Grade 6:  Linking Turning Points  

Dear Students:

You are invited to join our staff of cartographers, or "chart writers," in an interpretation of primary source documents, in this case, maps.

1. Examine the artifacts listed below and consider how vital the information was to early travelers.
2. Use the guiding questions to help you draw conclusions about the maps.
3. Share your conclusions with your fellow historians.
4. Read The River, a novel by Gary Paulsen, to determine whether your conclusions are valid.
5. Write a poem about Brian Robeson and the journey that he makes in Paulsen's The River.

Examine the Artifacts

1. Go to Map Collections. This collection of maps spans more than 500 years--a very long time!
2. Find one map that interests you from three different Sections of the Map Collections OR choose three maps from the list of Titles of Suggested Maps.
3. Try the "Zoom" feature to give you a closer look at the map.
4. After you find the map that you want to use, bookmark it or save it in your favorites file so that you can find it again. The Learning Page's Linking & Bookmarking in American Memory explains how to do this.
5. Record the map's title. If you need to relocate the map, you will be able to type or copy the title into the "Search" form.

Sections of the Map Collections   (Choose one map from three of these sections)

Map Collections

Cities and Towns

Conservation and Environment

Discovery and Exploration

Cultural Landscapes

Military Battles and Campaigns

Transportation and Communication

General Maps

Titles of Suggested Maps   (Choose three maps from this list)

George Washington's hand drawn map of his farm

Lloyd's map of the lower Mississippi River from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico

A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent

A map of Potomack and James rivers in North America

Map of the Hudson River Rail Road from New York to Albany

Mount Desert Island and neighboring coast of Maine

North and South America with the adjacent seas

Path map of the Eastern part of Mount Desert Island Maine

A plan of the town of Boston with the entrenchments of His Majesty's forces in 1775

Topographic Map, Acadia National Park, Hancock County, Maine

Guiding Questions

1. Use the following questions to guide your thinking about the maps that you have chosen:
• How vital for travelers is the information contained in the map? Why?
• What might have happened differently if a traveler had interpreted the map in a different way?
• What details can you find in a close examination of the map?
2. Record at least three interesting observations about each map.
3. Use the Artifact Analysis Matrix to add variety to your observations.

Discuss your Conclusions

1. With others in the class, discuss your conclusions about each artifact.
2. Using the Artifact Analysis Matrix, record the class conclusions on a large sheet of paper.

Read the Story

1. Read The River by Gary Paulsen.
2. Check the completed Artifact Analysis Matrix. Are your conclusions about the maps valid?

Write a 5-W Poem

1. Answer the 5-Ws:
• who,
• what,
• where,
• when,
• why, and sometimes
• how.
2. Use exact words and phrases from the story. Try to match your "answers" to both the story and the artifacts.
3. Create your own 5-W poem using the words and phrases that you have selected. The poem may be created using one of the following methods:
• Write your own poem.
• Write a verse from selected pages; then put your verse together with verses from the rest of the class to tell the story.
• Work with 1-2 other students to write a group poem.
• Work with 1-2 other students to write a verse; then put the group's verse together with verses from the rest of the class to tell the story.

Rough Draft	Final Draft
Who: Brian What:  studied the map again Where:  The lake he had crossed did not show. When:  with the arrival of good light Why:  There were so many variables, so many ways to go wrong. Verse Two follows . . .	Lost Again by Amy, Josh, and Tonya With the arrival of good light, The lake he had crossed did not show. Brian studied the map . . . again . . . There were so many variables, so many ways to go wrong. Verse Two follows . . .