Theme: Vermont Studies Unit
NAVIGATION INDEX

Component I:  History

Era 1: Native Cultures (Prior to 1609)

Ice Age

Paleo-Indians

Archaic Indians

Woodland Indian Cultures

Era 2: French and Indian Era (1609 – 1763)

European Explorers and Initial Settlements

French & Indian War

Era 3: English Settlement (1763 – 1791)

Land Grants and Town Charters

Ethan Allen & The Green Mountain Boys

The American Revolution

Era 4: Reform and Agricultural Expansion (1791 – 1850)

1791: Statehood

War of 1812

Growth of Logging Industry & Tree Cutting

Agricultural Transition to Sheep Farming

Component II:  Political & Cultural Geography

Under Development

Component III:  Civics, Government, & Society

Under Development

Component IV:  Economics

Under Development
Component I:  History

Essential Question:  How have events and people changed Vermont?
Era 1: Native Cultures (Prior to 1609)
Concept: Ice Age
 

Focusing Questions:

•  How did glacial retreat at the end of the last ice age form the landscape of Vermont ? (Mountains, Valleys, Lakes & Rivers)- See also Geography Component

•  What changes did present-day Lake Champlain undergo as a result of glacial melting and retreat? ( Lake Vermont , Champlain Sea , Lake Champlain )

- See also Geography Component

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Creation of Mini-Glaciers

•  Viewing of Ice Age Documentaries (See Resources)

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past, by Cora Cheney

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  The Last Ice Age Packet (PDF)

•  “ Three Million Years Ago ”, A Maritime History of Vermont .

•  Glaciers , by ____________________________ for Guided Reading

•  The Vermont Geography Book , by Northern Cartographic

Concept: Paleo-Indians
 

Focusing Questions:

•  What led the Paleo-Indians across the land bridge to North America ?

•  How did these first Americans reach the Champlain Valley ?

•  What was life like for the Paleo-Indians? (Movements & Settlements, Making a Living, Agriculture, Technology & Transportation – See Vermont History Timeline)

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Viewing of Documentaries (See Resources)

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

•  Paleolithic Period Reading (PDF)

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  The Land Bridge Poem (PDF)

•  The First Americans (PDF)
Concept: Archaic Indians
 

Focusing Questions:

•  How did the people of the Archaic Period (7000BCE-1000BCE) adapt to the environmental changes as a result of the glacial retreat ? (Warming Climate, Forest Growth, Decline of Large Game Herds, Arrival of Smaller/Faster Game)

•  What was life like for the Archaic People? (Movements & Settlements, Making a Living, Agriculture, Technology & Transportation – See Vermont History Timeline)

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

•  Archaic Period Reading (PDF)

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

Concept : Woodland Indian Cultures
 

Focusing Questions:

•  How were the people of the Woodland Period (1000BCE-1600AD) different from the cultures of the Paleo and Archaic Periods?

•  What was life like for the Woodland People? (Movements & Settlements, Making a Living, Agriculture, Technology & Transportation – See Vermont History Timeline)

•  What two tribes of the Woodland Period were most prevalent in Vermont at the time of European exploration? (Iroquois and Western Abenaki)

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Viewing of Documentaries (See Resources)

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

•  Timeline Activity (Human Role Play, Computer, or Drawing)

•  Compare and Contrast Iroquois and Abenaki

Resources:

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

•  Woodland Period Reading (PDF)

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  “Six Hundred Years Ago”, A Maritime History of Vermont

•  The Native Americans: The Nations of the Northeast, Turner Home Entertainment (VHS)

(back to index)

Era 2: French and Indian Era (1609 – 1763)

Concept: European Explorers and Initial Settlements

 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

 

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  “Four Hundred Years Ago”, A Maritime History of Vermont

•  Samuel de Champlain , by Claude Hurwicz

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

Concept: French & Indian War
 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

 

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Viewing of Documentaries (See Resources)

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

•  Debate

•  Group Discussion

Resources:

•  “French & Indian Wars”, A Maritime History of Vermont

•  Woodland Period Reading (PDF)

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

(back to index)

Era 3: English Settlement (1763 – 1791)

Concept: Land Grants and Town Charters

 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

 

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  Chartering a Town (PDF)

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

•  The Vermont Geography Book , by Northern Cartographic

Concept: Ethan Allen & The Green Mountain Boys

 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

  

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

Concept: The American Revolution
 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

  

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  “The American Revolution”, A Maritime History of Vermont

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

(back to index)
Era 4: Reform and Agricultural Expansion (1791 – 1850)

Concept: 1791: Statehood

 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

 

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

Concept: War of 1812
 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

  

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney
Concept: Growth of Logging Industry & Tree Cutting
 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

  

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

•  Trees, Time and the Land (PDF)

Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney
Concept: Agricultural Transition to Sheep Farming
 

Focusing Questions: Still under development.

  

Activities:

•  In-class Readings

•  Note Taking

•  Paragraph Writing

Resources:

•  “Sheep Farming” Article , The Vermont Geography Book , by Northern Cartographic

•  A Vermont History Timeline – Vermont Historical Society

Vermont : The State with the Storybook Past by Cora Cheney

(back to index)

Component II: Political & Cultural Geography

Essential Question(s):  Under Development

Concept:
   
Component III: Civics, Government, & Society

Essential Question(s):  Under Development

Concept:
   
Component IV: Economics

Essential Question(s):  Under Development

Concept: