Badger History Bulletin - Review
Wisconsin: Resource Map
This past year my students' lessons were enriched through the use of some great map posters from Overmap Educational Resources. Each colorful, laminated 42- x 36-inch poster has a thematic Wisconsin map surrounded by captioned photographs and illustrations. The reproducible teacher's manuals review vocabulary, give suggestions for classroom activities, journal writing, and field trips. They also include map activities, puzzles, and worksheets. Three of them include discussion questions for popular related literature. I found these materials to be useful in a variety of ways. All four posters were on display in a common fourth-grade area.
During our "Exploration and Settlement" unit, the children used the poster of the same title to locate, compare, contrast, and analyze ethnic settlements throughout the state. Students enjoyed discovering some interesting geographical relationships of their families. Dated photos and illustrations of key explorers and events from 1634 to 1871 were easily reviewed. The teacher's manual provided great ideas for the children to experience pioneer life. They played pioneer games, made and used toys of early settlers and solved problems faced by the pioneers.
Another poster map entitled "African Americans in Wisconsin" was used during Black History Month. Students used the poster to answer questions on the map worksheet. Some students chose to read Sounder and used the discussion questions in their response journals and literature circles.
I look forward to using "Native Americans of Wisconsin" and "The Wisconsin Ice Age" more extensively this school year. The visual representations on each of these maps and the photographs have not been available to my students through any other resources.
All of the posters were often referred to during viewing and discussion of Wisconsin history. Students were frequently observed coming back to get a closer look! They used them to research many of their own questions. These map posters are available individually.
Lori Repinsky
Bethesda Elementary School
Waukesha
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