MOVEMENT: A TEACHING STRATEGY

Main Ideas

The background information in the previous pages and the following student activities point the way toward additional items that the teacher and class can research and use as a basis for class discussions. We hope that teachers and students will take the ideas presented here and creatively expand on the movement theme. Use maps, texts, periodicals, and local resource people and organizations to enhance your study of movement in Illinois. Local museums, colleges, historical societies, newspapers, and senior citizen groups can be valuable resources for adding a local dimension to your research. The activity pages have been designed to complement the text material. The information and activities presented here lend themselves to individual assignments, group activities, or cooperative learning projects. The teacher may wish to add to or delete some of the learning materials to suit local conditions, to accommodate individual teaching or learning styles, and to tie in with current events when appropriate.

Connection with the Curriculum
The materials in this section are designed primarily to fit into U.S. history and geography courses, but they could be used in other areas of the social sciences. These materials could also be used in a cooperative teaching project by the social science teacher and/or language arts or math teachers.

Teaching Level
These materials should be usable in grades seven through twelve; however, capable students in grades five and six might profit from some of the text and activity material.

Materials for Each Student
Each student should have a copy of the text material, the activity pages, outline maps of Illinois in addition to pencil and paper. Graph paper would be helpful.

The student will need to have access to an atlas, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, books on Illinois and the local community (if available), and books on Illinois history and geography. Back issues of Illinois History magazine would be useful.

Objectives for Each Student

• To acquaint the student with the concept of movement in the study of history and geography

• To make the student aware of how movement has affected his state, his/her community, family, and therefore his life

• To emphasize how movement has affected our cultural and ethnic diversity

• To show how the theme of movement is reflected in our state and local community

SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE LESSON

Opening the Lesson
To open the lesson on "movement" it might be helpful to examine modern-day movement. A quick survey of students about their family movements in recent years might provide some insights into this concept. A discussion of immigration to the United States in recent history could also be a useful departure point. When the concept of movement is understood, you should be ready to start the text and activities.

Developing the Lesson
This lesson can be used with each student being responsible for all text and activity materials, or the various tasks can be assigned to groups in a cooperative learning project. In either case plans should be made to discuss the material with the entire class. For most classes each activity represents one class session of work. The teacher can adjust this if necessary.

Concluding the Lesson
The concluding discussion is a good time to develop additional critical thinking skills. Students should be asked to list conclusions that can be drawn from the materials that they have examined and developed in the activities. These conclusions can be listed on the board or on the overhead, and the validity of each conclusion can be discussed by the class.

Extending the Lesson

1. Visit an appropriate museum or library with materials on related topics.

2. Bring guests into the classroom who might have expertise in the areas of local history, genealogy, community ethnic groups, etc.

3. Assign a paper or project on a topic related to themes explored in the text and activities.

4. Allow students to explore more about their own families' role in the theme of movement by encouraging more research and interviews on family history.

Assessing Student Learning
Other than traditional testing, the class may visually show the achievement of these objectives by preparing a bulletin board or table-top display to demonstrate these concepts. This display could include student research, maps, charts, art work, and borrowed artifacts. Parents and other classes could visit the display.

30

32

Use an outline map of Illinois to locate the following places important to our study of movement. You will peed to consult reference maps of Illinois.

NATURAL FEATURES: Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, Ohio Rivir, Wabash River, Illinois River, Kaskaskia River, Rock River, Fox River

HUMAN CONSTRUCTED FEATURES: Illinois-Michigan Canal, Illinois-Mississippi Canal the National Road, major railroads

SELECTED EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN ILLINOIS: Alton, Beardstown, Cahokia, Cfltcago, Joliet, Kaskaskia, Lockport, Pekin, Peoria, Quincy, Rock Island, Shawneetown, Springfield, Vandalia

Answer the following questions:

1. Many early settlements established by the French, English, and Americans had been the locations of Native American villages. What reasons can you think of for why this is true?

2. What site and situation factors do you think helped determine the locations that people selected for these early settlements? What considerations might be different today?

3. Natural waterways were used for moving people and goods in Illinois. How did people increase their movement options when natural waterways did not meet their needs?

4. List as many "push" and "pull" reasons as you can about why people came to live in your local area originally and why they would come today. How many of these reasons are related to the movement of people and goods?

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TERMS TO KNOW: Native American, settler, immigrant, customs, culture, French and Indian War, Virginia (state), Revolutionary War, Ordinance of 1787, Black Hawk War (please refer to Figure 1 in the text).

1. Native Americans were the sole occupants of the Illinois area from about 12,000 B.C. until the 1600s. List some of the cultural gifts (place names, customs, etc.) from the Native American that are still with us in Illinois.

2. Most of Illinois' early white settlement occurred in the southern part of the state. Most early settlers came particularly from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Can you explain why this took place and what influence this had on the development of Illinois?

3. Interview some of the people in your family to find out when and how members of your family came to Illinois. Briefly report on your findings.

4. On a piece of paper list as many ethnic groups as you can that are a part of your personal heritage. You do not need to put your name on this paper. The teacher will supervise the tabulation of the frequency of the appearance of each ethnic group. The members of your class will then be asked to construct a bar graph based on this information. Do the results of this survey reflect the make-up of the community? Explain.

34

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TERMS TO KNOW: Prairie, origin, diffusion, Conestoga Wagon, flatboat, canals, cultural diversity, ethnic group, assimilation, place names (please refer to Figure 2 in the text).

1. People may move from place to place, but they don't leave everything behind and start a whole new way of life. They bring some possessions and traditions with them—tools, household goods, food preparation, politics, and religion, for example. Choose several different culture groups, people from other areas of the U.S., or people from foreign countries that have migrated to Illinois since 1600. Complete the following chart for each group selected.
   GROUP    DATE OF ARRIVAL    CONTRIBUTIONS TO CULTURE   NAME OF LEADER (IF APPLICABLE)

2. Since early American immigration into Illinois was from the South, what possessions and ideas would you expect those settlers to bring with them? Explain.

3. In 1825 the Erie Canal was opened across New York state. Also, steamboats came into increasing use on the Great Lakes following the 1830s. What effect would you expect those developments to have on the movement of people, goods, and ideas into northern Illinois?

4. How would the two migration routes above, plus the National Road, contribute to cultural diversity in Illinois? Explain.

5. Notice the place names on the map of Illinois. There are Native American, foreign, local and national hero, classical, and descriptive names. Can you find examples of each on the Illinois map?

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TERMS TO KNOW: Highway Bond Issue of 1918 and 1924, referendum, motor fuel tax, Great Depression, New Deal, Interstate Highway System.

1. Why would cities and towns compete so strongly to have railroads, highways, and airports serve their communities?

2. How might increased highway and airport construction between 1920 and 1960 influence the movement of people, goods, and ideas in Illinois during that period? How would citizens pay for this type of construction?

3. Explain what is meant by the statement, "Modern transportation has made the world smaller." What implications does this have for Illinois in today's world?

4. Examine the following table and answer the questions that follow.

   YEAR	PASSENGER CARS IN ILLINOIS	STATE, COUNTY & CITY ROAD MILEAGE CONSTRUCTED
   1915	180,832	100
   1920	503,762	366
   1925	1,101,943	906
   1930	1,429,146	1,081
   1935	1,342,904	1,000
   1945	1,508,222	557
   1955	2,858,869	1,541

   
   

   a. What events would account for the slowdown of auto ownership between 1930 and 1945?

   b. What would account for the increase in road construction from 1915 to 1925? The increase in the 1930s?

   c. What generalizations can you make about the data presented in the chart?

   d. How do you benefit from road construction?

Click Here to return to the Article

36