Education Standards
2. The State We're In: Washington (3-5 Edition) Teacher Guide - Chapter 9
3. Teacher Guide - Chapter 9 - Launch
4. Teacher Guide - Chapter 9 - Focused Notes
5. Teacher Guide - Chapter 9 - Focused Inquiry
The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition)
The State We're In: Washington - Teacher Guide Chapter 9 - Civics and the Natural World
Overview
Decisions our local, state, tribal, and federal governments make affect every forest, every mountain, and every lake and river.
This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 9. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.
Introduction
In this chapter, students will read that governments (federal, state, county, local, etc.) are created to help the people. Tribes have always had structures in place to help their people as well. Tribal governments, however, are different from state or local governments because tribes are “nations within nations.” Every tribe sets their own rules for how they are governed, and tribes work with other tribes and state agencies to ensure economic and environmental sustainability for all people in Washington.
In the focused inquiry, students will investigate the conditions under which the Elwha Dam was removed and analyze the impacts on the ecosystem. Students will study images, video, and texts to draw their conclusions and write a response to the compelling question. For the purposes of this inquiry, students will primarily study impact on salmon populations.
Civics and the Natural World
General Overview
Enduring Understanding
Governments (federal, state, county, local, etc.) are created to help the people. Tribes have always had structures in place to help their people as well. Tribal governments, however, are different from state or local governments because tribes are “nations within nations.” Every tribe sets their own rules for how they are governed, and tribes work with other tribes and state agencies to ensure economic and environmental sustainability for all people in Washington.
Supporting Questions
Students consider these questions - finding and using evidence to support the Enduring Understanding.
- Can an ecosystem be “recovered?”
- Who/what benefits from ecosystem recovery?
Learning Targets
Students will be able to…
- H4.4.2 Use evidence to develop a claim about Washington state, and tribal nations and groups.
- E1.4.2 Compare the costs and benefits of individual choices.
Key Vocabulary
A list of key Tier 2 vocabulary words is included here for your students. Teach these using whatever strategy you find works best for your students. Encourage students to incorporate these vocabulary words as they work through the components of the chapter guide and intentionally use them as appropriate in their final products.
- leases, a contract that lets someone rent land from an owner of that land (p. 140)
- wildlife refuges, land that is protected by the government and managed by the government (p. 140)
- preserve, to make sure that something is saved (p. 141)
- toxic, poisonous (p. 142)
- weather, the conditions outside at a particular time (p. 143)
- climate change the long-term changes in global temperatures and other characteristics of the atmosphere (p. 143)
- hydropower, electricity that is generated by moving water (p. 144)
- extinction, the process of a species dying out (no longer inhabiting the planet) (p. 148)
- invasive, plants or organisms that spread and harm an area where they are not naturally found (p. 149)
- habitats, the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or organism (p. 150)
Task 1: Launch
Hooking students into the content of the chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Launch to students.
- Guide students in answering the prompts on the handout individually and in partners (or as best to meet the needs of your students).
- There is no “correct” answer. Encourage the students to explain their thinking with each other. The point of this activity is to spark curiosity.
Task 2: Focused Notes
Activating student thinking about the content of the entire chapter.
Distribute the Student handout: Focused Notes to students.
- As students read, they will record their understanding, thinking, and questions about the content using the handout. This can be done individually or collaboratively in pairs or small groups.
Task 3: Focused Inquiry
A focused inquiry is a one-to-two-day lesson that will have students engaging in the C3 Framework’s Inquiry Arc. The link below includes both teacher and student documents.
Compelling Question
Can negative effects of human activities on an ecosystem be reversed?
Attribution and License
Attribution
This Teacher’s Guide for Chapter 9: The State We’re In Washington was developed by Leslie Heffernan, Central Valley School District.
The downloadable digital version of The State We're In: Washington (Grades 3-5 Edition) by Jill Severn for the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Print copies of The State We’re In: Washington, may be purchased from the League of Women Voters of Washington website.
Cover photo of Elwha dam site by Zandcee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
License
Except where otherwise noted, Teacher’s Guide - Chapter 9: The State We’re In: Washington, copyright Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Sections used under fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) are marked.