Unit 1: Louisiana's Geography & Culture

Unit Description

Unit 1 is focused on introductory map skills, Louisiana’s five distinct regions, different community types, and how Louisiana’s first settlers shaped the state’s unique culture in ways we still see and feel today. Throughout this unit, students will gain the skills needed to compare and contrast their daily experiences living in an urban community in Southeastern Louisiana, to the experiences of those living in different types of communities and regions across the state. They will form an understanding of how Louisiana’s natural resources motivated early explorers to settle in the area, and how these natural resources continue to shape Louisiana’s economy and the daily life of its people. They will also learn how Louisiana’s earliest settlers blended to create a diverse culture that values delicious food, great music, and joyous celebrations. Overall, students will begin to uncover Louisiana’s story and their place within it - the past shapes the present

Essential Question

What makes Louisiana's land and culture unique?

Themes

  • We rely on evidence from multiple perspectives to construct accounts of the past.
  • A region’s geography and climate affect how people live.
  • Push/pull factors cause people to migrate to seek a better life, which causes cultures to diffuse and mix their traditions.
  • The way we live and how we celebrate is because of people who lived before us.

Standards Addressed

  • 3.1.1: Create timelines that identify important events in the history of Louisiana
  • 3.1.6: Compare and contrast the influence of cultural groups in Louisiana
  • 3.2.1: Explain how major explorers and leaders contributed to the early development of Louisiana
  • 3.2.2: Differentiate between early Native American cultures that lived in the regions of Louisiana
  • 3.2.3: Identify the causes and effects of migration on Louisiana
  • 3.2.4: Identify cultural elements that have contributed to the state’s heritage
  • 3.3.1: Describe characteristics and uses of various types of maps
  • 3.3.3: Locate various communities and cities in Louisiana using cardinal and intermediate directions
  • 3.3.5: Differentiate between a town, parish, state, and country in which the student lives using a political map
  • 3.3.7: Locate specific places on a map using a simple grid system
  • 3.4.1: Compare and contrast the physical features of various regions of Louisiana
  • 3.4.4: Explain how humans have adapted to the physical environment in different regions of Louisiana
  • 3.4.6: Distinguish between urban, suburban, and rural communities in Louisiana
  • 3.10.2: Distinguish between the use of money and barter

Unit Outcomes

Students will know:

  • Define a map and use cardinal directions on a map
  • Use cardinal and intermediate directions to go from place to place
  • Use a map key to understand information on a map
  • Compare and contrast different types of maps
  • Identify the 5 regions of Louisiana
  • Describe physical features in the 5 regions of Louisiana
  • Describe the natural resources in the 5 regions of Louisiana
  • Compare and contrast the different regions of Louisiana
  • Define country, state, parish, city
  • Identify states, parishes and cities on maps
  • Describe rural, urban and suburban communities
  • Compare and contrast rural, urban and suburban communities
  • Define culture and key characteristics of our culture
  • Describe the key African contributions to Louisiana culture
  • Explain the importance of African people to Louisiana
  • Share the ways in which African culture comes through in your life
  • Explain the causes for French exploration in Louisiana
  • Describe the key French contributions to our culture
  • Share the ways in which French culture comes through in your life
  • Describe the key Spanish contributions to our culture
  • Describe the contributions of other cultures on Louisiana (German, Irish, Canary Islanders, etc.)
  • Explain how different cultures have impacted Louisiana

Students will be able to:

  • Annotate documents
    • Use the different steps for different types of documents when analyzing their contents
    • Unit focus writing skill
  • Argument

Unit Vocabulary

  1. historical thinking - critical thinking skills needed to understand the past
  2. sourcing - considering the perspective of a document
  3. context - the time and place of an event or document; background information
  4. evidence - information that supports whether a belief is valid
  5. claim - an assertion of truth; argument
  6. reliable - able to be trusted
  7. corroborate - consider multiple sources to determine points of agreement and disagreement
  8. annotate- add notes to analyze a document and give explanation
  9. geography: the study of Earth’s landscapes, people, places, and environment
  10. map: picture of an area of land or body of water showing what something looks like
  11. map key/legend: tells us what each symbol on a map means
  12. compass rose: symbol on a map that shows direction, i.e. where to go and how to get there
  13. Cardinal directions: a way of showing north, south, east, west
  14. intermediate directions: a way of showing northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest
  15. physical map: shows the physical features of land and bodies of water like mountains, lakes, and rivers
  16. political map: shows lines that separate places, such as countries, states, and parishes
  17. grid map: a map that uses a grid to help locate places.
  18. resource map: a map that shows natural or man-made resources of an area
  19. resource: Something that a region or country has and can use to increase its wealth (examples: oil, seafood, forest)
  20. landform: A natural feature of the Earth’s surface (mountain, valley, hill)
  21. region: an area of similar land that is defined by its forests, wildlife, climate, and the languages spoken.
  22. Environment - the natural world that surrounds us.
  23. city: a place where many people work and live
  24. parish: an area of a state that is larger than a city
  25. state: an area of the country that has the power to make its own laws about certain things.
  26. country: all of the states under one government
  27. community: a place where people live, work, and play together
  28. urban community: a city, with tall buildings, a large population, and many things to do
  29. suburban community: a town located outside of a major city, with lots of family homes close together
  30. rural community: are farming community, with lots of open space, and a small population
  31. architecture - how buildings are designed
  32. Creole - Spanish culture mixed with French, African, and /or Caribbean cultures
  33. Cajun - Culture of the Acadians who settled in South Louisiana
  34. immigrant - a person who leaves their homeland and moves to another country
  35. migrate- moving from one place to another
  36. refuge - safety
  37. landmark: an object (building, statue, large tree) of historical importance
  38. symbol: an object or image that represents a larger idea