ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] GHS (3) 3 :

3 ) Describe ways the environment is affected by humans in Alabama and the world. (Alabama)

Examples: crop rotation, oil spills, landfills, clearing of forests, replacement of cleared lands, restocking of fish in waterways

•  Using vocabulary associated with human influence on the environment, including irrigation, aeration, urbanization, reforestation, erosion, and migration

[SS2010] GHS (3) 11 :

11 ) Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs.

•  Comparing maps of the past to maps of the present

[SS2010] ALA (4) 2 :

2 ) Relate reasons for European exploration and settlement in Alabama to the impact of European explorers on trade, health, and land expansion in Alabama.

•  Locating on maps European settlements in early Alabama, including Fort Condé, Fort Toulouse, and Fort Mims

•  Tracing on maps and globes, the routes of early explorers of the New World, including Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa

•  Explaining reasons for conflicts between Europeans and American Indians in Alabama from 1519 to 1840, including differing beliefs regarding land ownership, religion, and culture

[SS2010] USS5 (5) 1 :

1 ) Locate on a map physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas, including ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges.

•  Locating on a map states and capitals east of the Mississippi River

•  Identifying natural harbors in North America

Examples: Mobile, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Savannah (Alabama)

[SS2010] USS5 (5) 2 :

2 ) Identify causes and effects of early migration and settlement of North America.

[ARTS] VISA (3) 1 :

1) Elaborate on an individual or prompted imaginative idea.

Examples: Create an imaginative mask showing his/her personality.
Look at masks from different cultures such as Chinese, African and Native American.

[ARTS] VISA (3) 2 :

2) Demonstrate skills using available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.

Examples: Choose from a variety of resources and materials to create a work of art.
Use books Imagine That by Joyce Raymond or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland.

[ARTS] VISA (3) 4 :

4) Demonstrate an understanding of the safe and proficient use of materials, tools, equipment, and studio space.

[ARTS] VISA (3) 10 :

10) Speculate about processes and purposes an artist used to create a work of art.

Example: Observe and compare similar themes in artwork from historical and contemporary eras.

[ARTS] VISA (3) 14 :

14) Create works of art based on observations of surroundings.

[ARTS] VISA (4) 4 :

4) When making works of art, utilize and care for materials, tools, and equipment in a manner that prevents danger to oneself and others.

[ARTS] VISA (4) 5 :

5) Document, describe, and create real or imagined constructed environments.

Example: Design a futuristic art room, town, or planet.

[ARTS] VISA (4) 15 :

15) Through observation, infer information about time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created.

Example: Look at the statue of Vulcan in Birmingham and talk about its relationship to history of the city.

[ARTS] VISA (5) 2 :

2) Demonstrate the methods of the art-making process, including brainstorming, sketching, reflecting, and refining, to create a work of art/design.

[ARTS] VISA (5) 4 :

4) Demonstrate proper care and use of materials, tools, and equipment while creating art.

[ARTS] VISA (5) 10 :

10) Compare one's interpretation of a work of art with the interpretation of others.

[ARTS] VISA (5) 13 :

13) Recognize differences in criteria used to evaluate works of art depending on styles, genres, and media as well as historical and cultural contexts.

Students will read a description of the pine barrens by Basil Hall and analyze the text by using the 3-2-1 strategy. Students will discuss the life and work of Basil Hall, including his travels and journaling in North America. They will observe how a camera lucida functions and debate whether using a camera lucida is "cheating" in art. Next, students will venture outside to create a sketch of their environment while appropriately utilizing materials. They will compare and contrast their products to the sketches of Basil Hall and critique each other's work. 

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

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS5 (5) 10 :

10 ) Describe political, social, and economic events between 1803 and 1860 that led to the expansion of the territory of the United States, including the War of 1812, the Indian Removal Act, the Texas-Mexican War, the Mexican-American War, and the Gold Rush of 1849.

•  Analyzing the role of the Louisiana Purchase and explorations of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for their impact on Westward Expansion

•  Explaining the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine

•  Identifying Alabama's role in the expansion movement in the United States, including the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the Trail of Tears (Alabama)

•  Identifying the impact of technological developments on United States' expansion

Examples: steamboat, steam locomotive, telegraph, barbed wire

[SS2010] USS5 (5) 1 :

1 ) Locate on a map physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas, including ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges.

•  Locating on a map states and capitals east of the Mississippi River

•  Identifying natural harbors in North America

Examples: Mobile, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Savannah (Alabama)

[SS2010] USS5 (5) 11 :

11 ) Identify causes of the Civil War, including states' rights and the issue of slavery.

•  Describing the importance of the Missouri Compromise, Nat Turner's insurrection, the Compromise of 1850, the Dred Scott decision, John Brown's rebellion, and the election of 1860

•  Recognizing key Northern and Southern personalities, including Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Joseph Wheeler (Alabama)

•  Describing social, economic, and political conditions that affected citizens during the Civil War

•  Identifying Alabama's role in the Civil War (Alabama)

Examples: Montgomery as the first capital of the Confederacy, Winston County's opposition to Alabama's secession (Alabama)

•  Locating on a map sites important to the Civil War

Examples: Mason-Dixon Line, Fort Sumter, Appomattox, Gettysburg, Confederate states, Union states (Alabama)

•  Explaining events that led to the conclusion of the Civil War

Students in each Grade 5 class will work in collaboration to create a group Google Slides presentation celebrating the Alabama Bicentennial (or Alabama History.) Each student pair will research a different topic to find information to create two or three slides as part of the group slideshow. The finished class Google Slides show will be presented, with each student pair reading their own slides. (See digital resource for suggested topic list drawn from course standards.) 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Learning Development Summit.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] USS5 (5) 1 :

1 ) Locate on a map physical features that impacted the exploration and settlement of the Americas, including ocean currents, prevailing winds, large forests, major rivers, and significant mountain ranges.

•  Locating on a map states and capitals east of the Mississippi River

•  Identifying natural harbors in North America

Examples: Mobile, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Savannah (Alabama)

In this activity, students are challenged to identify and locate the major geographical features in the United States. There are 20 questions, and students have 30 seconds to respond to each question. Each question also includes a hint as a scaffold for students who need additional support in locating the feature. 

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.