VS.2
Virginia: The Physical Geography and Native Peoples
VS.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by
a) locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;
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, Rappahannock River, and Lake Drummond and the Dismal Swamp);
d) locating three American Indian language groups (the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian) on a map of Virginia;
e) describing how American Indians related to the climate and their environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter;
f) describing how archaeologists have recovered new material evidence at sites including Werowocomoco and Jamestown; and
g) describing the lives of American Indians in Virginia today.
VS.2 a-c - Resources
Visualization Tour of Virginia
Coastal Plain
MAP of Virginia Memory Key
Memory Key #1 – This will be a full page
Virginia: The Physical Geography and Native Peoples
VS.2 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between physical geography and the lives of the native peoples, past and present, of Virginia by
a) locating Virginia and its bordering states on maps of the United States;
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, Rappahannock River, and Lake Drummond and the Dismal Swamp);
d) locating three American Indian language groups (the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Iroquoian) on a map of Virginia;
e) describing how American Indians related to the climate and their environment to secure food, clothing, and shelter;
f) describing how archaeologists have recovered new material evidence at sites including Werowocomoco and Jamestown; and
g) describing the lives of American Indians in Virginia today.
VS.2 a-c - Resources
- Power Point - http://star.spsk12.net/socialscience/vs4/Virginia%20Studies%20VS.2a-c.ppt
- Virginia Trekkers Podcasts (there are lots of wonderful videos to choose from) https://www.virginiatrekkers.com/Menu/Podcasts.html
- Quia Games
- Bordering states https://www.quia.com/pop/44050.html
- Regions https://www.quia.com/pop/67205.html
- Rivers https://www.quia.com/rr/35702.html
- SOL Pass – Great resource for study guides and games https://www.solpass.org/va.php
Visualization Tour of Virginia
Coastal Plain
- You are sitting in a beach chair on the beach staring at the Atlantic Ocean.
- You are a tourist on vacation.
- In your right hand you have a bag of boiled peanuts.
- In your left hand is a big plate of seafood.
- You look to your left and see a military base.
- You look straight ahead and see a freighter carrying cargo on the horizon.
- You look to your left and see a ship being built.
- You drive across the low elevation flat land, pass Jamestown and stop at Busch Gardens where you continue being a tourist.
- You get to the fall line and cross the rocks and waterfalls that divide this region from the Piedmont.
- You get on a horse and ride across the rolling hills.
- You are riding through a field of tobacco. Good for the economy but not good for you or the soil.
- The barns, houses and churches are such great examples of our cultural landscape.
- You are holding your phone, what a great piece of technology.
- You pass the President and Governor. The heads of our state and local government.
- You are about to leave the “Land at the Foot of the Mountains”.
- You begin hiking the old rounded mountains that are the source of so many rivers and part of the Appalachian Mountain system.
- You pick a delicious apple for a snack from a nearby farm.
- When you get tired you camp for the night.
- The next day you ski down a mountain. There is so much recreation in this region.
- You are now entering the home of the Great Valley.
- You stop for another apple from a nearby farm for a snack.
- You see Virginia Tech and smell the faint smell of poop from all of the dairy and poultry farms.
- This is the final leg of your journey.
- You don’t have far to go now since this region is such a small part of Virginia.
- The elevation is high and the land is flat.
- You decide to go down into a dark coal mine for a piece of black coal.
MAP of Virginia Memory Key
Memory Key #1 – This will be a full page
- Draw a triangle to represent the main land of Virginia
- Add the Eastern shore and label ES – This is part of Virginia and is also part of the Coastal Plain region
- Add the Chesapeake Bay (CB) between Virginia and the Eastern Shore
- In the Chesapeake Bay add
- Safe harbor – (Safe place to dock)
- Fresh H2O – (Fresh drinking water – or so they thought)
- Deep H20 – (Deep water for ships)
- Add an A for the Atlantic Ocean below the Eastern Shore and to the right of it
- Add a boat in the Atlantic with 3 G’s in it (this is for a later SOL). The 3 G’s represent God – religion, Gold – wealth, and Glory – power
- Add the bordering states letters – Mustard, Without, Ketchup, Tastes, Nasty – Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina
- Draw the regions and label – A Very Big Potato Chip – Appalachian Plateau, Valley and Ridge, Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plain
- To the left of the state add – CG for Cumberland Gap
- Add the compass rose (remember west and east if it says we)
- Add the rivers and sing the song as you label them – You should know that the rivers served as a source of food, transportation and pathways for exploration
- Main rivers and cities are easy to remember
- Main rivers and cities are easy to remember
- Potomac, Alexandria
- Rappohanock, Fredrickburg
- York River, Yorktown
- James River 2 cities, Jamestown and Richmond
- Jamestown used to be a peninsula, but is now an island due to weathering and erosion
- In the Chesapeake Bay add 2 boats for the Monitor and Merrimack – Battle of the ironclads. 1st sea battle of the Civil War – Ended in a draw/tie/no winner
- Draw a squiggly line between the Coastal Plain and Piedmont and label the fall line
- Add the sticky gooey Sugar Shack donut - Dismal Swamp – DS
- Add LD to the center of the donut – Lake Drummond – round natural lake
- Add a stick figure to the Dismal Swamp – George Washington exploring and surveying
- Add a star with a circle around it for DC
- Add a star with a circle around it for Richmond
- Add stars for the major battles – AC – Appomattox Courthouse, BR - Bull Run/Manassas, F – Fredericksburg, YT – Yorktown, GB – Great Bridge
- Add 5 canoes – Label them PA, SM, IC, IC, SM
- PA – Powhatan – Algonquian
- SM – Siouan – Monacan
- IC – Iroquoian – Cherokee
- Add your topography at the bottom
- Coastal Plain – low elevation flat land
- Piedmont – rolling hills
- Blue Ridge – mountains
- Valley and Ridge – Great Valley
- Appalachian Plateau – Elevated flat land