Historical Source Lesson: The Landscape
| ALL GRADES
For the Educator: Use this historical source lesson with the sample analysis page (as a handout or overhead) to illustrate how to use the landscape. Download full-page sample analysis Image as jpg. |
Relevant Standards: When presented with the interpretive lessons and projects herein, this lesson meets Michigan Content and Benchmark Standards for Social Studies: II: 2 Human / Environment Interaction, II: 4 Regions, Patterns and Processes
Why is the landscape so important to Southwest Michigan?
The earliest settlers of Southwest Michigan were both influenced by and themselves influenced the region’s landscape and environment. Later, communities cut down forests, dammed rivers and streams, and built railroads to help get fruit to the market. This process continues today. To understand this region’s past, we found research that looked at soil samples and weather data to understand more about the region’s climate and geography.
How do you interpret it?
Analyzing changes in the natural landscape can be difficult, but tells you a lot about the ways humans live and interact with the Earth. For example, the regional climate of Southwest Michigan provides a prolific environment for fruit growing. Here, farmers can grow more varieties and better quality fruits than anywhere else in the world. We owe this to the unique warming characteristics of Lake Michigan. You can use clues like these to help you analyze the changing natural environment around you.
Take a walk around the area you would like to study. What do you see? What is the temperature like? What is the weather like? Ask questions about what you see: how did this land look 100 years ago? What kinds of animals used to live here? What kinds live here now? What kinds of plants grow here? What kinds grew here 100 years ago? Are there any water sources nearby? How do you think these might influence the region?
Think about the answers to these questions. If possible, study scientific reports that have analyzed the land, or conduct some of your own experiments to find the answers to your questions. You can use the information you’ve found to tell a story about the region before humans arrived, and how the land has changed over the years.
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