Where You Stand

Ever wonder who lived here before the roads, the buildings, the schools — even before the first cities or states? In this course, you’ll dig into the deep roots of your local land.

Introduction

Ever wonder who lived here before the roads, the buildings, the schools — even before the first cities or states?

In this course, you’ll dig into the deep roots of your local land. You’ll find out:

• Who lived here hundreds or thousands of years ago?
• What happened when settlers arrived?
• What names, languages, and traditions existed right where you’re standing?

You’ll explore museums, interview experts, meet community members, and walk the actual land you're researching. Your mission? To tell the real story of where you stand — and pass that knowledge on to others in creative, powerful ways. It’s time to go back as far as possible and bring those stories forward. This expedition will have reading requirements.

Essential Questions

• Why is understanding Native American history and culture important to understanding ourselves?
• How does geography and the environment affect the beliefs, values and practices of Native Americans?
• How can point of view change the meaning of nonfiction texts?
• How can nonfiction be creative?
• How do biographies inspire us to act?
• How can struggle be positive?

Learning Objectives

• To evaluate the positive and negative consequences of the separation of powers.
• To develop an argument about whether the US was right to expand their territory affecting millions of Native Americans.
• To demonstrate understanding of how geography affected the development of Colonial America.
• To explain the relationship between slavery and concepts of freedom in Colonial America.
• To develop an argument about whether the Constitution successfully created a federal structure that balanced the wants of individuals and states against the common interests of the Union.
• To analyze one’s own state laws, region, and other elements of culture in order to understand the issues, struggles and priorities of one’s state and how their state government affects other states.