Unit 1: The United States
The Big Idea
Geography: The United States has diversity in its landscapes and its people.
What to Know
Your child is about to begin studying the geography, the economy, the population, and the government of the United States. In Unit 1, The United States, the following essential questions will be discussed.
Home Activities
Ideas to Discuss
Geography: The United States has diversity in its landscapes and its people.
What to Know
Your child is about to begin studying the geography, the economy, the population, and the government of the United States. In Unit 1, The United States, the following essential questions will be discussed.
- How can you describe the locations of places on Earth?
- What kinds of land, water, and resources does the United States have?
- Who lives in the United States, and where in the nation do they live?
- How does the United States government work, and what are the rights and responsibilities of citizens and leaders?
- What are the main factors that affect a place's economy?
- How and why do people divide places into regions?
Home Activities
- Help your child draw and color an outline map of the Unites States on a large sheet of paper. Label all the states and cut them out along their borders to make 50 puzzle pieces. Mis up the pieces and then work together to put them back again.
- Discuss your family history with your child. When did your family come to the United States? Why did they come? Why did they or you settle in the community where you live now?
- Go on a walk with your child and talk about the place where you live. When you return home, work together to make two lists. One list should described the physical features that you saw while on the walk. The other should describe the human features, such as roads, stores, or houses.
Ideas to Discuss
- How does where people live affect how they live -- their homes, clothing, foods, activities, jobs, and so on?
- Why do you think so many people around the world want to live in the United States?
- How do we use natural resources, such as water, trees, and oil, and how can we help protect those resources?