Teacher's Guide
Big Towns and Little Towns
A. Things To Do
1. Print out the guided notes and distribute to class.
2. Watch Dakota Pathways Episode #13 and have the students
complete the guided notes.
3. Go online and complete the card matching “Activity” and
“Challenge” quiz.
4. Student glossary included.
5. There is a list of related links that would be helpful for
student research projects.
6. Print out the crossword puzzle and distribute to class.
7. Class Activity – County Special
8. Standards
1. Guided Notes
“Guided Notes” PDF
“Guided Notes” PDF - Key
2. Online Episode of Dakota Pathways Episode
#13
3. Online games
a. Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways.
The card matching game is found by clicking “Activity”.
b. Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways. The
online quiz is found by clicking “Challenge”.
4. Glossary
a. Have the students access the main page of Dakota Pathways.
We have included a student glossary.
5. Links
a. We have included an extensive list of related sites. We
preview each related site looking for adult content.
Unfortunately, we cannot find all of the inappropriate material on
an individual site. Please call us Toll Free at 1-800-456-0766 if
you find any questionable content and we will remove it. Thank
you.
6. Crossword Puzzle
a. The students may use the vocabulary words and definitions
for the crossword puzzle if they need help.
Puzzle
Puzzle Answer Key
7. Class Activity – County Special
Every town in South Dakota, whether it is big like Sioux Falls
or small like Edgemont, has something special to offer. In the
following activity you will choose and research one special
feature that exemplifies or represents each community in your
county. The project will require a little research and a lot of
creativity. The students will construct a topographical map that
includes the natural features of your county like streams, hills
and mountains.
Also, each town in your county will be represented by one
three-dimensional landmark. For example, Tyndall, SD has an
awesome flag pole in front of the courthouse that resembles the
Eiffel Tower. The students could make a small model of the tower
and include information about it; like when it was built, the
height of it and maybe the weight of the steel used to make the
tower.
Edgemont, SD has an unbelievable number of trains that pass
through town every day. The students could represent Edgemont with
a train or maybe the community bandstand that President Teddy
Roosevelt used to address a crowd in 1903.
Materials: The following is a list of possible materials that
could be used to make the map. Use your imagination and have fun
with your students.
1. 4’X8’X ¾’’ sheet of plywood (used for entire class, scrap
wood better $)
-plywood should be cut into the shape of your county (Industrial
Arts Teacher could help)
- Can be made smaller.
2. South Dakota maps
3. Chicken wire (gloves to prevent cuts)
4. Staple gun (direct supervision is required)
5. Wire cutter (direct supervision is required)
6. Newspaper (scrap paper will work)
7. Glue (Elmer’s Glue and water – 15% to 25% glue mixture)
8. Paint (non-toxic tempera paint works well)
9. Styrofoam, wood, clay, cardboard (anything else you will
need to make town features)
10. Internet and library research
Process:
Day one: (1 class period)
1. Assign each student a city or town (If you do not have
enough towns in your county then assign groups. Also, if you have
too many towns then pick a few of the towns from various areas in
your county.)
2. Internet and library research
Day two: (1 class period)
1. Internet and library research
2. Students must choose feature and verify it with you
Homework and map construction: (1 – 2 weeks)
1. Students must construct their chosen feature (great
parent-student project.)
2. Students should research information about their selected
feature which will be used on the map key. (3 to 5 interesting
facts)
3. The class will work together to build a 3-dimensional map that
represents your county using the chicken wire and papier-mâché.
(Maybe one or two at a time could work on this if they finish an
assignment early.) Use paint, sand, rocks, artificial trees and
your imagination to decorate your county.
Final construction: (2 class periods)
1. Glue all of the town features on the map.
2. Include all of the researched information about the town
features on a map key.
Related Activity - Build It: Scale During this activity your students will construct 3 “scaled” models of the Flick Cabin in Custer, SD. This is a perfect engineering/math activity for an afterschool group, club or elementary class.
FOURTH GRADE HISTORY STANDARDS
STUDENTS WILL:
1. examine various regions of the United States in order to
focus on how the following affected development of South Dakota,
including site selection of settlements (geographical location –
where and why), opportunities available, natural resources, and
population influences.
2. explain the impact of people and geographic location on the
growth and expansion of South Dakota, emphasizing Manda, Arikara,
Sioux, and other historic tribes; explorers (Lewis and Clark and
the Veredrye brothers) and traders (Pierre Chorteau and Manuel
Lisa); railroad expansion and town building; homesteaders and gold
miners; and rainfall, prairie, Great Plains, Black Hills, and the
Missouri River system.
3. trace the history of South Dakota with emphasis on notable
South Dakotans such as Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, John B. S. Todd,
Fred T. Evans, Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Scotty Philip, Niels E.
Hansen, Gertrude (Zitkala-Sa) Bonin, Peter Norbeck, and Francis
Case; impact of the gold rush; controversy over statehood; and
Indian Wars and reservation life.
FOURTH GRADE GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS
STUDENTS WILL:
3. use appropriate maps for a specific purpose, including
elevation, land use-resource, road maps and mileage tables, time
zones, and migration/movement patterns.
5. locate major South Dakota geographical features, such as the
Missouri River; the Black Hills and Badlands; and the capital
(Pierre) and the following cities: Sioux Falls, Rapid City,
Aberdeen, Huron, and Yankton.
6. evaluate the impact geography has on the inhabitants of South
Dakota such as location of cities, transportation, industries,
agricultural products, and culture.
FOURTH GRADE CIVICS STANDARDS
STUDENTS WILL:
5. identify examples from South Dakota history of conflicts over
rights, how the conflicts were resolved, the important people who
helped resolve them, and conflicts that remain unresolved.
Full Script (PDF)
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