SETTlement

a short story about population settlement for elementary (gr 4) school students

Lucie was a fourth grader who loved learning about history. One day in class, her teacher asked the students to brainstorm why people live where they do. Lucie raised her hand and said, "Some reasons are jobs, fun places, resources, family, and schools."

The teacher said, "Great job, Lucie! Let's look at a map to learn more." She showed a map with blue rivers, big yellow dot cities, and state borders. Lucie saw that many state lines were made by the water. She found major lakes like the Great Lakes and rivers like the Mississippi.

The teacher asked, "Lucie, pick a water spot in our state. Do cities seem to be around it?" Lucie found a lake in her state. She saw a city next to it. She said, "Yes, the city is near the lake."

The teacher said, "If a lot of people live by water, what issues could that cause?" Lucie replied, "Pollution! People and factories could harm the water." The teacher said Lucie was right.

Next, Lucie clicked on a map layer showing population. She saw high density around the edge and inland near water. She zoomed into Missouri. Two cities were densely populated. Lucie said, "They're by river joins!"

Her teacher asked, "Why settle at river joins?" Lucie was excited. She said, "For travel, food, and safety!" The teacher agreed. She said Lucie made an excellent discovery about water impacting where people live.

Lucie thought more. She told the teacher, "If many people live by water, they could pollute it!" The teacher said Lucie grasped how people affect nature. Lucie smiled proudly. She loved using maps to make connections in science, history, and geography. Explore Lucie's map below.

Educational resource references:

C3: D2.Geo.2.3-5. Use maps to explain relationships between the locations of plac- es and regions and their environmental characteristics.
C3: D2.Geo.6.3-5. Describe how environmental characteristics influence population distribution.
CCSS: ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.7. Interpret information presented visually and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.

Tags: population settlement people water pollution rivers FK4

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