Appendix F: Extension Activities
Mapping
Use Google Earth’s Historical Imagery 
to view the geographical location of early settlements.
Compare the geographical features from the time of the settlement to present day. Pin information on your Google map, including how the geographical location contributed to the failures and successes for each settlement.
Inquiring minds want to know…
Is there land in North America that is unsettled in our present day? Use Google Maps to identify a remote area. Using what you have learned about early settlements and their successes, evaluate the geographic features of the remote area. Would this area be a good location for a town? What geographic features would make this area viable?
Math
While working on the Build Your Settlement lesson page,
- Have students gather data from each individual or group to identify whether their colonies were successful in the face of a particular natural disaster.
- Have students determine the success rate of colonies affected by a hurricane, drought, flood and blizzard by calculating the percentage of successful colonies for each type of disaster. Students may also calculate the success rate of the colonies for all disasters combined.
- Ask students to explain some of the factors that may have contributed to these success rates.
Collaboration
You do not have to leave the classroom to meet experts or people living in another part of the world. Connect with an expert or school through social media or video conferencing.
- Collaborate with a town historian. Was geography a factor for your town’s establishment?
- Collaborate with a civil engineer in your area. Is there a project planned for your city? How was the location for the project determined?
- Video conference with a class located in the area of one of the original settlements.
Prepare for your scheduled meeting by writing a list of questions.
Topics to consider:
- How has the geography of the area changed since the first settlement?
- Does the town/region currently thrive due to the geographic location?
- Has the climate in the region changed since the first settlement?
Publish
Choose an alternative location for a new settlement and make a claim about the location based on geographic features. You can publish students’ arguments on a class blog and have them respond to each other’s opinions. Share the link to the blog with experts in the area you chose.
