ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.

[SS2010] ALA (4) 4 :

4 ) Relate the relationship of the five geographic regions of Alabama to the movement of Alabama settlers during the early nineteenth century.

•  Identifying natural resources of Alabama during the early nineteenth century

•  Describing human environments of Alabama as they relate to settlement during the early nineteenth century, including housing, roads, and place names

[ELA2021] (4) 9 :

9. Accurately interpret general academic and domain-specific words and phrases.

[ELA2021] (4) 14 :

14. Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

This lesson looks at the natural resources that drew settlers to Alabama. Students will explore the 1818 letter from Joseph Noble to his friend, Samuel B. Bidgood, describing the town at Tuscaloosa Falls.  Students will explain ideas within this historical text based on specific information presented in this primary source.

Follow-up lesson - Alabama: A Boundless Field of Speculation

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (4) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.

[ELA2021] (4) 14 :

14. Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

[SS2010] ALA (4) 4 :

4 ) Relate the relationship of the five geographic regions of Alabama to the movement of Alabama settlers during the early nineteenth century.

•  Identifying natural resources of Alabama during the early nineteenth century

•  Describing human environments of Alabama as they relate to settlement during the early nineteenth century, including housing, roads, and place names

This lesson looks at the natural resources that drew businesses to Alabama. Students will explore the adapted 1820 letter from Mason and Dexter in Cahaba, Alabama to Richards and Simmons in Cumberland, Rhode Island.  Students will explain ideas within this historical text based on specific information presented in this primary source.

This lesson can be used as a stand-alone or can follow A Natural Attraction: The Natural Resources of Alabama During the Early Nineteenth Century. 

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] ALA (4) 4 :

4 ) Relate the relationship of the five geographic regions of Alabama to the movement of Alabama settlers during the early nineteenth century.

•  Identifying natural resources of Alabama during the early nineteenth century

•  Describing human environments of Alabama as they relate to settlement during the early nineteenth century, including housing, roads, and place names

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (4) 42 :

42. Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes, and speaking clearly with adequate volume, appropriate pacing, and clear pronunciation.

a. Articulate ideas, claims, and perspectives in a logical sequence, presenting information, findings, and credible evidence from multiple sources and modalities to enhance listeners' understanding.

[ELA2021] (4) 22 :

22. Analyze events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in informational texts, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

a. Cite evidence to explain the author's perspective toward a topic in an informational text.

In this lesson, students will work in small groups to examine a letter describing the environment of Alabama and identify reasons which might have encouraged settlers to move to Alabama in the early nineteenth century.   Students will choose an interesting attraction of Alabama mentioned in the letter and design a postage stamp around that attraction. 

This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.