E Is for Empire

E is for Empire A Children’s Alphabet Book by Ann E. Burg And a Geographic Lesson for Elementary/ Middle Schools Lesson by Timothy McDonnell and Map by Carol Gersmehl New York Geographic Alliance

INTRODUCTION: E is for Empire is part of an alphabet series from Sleeping Bear Press. Every letter is used to describe a place or an historic event that happened in New York State. After reading through the book, the students will locate each place on a large map of the state. They will then come up with other ideas for each letter of the alphabet.

OBJECTIVES: 1. After reading E is for Empire, the students (either alone or in learning pairs) will investigate one place or historic event described in the book. 2. Using a large map with a grid system, the students will locate each place from the book. 3. The students will find other places that could be used to describe the geography of New York (i.e. “B” is for the Buffalo Bills, “F” is for Finger Lakes, “M” is for Montauk.

STANDARDS: National Geographic Standards Std. 1 - How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective. Std. 12 - The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement. Std. 15 - How physical systems affect human systems. New York Standards for English-Language Arts Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: Reading (Grade 4) - Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Reading (Grade 7) - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. Writing (Grade 4) - Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. Writing (Grade7) - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.

SPATIAL THINKING SKILLS: The students will investigate conditions and connections of places, and they will describe patterns of settlement in New York State. They will also find spatial patterns and associations. (Example: “Most of the places from E is for Empire are found near the Hudson River or the Erie Canal.”) PROCEDURE:

1. Depending on the age group, read E is for Empire to the class, or have the students read by themselves. Discuss with the students what they know about the places mentioned in the book. Have they been there? Can they share a photo with the class?

2. Have students work in pairs. Assign each pair one or two letters. They are to make a drawing or a map symbol to put on the BIG map of New York. Example: For “U,” they could make a drawing of Uncle Sam’s hat. The coordinates listed below match the “NY- State Tiles 33 x 21 inches” by Carol Gersmehl of the New York Geographic Alliance. It can be downloaded from the Resource page of the NYGA Website. This map is copyrighted, and should only be used in a classroom setting for instructional purposes. It can be printed in tiles and then pasted together to fit on a wall or on a table. The map is layered, so you can customize it by turning layers (like lakes or rivers) on or off. 3. Now students are ready to find their assigned places on the BIG New York Elevation- Water Map. Here are the coordinates:

Adirondacks F2/F3 Niagara Falls B/C4 (border) Brooklyn Bridge F8 Oyster Bay G7 Capital F/G5 (border) Potato Chips F4 Deganawida E4 Quarry F/G5 (border) Erie Canal use string or yarn Roosevelt F/G6 (border) (follow the lowlands) Farmers Museum F4 Stanton D4 Garnet F3 Ticonderoga G2/3 (border) Hudson River use string or yarn Uncle Sam G4 Immigrants F8 Van Buren G5 Jello C4 World Trade Center* F8 Kodak D4 eXcelsior Place anywhere Ladybug E3 York F7/8 (border) Muffins E4 Zoot Suit F7

4. Once all the symbols have been correctly placed on the map, each student pair should tell the class something important about their place. What city is it? What happened there? Who was involved? * If the World Trade Center is a problem for your classroom because of 9/11, you can substitute another New York City landmark (i.e. Washington Square). Or you can use West Point (F6/7 border). It is important to use location words, such as “next to,” “in between,” or “close to.” These concepts must be mastered before you can introduce compass directions (i.e. Rochester is west of Syracuse.) 5. The teacher should guide the students in looking for patterns on the map. For example, why are there so many places in the “F” column? Are many sites clustered around the Erie Canal? (This is a spatial association). 6. As an extension activity, students should brainstorm other places that can be used in place of those in E is for Empire: “Y” is for Yankees, “H” is for Harriet Tubman, “T” is for Thousand Islands, etc. They can be placed on the map, too. These sites can be themed-based (i.e. Black History Month), or region-based (i.e. Southern Tier).

Suggestion: This activity is a good introduction to the concept of latitude-longitude. If students can use this grid system to locate places, they might be ready to use latitude (in place of the numbered rows) and longitude (in place of lettered columns). This skill is definitely appropriate for middle school students, but it will be very challenging for upper elementary students.

NEW RESOURCE: The New York Geographic Alliance has created a Story Map using ArcGIS Online (ESRI). It has been publically shared. The URL is http://arcg.is/1XSP4Ca

The BIG New York map, showing the main sites for the “E is for Empire” lesson.