Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Regions of Virginia Objective: By the end of the 20 minute session, each student will know there are 4 major rivers and 5 geographic regions of Virginia and will be able to name at least one product or attribute of each region. SOL’s History & Social Science Standards 2.b & 2.c - The student will demonstrate knowledge of the geography and early inhabitants of Virginia by: b) Locating and describing Virginia’s Coastal Plain (Tidewater), Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateau c) Locating and identifying water features important to the early history of Virginia (Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, James River, York River, Potomac River, and Rappahannock River). History & Social Science Standard 10.b - The student will demonstrate knowledge of government, geography, and economics by: describing the major products and industries of Virginia’s five geographic regions. Science Standard 4.8 - The student will investigate and understand important Virginia natural resources. Key concepts include: a) b) c) d) watershed and water resources; animals and plants; minerals, rocks, ores, and energy sources; and forests, soil, and land. Materials: Regions of VA capsule (in tub) – one per station (available for teachers to check out after Farm Field Days) Set Up: There are 4 stations, one for each class that comes in. At each station the same lesson will be simultaneously presented for approximately 20 minutes. There will be 8 class rotations (every 20 minutes) through the Regions of VA Barn. At each station: spread the canvas map on the floor and have the accessories close at hand. The students in the class will sit around the outside edge of the canvas map on the floor. Lesson Plan: Overview of Activity: Start with general information below as an introduction. Hand out all the cards for the 5 regions, along with the 4 cards for the major rivers, and one card each for the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Have students orient themselves by placing each region, river and water body card on the map. Briefly define Chesapeake Bay watershed. Then talk about each region and bring in detail for each product. Have students place the ‘products’ on the map in the appropriate regions. Talk about major industries in each region (sols). At the end, if more time, quiz them using the “VA Geography Questions” or read some “Fun Facts about Agriculture” that are included in the Regions of VA tub. 1) Introduction: General Virginia Agriculture Information - Agriculture has been a rich part of Virginia’s history and has been the main basis for VA’s economy for more than 300 years. It is the oldest and largest industry in VA. In Virginia, agriculture spans a wide spectrum of activities, from the traditional raising of field crops, vegetables, livestock, and nursery products, to the breeding of commercial horses, the bottling of premium wines, and the growing of fish, or aquaculture. Virginia’s diverse agriculture systems are a product of the varied geography, climate and soil systems across the state, and are linked to the state’s economy, ecology and heritage. Virginia’s beautiful ridge and valleys, rolling piedmont hills, and sandy coastal plain play a large role in dictating the type of crops, animal production and conservation practices employed to protect the state’s environment while maintaining farm profitability. 2) Placing the ‘name cards’: Briefly discuss something about each ‘name card’ using the information below. a) WATER BODIES i) Potomac River ii) Rappahannock River iii) York River iv) James River v) Chesapeake Bay vi) Atlantic Ocean vii) Briefly define the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: a drainage basin (includes most of VA) that acts like a funnel where all the rivers and streams within it are channeled into the Chesapeake Bay. 3) The 5 Geographic Regions - split up by geology, soil type, and topography. Have a student place a name card on each region (and the fall line) as you talk about it. a) Tidewater/Coastal Plain - begins at the Atlantic Ocean/Chesapeake Bay and continues inland to a distinct physiographic line known as the fall line (a natural border between the Tidewater/Coastal Plain region and the Piedmont region where waterfalls prevent further travel up the river.) i) Major cities formed along the fall line of the large rivers because ships could not navigate past this point. Cargo had to be transported farther west by land, creating an economic base for cities: Potomac River (Great Falls), Rappahannock (Fredericksburg), James River (Richmond) ii) Warmer Climate (due to the ocean’s influence) - is warmer than the Piedmont, so it has a longer growing season. This means that more than one crop can be grown in a season. iii) Level Topography – the flat land means it is better suited for cropland. This low land region also contains a lot of salt marshes and swamps. b) Piedmont – located between the Blue Ridge foothills to the west and the Tidewater/Coastal Plain (fall line) to the east. i) The Piedmont is characterized by gently rolling, well rounded hills and long low ridges with little elevation difference between the hills and valleys c) Blue Ridge Mountains - north from about Roanoke and extends through several states and contains the highest elevations and the most rugged topography in the Appalachian Mountain system of eastern North America d) Valley & Ridge – area of valleys (including the i) Shenandoah Valley) and small ridges west of the Blue ii) Ridge Mountains. The valleys are riddled with caverns (ie: Luray & Skyline caverns) carved into the abundant limestone rock. e) Appalachian Plateau – located in the southwest corner of VA. This plateau continues north to New York and south all the way down to Alabama. The plateau is elevated, rugged land that is relatively flat on top and contains many coalfields. 4) Placing the ‘Products & Industries’ for each Region – When students place each item on the map, briefly discuss something about each ‘product or industry’ using the information below. a) Tidewater/Coastal Plain Products and Industry - Main product is seafood. Industries include tourism, federal military installations (sea ports and bases). Additional products: corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, potatoes, pumpkins, wheat, barley, tomatoes, strawberries, peas, asparagus (Due to the level topography, farms are generally large in size and consist mostly of cash grain crops.) i) Additional info on products in the Tidewater ii) Corn -There are two kinds of corn grown in VA. Do you know what they are used for? A small percentage is for us to eat. Most of it is for animals to eat. Farmers take the corn, husks, leaves and all, and grind it up and put it in a silo. The corn ferments because bacteria in the environment digest the moist parts of the corn. As the corn ferments, liquid drips out the bottom of the silo during this process. This process stabilizes the corn so it is easier to store and it won’t rot. It can easily be bagged up as animal feed and transported or stored to feed animals in the winter. The bacteria in the “silage” are also good for cows to eat. iii) Peanuts (1) First commercial crop grown in Virginia (started in the 1840’s.) (2) Civil war soldiers liked them and the word spread (3) Not a significant agricultural crop until the early 1900’s when the boll weevil destroyed the South’s cotton crop. (4) It is now a multimillion dollar crop in Virginia. (5) 250-350 million pounds produced annually (6) Virginia produces 8% of the nation’s peanuts annually iv) Potatoes (1) Virginia is a major producer of early summer potatoes and is the #10 potato producer in the country. v) Soybeans (1) Virginia farmers grow more than a half-million acres of soybeans each year. (2) Soybeans have been grown in China for several thousand years. However, the U.S. now produces the most soybeans. (3) Many products are made from soybeans (a) Candles, Crayons Cleaners, Flooring, Pens, Ink, Waxes, Shampoos, Hair Conditioner, Cosmetics, hair styling products Paint Remover Hand cleaner Infant Formula Salad Dressing Bio Diesel Fuel vi) Cotton (1) Cotton was planted in 1607 at Jamestown by the Virginia colony (2) Cotton has become a popular alternative to soybeans because it is more profitable and as an alternative to corn because it is more drought tolerant (3) Cotton is actually 2 crops, SEED and FIBER. (a) SEED -Cottonseed is crushed for oil and meal used in food products and animal feed. (b) FIBER – Cotton fiber is used for cloth, cotton balls, etc. vii) *****Eastern Shore Products (part of the Tidewater/Coastal Plains) – soy beans, berries, vegetables, seafood, major shipping and seaports b) Piedmont Products and Insdustry - Main products are tobacco and information technology. Industry is technology, federal and state government, farming, and textiles. Other products include: peanuts, cotton, dairy cattle, and beef cattle (Rich Pamunkey* soil) i) Northern Piedmont is rolling foothills (very suitable for pastures/grazing animals) ii) Southern Piedmont is more rural than the Northern Piedmont and the climate is milder and supports a longer growing season. The light soils are excellent for growing tobacco, peanuts, and in recent years, cotton. Additional info on products in the Piedmont Region iii) Tobacco (1) Tobacco is Virginia’s largest cash crop (2) Virginia is the 4th largest tobacco producing state in the United States. (3) The Native Americans were already growing tobacco when the Jamestown settlers arrived in 1607. (4) The settlers learned to grow the “Golden leaf” from the Native Americans. The first shipment reached England in 1613. (5) The plant thrived in the Virginia soil and climate. (6) Some worried about the dependence on one crop. (7) Tobacco was very hard on the soil and depleted the nutrients. (8) Tobacco has the highest value of all the plant crops grown in VA (but chickens are higher in value as the overall agricultural product, and beef is second in value as overall agricultural product in VA). iv) Dairy cattle (1) Most of Virginia’s dairy farms are small, family farms with fewer than 200 cows. (2) In 2002, dairy cows in Virginia produced an average of 6 gallons of milk a day. To produce this much milk, a cow consumes 35 gallons of water, 20 pounds of grain, and feed, and 35 pounds of hay and silage. (3) There are 120,000 dairy cows in Virginia (4) 1.9 billion pounds of milk produced in 2002 (5) Younger kids: What can you make from milk? v) Beef cattle (1) Virginia is 20th in the United States in number of cattle. (2) There are 1.63 million cattle and calves in Virginia vi) Pamunkey Soil The state soil of Virginia. (1) These soils formed in the basin of the James River. This soil was named for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe because they farmed it and then later the first settlers at Jamestown planted their crops there. (2) Most areas of VA with Pamunkey soil are cultivated. That means they are used for farming. The rest of these soils are used for pasture and forest land. (3) Some people say that the reason why Jamestown survived when the other settlements did not in the original colonies was the rich Pamunkey soils. c) Blue Ridge Mountains Products and Industry The main product is apples and the major industry is recreation. Other products include: Christmas trees, chickens, horses, and forest products. Additional info on products in Blue Ridge Mountains i) Apples – VA grows 24 different varieties. Can you name some? (Red Delicious, Ginger Gold, York, Granny Smith, etc.) ii) Christmas trees – Can be grown on steep slopes. How many years does it take to grow a Christmas tree? 7-8 years iii) Chickens - are the agricultural product that makes the most money for the State. Chickens don’t take a lot of room because they are grown in chicken houses in a small area iv) Horses - are in the north of the Blue Ridge Region and here in PW County. There are 225,000 horses in VA. v) Forest Products - Forest Product industry produces over $11.5 billion worth of goods and services each year (1) Lumber, Plywood, Flooring, pallets, furniture, (2) Pulp and paper products, pressure treated lumber. d) Valley and Ridge Products and Industry – Mountains separate this region from the other regions of VA. Main products are poultry and apples. The major industry is farming. There are also many of the same products grown here as in the Piedmont and Tidewater regions. e) Appalachian Plateau Products and Industry The main product is coal and the main industry is coal mining. Tobacco, pumpkins, dairy cattle, and sheep are also grown here. Additional info on products in Appalachian Plateau i) Coal - How were the layers of coal made? A great many trees and plants, blown down by the waves and wind, became thick layers in flood waters. They became soaked with water and sank. Then they were buried deep in the mud. Pressure crushed them together and turned them into black substance (material) called carbon. It takes 12 feet of wood to make one foot of coal. Today, there is no place on earth where coal layers are still being formed from plant life. Trees and other plant life that fall on the ground decay (rot) and become part of the topsoil. A big flood is the only thing that could have caused coal layers to be made. Use the placemat “Agricultural Map of Virginia” to figure out what regions other agricultural products (those not mentioned in the text above) are grown in. You will see that many of the same products are grown in different regions.