Meeting Curriculum Standards
The learning activities in this packet support development of research and communication skills. These activities encourage students to combine skills such as observation with knowledge to practice inquiry. They correspond to the following guidelines.
Arkansas History Guidelines:
2.1.1. Identify and record changes in your local community, state and environment. (Grades K-3)
2.1.4. Investigate the processes and evaluate the impact of change . . . with reference to population patterns and human-environment interactions over time. (Grades 4-6)
2.1.7. Investigate the processes and evaluate the impact of change over time in Arkansas using the themes of geography: location, place (human and physical characteristics), movement patterns (people, ideas, goods and services), human-environment interactions and regions. (Grades 7-12)
Arkansas Science Curriculum Framework:
1.1.2. Examine the techniques of scientific inquiry: problem solving, questioning, reasoning, creative decision making, etc. (Grades K-4)
1.1.14. Think critically and logically about the relationship between evidence and explanations. (Grades K-4)
4.1.8. Explore common patterns of interdependence and interrelationships of organisms. (Grades K-4)
4.1.18. Analyze ecosystems in terms of population relationships, food webs, energy flow and biotic succession. (Grades 5-8)
4.1.28. Compare the complex relationships among living things and environments (population dynamics, relationships, cycling of materials, and energy). (Grades 9-12)
4.1.29. Investigate and formulate solutions to problems resulting from human impact on the environment. (Grades 9-12)
5.1.2. Describe major features of the earth's surface and how it is affected by natural changes. (Grades K-4)
5.1.7. Understand and appreciate the uses of water. (Grades K-4)
5.1.17. Trace the pathway of how rainwater in Arkansas reaches the Gulf of Mexico. (Grades 5-8)
5.1.24. Analyze the impact of human activities on the earth's crust . . . and explore methods of conservation and recycling of the earth's resources. (Grades 5-8)
5.1.28. Analyze the interdependence of topography, natural resources, climate and people's existence on the earth. (Grades 9-12)
National Geography Standards:
Students shall know and understand:
"how physical and human processes together shape places" (p. 113). (Grades K-4)
"how different physical processes shape places [and] how different human groups alter places in distinctive ways" (p. 150). (Grades 5-8)
"the changing physical and human characteristics of places [and] how relationships between humans and the physical environment lead to the formation of places and to a sense of personal and community identity" (p. 190). (Grades 9-12)
These learning activities lend themselves to authentic assessment- that is, to assessment and evaluation of students based on authentic activities, such as summarizing a local resident's work history and placing it in the context of the agricultural or industrial develoment of the community.
References
Arkansas Department of Education. (1997). Arkansas history guidelines. <http://arkedu.k12.ar.us/>
Arkansas Department of Education. (1995). Arkansas science curriculum framework.
Geography Education Standards Project. (1994). Geography for life: National geography standards, 1994. Washington, DC: National Geographic Research and Exploration.
National Research Council. (1995). National science education standards.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
© Red River Rural Schools Partnership 1998
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