Students will identify the Pinelands names and the historical and cultural associations they carry.
PROCEDURE:
Discuss the concept of naming with students. Ask students to cite examples of the ways which people, places, and products are named (i.e nicknames, sections of a city or town, variety of fruit). Discuss the ways in which names are related to people, places, and objects. Introduce the terms legend and story. Ask students to cite examples of places that have legends or stories associated with them (i.e. a haunted house, a park, or a field). Have students read the information sheet "Naming: Language, Landscape, and Community in the Pinelands". Review examples of the ways that places, locations, and products of the Pinelands have gotten their names (Whitesbog was named for the White family, the Rubel variety of blueberry was named for Rubin Leek). Ask students to cite an example of a legend associated with a place in the Pinelands (e.g. Ong's Hat, Double Trouble, or Quaker Bridge).
With students working in pairs, and using the "Naming" information sheet, have them identify and describe three places in the Pinelands and the legends associated with each place. Then, ask students to identify and describe, in writing, a place in their own community that has a legend or story associated with it.
You may need to spend some time discussing the possible locations in your community that feature a legend or a story associated with the place name. Consider asking students to interview members of the community that may have some insight into the origin of the name. If interview and research fail, students might speculate about the origins of a place name and present plausible theories. Make the students aware that different stories might exist to explain the name of a place, and that different groups of students looking into the same name might discover totally different stories. The legends that sometimes provide place names usually spring from an actual event, but the facts are usually not verifiable.
EVALUATION:
1. Read students' written responces making sure that they have identified three Pinelands places and accurately reported the legends associated with these places.
2. Read students' written responces to the local place name assignment making sure that they have identified a local place and provided the legend or story associated with that name.
FOLLOW-UP:
1.Have the students develop a class booklet which names and identifies places of local interest and describes the history, legends, and stories associated with them. Use the "Collecting Oral History" information sheet to aid students in collecting information for this project. The following activities may be conducted as seperate projects in relation with the development of this booklet:
a. Ask older member of the community to come visit the class and describe how the community was when they were children. The guest speakers should be asked to describe places of community interest that are no longer in existence, or have changed appearance (like a farm that becomes a housing development or a shopping mall). Tape record the interviews and using this tape as a reference, have students write a narrative describing life in the community as described by the guest speaker. Add this narritive to the booklet. Include captioned drawing and photographs of the communities past if these are available.
b. Have students create a list of places of cultural, religious, social, political, and historical importance to the community. Create a map that illustrates these places. Include this map with the booklet.
c. Have students compile a collection of stories about local people and events. The stories could be factual or legend. Students should try, if possible, to interview a local source to detail the story, and transcribe this interview for inclusion in the booklet.
2. Develop a series of Smokey Bear posters that illustrate that not all forest fires are bad. The poster should stress the danger of forest fire while educating the public about the good effects of fire.
This lesson will introduce the students to the following vocabulary words:(click on the word to see its definition-use your browser's back button to return to this page)
6.5-All students will acquire historical understanding of varying cultures throughout the history of New Jersey, the U.S., and the world.
6.6-All students will acquire historical understanding of the economic forces, ideas, and institutions throughout the history of New Jersey, the U.S., and the world.
6.8-All students will acquire geographical understanding by studying human systems in geography.
Language Arts standards:
3.4-All students will read, listen to, view, and respond to a diversity of materials and texts with comprehension and critical analysis.
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