Lesson Idea | Growing Our State History

Growing Our State History is a 2-hour lesson designed for students in grades 3–5 to explore how agriculture has shaped the history and development of their state. Using the C3 Framework's Inquiry Arc, students investigate what makes a community livable by examining ghost towns, natural resources, settlement factors, and local agriculture. The lesson promotes critical thinking through hands-on mapping, research, and discussions, and encourages students to understand the lasting impact of agriculture on their communities and daily lives. Ideal for social studies or integrated learning settings.

Standards

National Content Area Standards

Social Studies – Geography
• Geography Standard 1 (Grades 3-4): How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information.
Objective 4: The interpretation of geographic representations.

• Geography Standard 4 (Grades 3-4): The physical and human characteristics of places.
Objective 1: Places are locations having distinctive characteristics that give them meaning and distinguish them from other locations.

• Geography Standard 9 (Grades 3-4): The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.
Objective 2: People live in many different places on Earth.
Objective 3: People move for a variety of reasons.

• Geography Standard 11 (Grades 3-4): The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
Objective 2: Some locations are better suited than others to provide certain goods and services.

• Geography Standard 12 (Grades 3-4): The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Objective 1: People benefit from living in settlements.
Objective 2: Settlements occur where locations provide opportunities and therefore advantages.

• Geography Standard 1 (Grade 5): How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information.
Objective 4: The use of geographic representations to ask and answer geographic questions.

• Geography Standard 11 (Grade 5): The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface.
Objective 2: Access to factors of production, such as capital, labor, raw materials, and energy, influence the location of economic activities.

• Geography Standard 9 (Grade 5): The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth's surface.
Objective 3: There are multiple causes and effects of migration.

• Geography Standard 12 (Grade 5): The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
Objective 1: Different types of functions can influence the success or failure of settlements.
Objective 2: A combination of a favorable location and human activities lead to the growth of settlements.
Objective 3: There are patterns of settlements in regions.

Social Studies – History
• NCSS 3 (Grades 3-5): People, Places, and Environments
Objective 4: Factors influencing various community, state, and regional patterns of human settlement, such as the availability of land and water, and places for people to live.
Objective 6: Cultural patterns and their interactions within and across places, such as migration and settlement, changes in customs or ideas, and in the ways people make a living.

• History Standard 2A (Grades 3-4): The history of students' own local community and how communities in North America varied long ago.
Objective 2: From resources that are available in local community, record changes that have occurred in goods and services over time.
Objective 3: Describe local community life long ago. including jobs, schooling, transportation, communication, religious observances, and recreation.

National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes

Agriculture and the Environment
• Identify the major ecosystems and agro-ecosystems in their community or region (e.g., hardwood forests, conifers, grasslands, deserts) with agro-ecosystems (e.g., grazing areas and crop growing regions) (T1.3-5.d)
• Explain how the interaction of the sun, soil, water, and weather in plant and animal growth impacts agricultural production (T1.3-5.b)
• Recognize the natural resources used in agricultural practices to produce food, feed, clothing, landscaping plants, and fuel (e.g., soil, water, air, plants, animals, and minerals) (T1.3-5.e)

Culture, Society, Economy & Geography
• Provide examples of agricultural products available, but not produced in their local area and state (T5.3-5.e)
• Explain the value of agriculture and how it is important in daily life. (T5.3-5.d)
• Understand the agricultural history of an individual’s specific community and/or state (T5.3-5.f)

Food, Health, and Lifestyle
• Describe the necessary food components of a healthy diet using the current dietary guidelines (T3.3-5.a)

Common Core Standards

Anchor Standards – Speaking and Listening
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.