Two Revolutionary-era North American Maps: Who would they have helped, and how?
Grade Level: This lesson is intended for 5th-8th grade students with scaffolds for English-learners.
Essential Questions:
- How do cartographers use map details to convey their purpose?
- Why do people often need multiple maps in order to best meet their goals?
Lesson Objective: Students will answer inquiry questions about map features in order to come to their own conclusions as to how historical projections would have been helpful in the time-period.
Language Objective: Students will use specific language frames in order to convey the purpose of each map.
Lesson Description: This lesson has students compare the purposes of two Revolutionary-era maps and how and why they would have been used. Students use inquiry skills to analyze the features of the map and then use their observations in applied writing activities. This lesson provides a choice of language-based writing activities to accompany the maps in order to meet the needs of a range of language-writing abilities, particularly English-learners.
Materials needed:
- Students’ Map Analysis Note-Catcher
- Map Source 1: The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vs95d/
- Map Source 2: A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vg531/
Content Standards Addressed in the Lesson:
D2.Geo.3.3-5. Use maps of different scales to describe the locations of cultural and environmental characteristics.
D2.Geo.3.6-8. Use paper based and electronic mapping and graphing techniques to represent and analyze spatial patterns of different environmental and cultural characteristics.
Map Extension Activities: Pick a follow-up activity for your class or groups of students within your class based on language/writing ability and skills targeted.
- Language-based/English Learner activity:
Directions: Use the conjunctions “because,” “but,” and “so,” to articulate an understanding of and comparison between the maps using language frames. Be sure your sentences relate to the geography of the Revolutionary War.
Materials needed:
- Students’ Map Analysis Note-Catcher
- Students’ Map Extension Activity 1 (Language-based)
- Map Source 1: The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vs95d/
- Map Source 2: A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vg531/
- Persuasive/Argumentative Writing Activity:
Directions: Pretend you are George Washington, Commander of the Continental Army or Major General Commander William Howe, in charge of the British Army, during the Revolutionary War. Write a persuasive letter to your division commanders explaining the following: (Use your graphic organizer to help you with the information/ideas.)
- The title and purpose of each of these maps
- Evidence of what types of information is found on each map
- Explanation as to how each of these map would be helpful in the war
- To exceed expectations, add a statement as to what is missing from the map, that the commanders might need an additional map to help them with.
- Your letter should include a greeting, a paragraph about each map, and a closing
Materials needed:
- Students’ Map Analysis Note-Catcher
- For students needing additional support, use the following writing template: Student’s Letter Frame for Persuasive/Argumentative Writing Activity
- Map Source 1: The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vs95d/
- Map Source 2: A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vg531/
Take it one step further: Pair this activity with additional maps of regions within North America or with case studies of specific battles of the Revolutionary War in order to show students a more contextualized view of these projections.
ARGO Tags: British Empire, United States, borders
ARGO Maps:
- The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vs95d/
- A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vg531/
Students’ Map Analysis Note-Catcher
| SOURCE: MAP Map 1 - The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances | SOURCE: MAP Map 2 - A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. | |
|---|---|---|
| Based on the map title, what can you predict, or infer, that you will see on the map? | ||
| Which continents, or parts of continents, are shown on the map? | ||
| What information can you learn by looking at the land, and details on the land? (Be sure to include human geography and physical geography). | ||
| What information does the chart on the side of the map tell you? | ||
| Based on all of your information, who might have used this map during the Revolutionary War times? Why would they have needed it? |
Students’ Map Extension Activity 1 (Language-based)
Directions: Use the conjunctions “because,” “but,” and “so,” to articulate an understanding of and comparison between the maps using language frames. Be sure your sentences relate to the geography of the Revolutionary War.
- Because explains why something is true.
- But is a change, or the opposite.
- So tells us what happens as a result, like cause and effect.
| Map 1 - The theatre of war in North America, with the roads and a table of the distances |
|---|
| Map 1 is helpful because… |
| Map 1 is helpful, but… |
| Map 1 is helpful, so… |
| Map 2 - A New map of the whole continent of America, divided into North and South and West Indies. |
|---|
| Map 2 is helpful because… |
| Map 2 is helpful, but… |
| Map 2 is helpful, so… |
| Map 1 and Map 2 together |
|---|
| Map 1 and Map 2 are similar (the same) because… |
| Map 1 shows… But Map 2 shows… |
| These maps can be studied and looked at together, so… |
Students’ Letter Frame for Persuasive/Argumentative Writing Activity
Directions: Pretend you are George Washington, Commander of the Continental Army or Major General Commander William Howe, in charge of the British Army, during the Revolutionary War. Write a persuasive letter to your division commanders explaining the following: (Use your graphic organizer to help you with the information/ideas.)
- The title and purpose of each of these maps
- Evidence of what types of information is found on each map
- Explanation as to how each of these map would be helpful in the war
- To exceed expectations, add a statement as to what is missing from the map, that the commanders might need an additional map to help them with.
- Your letter should include a greeting, a paragraph about each map, and a closing.
To Generals of the _____________________________________________________,
As your top commander, I am writing with information about two maps that you will need in planning your battles. Map 1 is entitled ___________________________________________________ and Map 2 is entitled ___________________________________________________.
Map 1 was made for the purpose of _______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
On this map, you will find __________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
This map will be helpful to you during the War because ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Map 2 was made for the purpose of _______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
On this map, you will find __________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
This map will be helpful to you during the War because ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Some additional geographic information you may need that you will need to find a different map for is _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Sincerely, __________________________________________