the map. Also all components must be included on the map. A score of 3
can be earned if all the states are properly denoted, and no more than two other
components are missing. A score of 2 can be earned if no more than two states are
improperly denoted and no more than two components are missing.
A copy of the worksheet with the seven states entitled Where in the World Are
We? is included in this portfolio.
Activity 3: Internet/Technology: Option 2: Power Point Photo Story
Title: Where in the World Are We? How did we get here?
Learning Goal: The students will be presented a narrative with some primary
source pictures depicting their state and community throughout the past. The
presentation includes the land, Native Americans, scouts, explorers, trails and
settlements of Nevada. The presentation gives a chronological view of whom
and when people settled in our community, Reno, Washoe County, Nevada.
During the presentation we will discuss content as well as how to get information
and pictures from the internet. We will also discuss primary sources.
Once the presentation is completed the teacher will guide the children to make
a timeline to show the chronology of settlement in our community. This entire
activity will be a guided lesson.
This activity has a total of twenty-three slides. The slides are included in the portfolio.
Also, a copy of the timeline that will be created is included.
The website used extensively in this activity is www.clan.lib.nv.us
Activity 4: Literature Connection: Covered Wagons: Bumpy Trails
Learning Goal: The teacher will engage the students in a discussion about what
it means to be a pioneer and ride in a covered wagon in order to go a new place.
Some new yet unseen pictures of covered wagons will be used to pique the interest
of the students during this pre-reading activity. The teacher will then read the book,
Covered Wagons: Bumpy Trails by Verla Kay. The students will practice
listening to literature. The book is written in verse. Thus the students will be
exposed to poetry as well. After discussion of the book which will include charting
the subtopics of the story, the students will then choose a subtopic from the story.
They will then write a four line rhyme and illustrate the rhyme. They will then
share their work. The work will be displayed on a large bulletin board in the classroom.
The students’ learning will be evaluated by how well they express a subtopic from
the book. A rubric is attached which will be used to assess the content and writing
skills. The total perfect score will be 16. The illustration as well as the writing will
be assessed based on the first rubric, Focus on Topic.
Activity 5: Foldable: Five Questions:
Who? What? When? Where? and Why? was our community started
Learning goal: The students will work in groups. Each group will be assigned
a period of time during which our community was settled. These time periods
are based on the time periods presented in the Power Point presentation: Ancient
Nevada, Early Native Americans, Native Americans, The First Europeans, Fur
Trappers, Explorers, Emigrants, Bridge over the Truckee, Statehood/Reno.
Students will fold an anchor tab. They will fold the paper into fifths. They will
glue the anchor tab onto a page in a notebook. They will cut along the fold lines
to form five information tabs. On each front tab they will write one of the five
questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? Under each of the question tabs
they will answer the question based on the time period they were assigned.
They must answer the question based on settlement of the area at the time period
in question.
The purpose of the Foldable activity is to reinforce the material that has
been presented. This activity gives the students time to discuss and work
independently on the material they have been presented. The students may also
have to do some independent research in order to answer the questions. This
activity gives the students time to think and act.
Each group will then share and display their results at a central board in the
classroom.
A rubric is included that will be used to assess the Foldable assignment. There
are two categories being assessed.
Activity 6: Art Piece/Writing: Lake’s Crossing Bridge
Learning Goal: The students will create an art piece by creating a completed
picture from a puzzle. The puzzle will be made by the teacher. The teacher will
choose an artist’s rendering of the Lake’s Crossing Bridge and building nearby.
The picture will be enlarged to poster size. Two posters will be made.
1. The poster will be cut into even pieces so that each student can get one piece.
Each piece will be numbered.
2. The teacher will cut black paper the same size as the poster pieces.
3. The teacher will make baggies which will contain chalk, Q-tips, and
cotton balls.
4. Each student will be given a poster piece, a black piece of paper and
a baggie.
5. Each student will recreate the image they received from the cut up poster
onto the black construction paper using the chalk.
6. The teacher will then call the students up according to the number on the cut
up poster piece. The recreated images will be glued to the butcher paper
the teacher has hung.
7. The teacher will ask the students to tell what the image is about.
Students will discuss how the image relates to the unit of study.
8. The second poster will be placed next to the recreated poster to compare.
9. The students will then be asked to write a fictional story about the image.
A rubric is included.
A small copy of the picture, Lake’s Crossing Bridge, is included in the
portfolio.
Downloads and Supplemental Material
 Supplemental Materials for Activities (.pdf)
Portfolio Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt)
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