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Learning Experience/Unit

This Land is Your Land

Subject

English Language Arts (2005), Social Studies

Grade Levels

Elementary, Intermediate, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade

Assessment

Children will share their ideas about what is America. These ideas may be verbal, in writing, drawing, or some other medium. Charts, illustrations, new stanzas, are some of the possible choices children could make.

Using the responses from the first two days of this Learning Experience, the children will include in their interpretation of Guthrie's classic:

Key facts or observations about the various regions of the United States.
The different ways people work and live throughout our country.
An understanding that the most beautiful things about our country are here for all of us to enjoy.

The focus for assessment should not be artistic merits but conceptual accuracy.

Learning Context/ Introduction

One of the characteristics that make America such a wonderful and interesting place to live is the diversity of the people who call this country "home". Despite the differences we all have, or rather because of these differences, the fabric of the nation is constantly being stitched, rewoven, torn, patched, all the while maintaining a flexibility that allows it to grow and mature.

Woody Guthrie, the well-renowned musician and folklorist captured the essence of that diversity and the richness of America in the song “This Land is Your Land”. In this song, Guthrie identifies many of the themes and concepts that create the context for what students learn about societies – Change, Culture, Places and Regions, Scarcity, Needs and Wants, Citizenship and Civic Life, Civic Values, Government.

Aware of the significance of such a simple tune, students will communicate the message of the song, highlighting the following:

Key facts or observations about the various regions of the United States.
The different ways people work and live throughout our country.
An understanding that the most beautiful things about our country are here for all of us to enjoy.

Duration

30 - 45 minutes to read This Land is Your Land aloud and discuss
30 - 45 minutes to view and discuss the video
2-3 periods (40 minutes each) for students to complete their interpretation of This Land is Your Land.

Essential Question

What is America?

Instructional/Environment Modifications

The use of a projector is desired but not necessary. The video can be viewed on individual computers by small groups of students. Check the Internet connection prior to viewing the video to see how many computers can play the video simultaneously.

Procedure

Day 1 - Before viewing the video:

Tell the students that Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land" in 1940 on a cross-country hitchhiking trip.
Share the book This Land is Your Landwith children. Then ask:
- What kinds of changes did you see as the man in the story walked from one end of the country to the other?
- Which place did you like best? Why?
- What kinds of animals did you see in the cold climates? Warm climates? On the farms?
- Which places in our country have large populations of people living in them? Which have small populations?
- How long do you think it would take a person to travel from the west coast to the east coast?
Talk with children about places in the United States they may have visited. Ask:
- Why did you go to this place?
- What did you see there? What did you do there?
- Would you want to live in this place? Why? Why not?
- What important things about this place would you want to share with your friends?
Have students record their responses.

Day 2

View the video “This Land is Your Land” Note: You need to login to the WNED/Thinkbright Video on Demand service to view the video.
Using the recorded responses from the previous session, lead a class discussion about the video and what it means to the children and their understanding of America.
Have children record their responses.

Day 3 - After viewing the video:

Prior to Day 3 - Collect postcards, magazine pictures, and photographs of some of the special parks, landmarks, monuments, bridges, etc. that can be found in the U.S.

Give children some background on the sites represented in the collected materials.
Then give children an opportunity to draw or create symbols they feel could be used to inform people about the riches of our country.
Encourage children to think about how the song makes them feel.
One possible extension is to ask the children to create new illustrations for the song. This might be better accomplished if only the text of the story is shared before they begin sketches. Then the video can be viewed as a way to compare Jakobsen's visions of Guthrie's song with the children's.

Reflections and Feedback

This Learning Experience can be used from 4th through 12th grades in a number of ways - in Social Studies, ELA, and the Arts. Some of the more obvious connections to the Performance Indicator Statements have been made.

There really are so many ways to continue this conversation. The days do not need to be consecutive. Planning in an interdisciplinary way would be a preferred approach. Getting the Art or Music teacher involved can make the lessons more powerful.