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Disappearing Maryland
Teacher's Guide
Written by Nancy Sesler Unger
Edited by Lisa Kissinger
Objectives:
In this lesson, students will:
- Read to be informed
- Distinguish between cause and effect
- Decide whether Maryland's Bay islands and the residents' way of life
are disappearing
MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:
Social Studies, Grades 4-5
Geography
- Locate places and natural features by interpreting and constructing
maps using directions, legends, grid systems, boundary lines, and
scales.
- Examine the impact of geography on the industrial growth and
economic prosperity of communities in the state, nation, and world.
Political Systems
- Analyze historical examples in which individuals and groups brought
about civic improvement.
Peoples of the Nation and World
- Examine decisions made by citizens of Maryland and the U.S. in terms
of consequences for other peoples of the world, and vice versa.
Social Studies Skills and Processes
- Obtain, interpret, organize, and use information from reading,
asking questions, observing, and listening.
- Define and clarify problems drawn from history and the social
sciences, identify resources, and prepare solutions based on available
data.
Reading/Language Arts, Grades K-8
Reading
- Students will demonstrate their ability to read to be informed.
Student Worksheets:
Other Materials Needed:
Key Web Sites Referenced in this Lesson:
Teacher Background Information:
Many islands in the Chesapeake Bay face economic problems that are
related to the environment. The erosion of land is an important
problem for all Marylanders, but even more so for people who live in
the fragile environment of the islands of the Chesapeake. Every year,
acres of land area wash into the bay. Large islands or lands
previously connected to the mainland of Talbot County have been
divided into small islands or totally covered by the Bay waters.
Farms, businesses, and wildlife habits disappear with the eroded soil.
This Maryland Exploration introduces students to the concept that
while parts of Maryland seem to be disappearing, people are working to
save these fragile places and ways of life. Students read about four
islands in Chesapeake Bay: Poplar, Tilghman, Sharp's and Smith
Islands, and the efforts that people are making to restore the islands
or the residents' way of life. At the completion of this Maryland
Exploration, students decide whether they think Maryland is really
disappearing, and they will write a letter to the editor of the Bay
Journal sharing their opinion, and the reasons for their opinion.
When soil washes into the bay, more than land area is lost. The muddy
water blocks light from the underwater grasses which provide oxygen
and shelter for animals in the water. Silt kills the microscopic
animals that form the basis for the Bay's food chain. When main
economic resources such as crabs, fish and oysters die, the residents
of the islands find their very way of life threatened. Most people
there depend on "working the water" as the economic basis of their
communities.
Along with the forces of nature, such as storms and wind which wash
soil into the bay, some islanders must deal with a rapidly expanding
influx of tourists and vacationers who build homes there, jet ski and
power boat about. Those activities stir up more soil in the water as
well as contributing to other issues that strain the environment.
There is resentment toward visitors who come and take away crabs and
other resources while throwing trash into the waters and disturbing
the habitats of wildlife. More air traffic in the area is disturbing
nesting birds. While visitors improve some aspects of the economy,
such as the sale of gasoline and food on the islands, most residents
see it a very mixed blessing.
Islanders fight a constant battle to maintain their shoreline, often
at great personal or government cost. Riprap (obstacles such as large
stones that take the force of waves) and seawalls are installed,
grasses are planted, and no-mow zones are established to try to slow
erosion. All of that costs time and money. Some islanders even throw
debris such as old cars and boats or other scrap into the Bay to act
as a breakwater. Environmentalists worry that these solutions will
further injure the environment.
Introduction/Motivation
Before students complete this Maryland Exploration on the Internet,
introduce this Exploration with the question: Are we losing Maryland?
Begin a discussion with students about this question. Ask: How could
we lose a state? What could this question mean? Tell students that
they will be completing a Maryland Exploration about very special
places in Maryland.
Learning Activities
In this Maryland Exploration, students read to be informed and collect
information about how changes in the landscape, climate and way of
life could lead us to conclude that Maryland is disappearing. But,
they also collect information about how people are working hard to
preserve Maryland's bay islands, through restoration and economic
development.
Teaching Tips
Some students will need assistance comparing the boundaries of Smith
and Tilghman Islands from 1895 to today using just the on-line maps.
Since the ecological changes in the island are included in the later
part of the Exploration, it is not necessary to stress the boundaries
which are depicted in the maps.
This Exploration can be shortened (and require less time on-line) by
dividing students into teams or assigning partners to review the links
on the four islands.
Teachers can create a unit focusing on the Chesapeake region by using
this Exploration in conjunction with the Maryland's Watermen
Exploration
as
well as The Chesapeake Bay: Great Basin of the East
and
the Wetlands and their Inhabitants Exploration.
Scoring Key for Sample Thoughtful Application:
At the completion of this Exploration, students will decide for
themselves whether Maryland is disappearing. Students will write a
letter to the editor of the Bay Journal to share their decision,
reasons for their decision and suggestions for what individuals and
the government could do about the problem.
The Bay Journal is published 10 times a year by the Alliance for the
Chesapeake Bay Inc. to provide information to the public related to
the state-federal Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. The editor is
Karl Blankenship. You can read the Bay Journal on line,
or contact the Bay Journal at:
619 Oakwood Drive
Seven Valleys, PA 17360- 9395
Phone: 717-428-2819. Fax: 717-428-0273
Rubric/Scoring Tool for Thoughtful Application
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Excellent
3 |
Satisfactory
2 |
Needs improvement
1 |
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Written in correct letter format |
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Edited for capitalization, usage, punctuation (CUPS) |
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Letter as a whole is persuasive |
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Letter shares answer to the question "Is Maryland disappearing? |
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Reasons for answer are included in the letter |
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Includes suggestions for what individuals and government can do about the problem. |
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Extensions for further study:
- You can also write a letter to the Governor or other state
officials to share what you think. Here are some address:
Governor Parris N. Glendening
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401
1-800-811-8336 (toll free, Maryland)
e-mail: governor@gov.state.md.us
James J. White,
Executive Director
Maryland Port Administration
World Trade Center Baltimore
401 East Pratt St.
Baltimore, MD 21202 - 3041
1-800-867-3625 (toll free, Maryland)
e-mail: mpa@access.digex.net
Maryland Port Administration
- Read this interesting article about police life on Smith Island
to learn more
about how the way of life for the people that live on Smith Island
might be very different than how you live.
- One of the most interesting things about life on a Bay island is
what happens during the winter. Read this article about ice/winter on
Smith Island
- Was there anything that you read about in this lesson that you
would like to see preserved for the future of Maryland? If you're
really interested in Disappearing Treasures of Maryland, you might
want to create a poster, skit, advertisement or Hyperstudio stack to
inform others about something that could disappear from Maryland. Be
sure to tell what the problem is and suggest a way that your audience
can be a part of the solution. Remember, part of the solution is just
letting people know that there is a problem!
- What does the Environmental Protection Agency say about this part
of Chesapeake Bay's watershed? Visit these web sites to see how
healthy this part of Chesapeake Bay is:
- Learn more about these and other things that are happening in and
around the Chesapeake Bay by contacting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. They offer many opportunities for
students to become actively involved in preservation programs such as
wild celery or grass planting and oyster farming.
- For more information on the restoration of Poplar Island visit these Web sites:
- For more information on Smith Island visit these links:
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