Teacher's Guide

South Dakota Content Standards (DECA)

Fourth Grade History Standards

2. explain the impact of people and geographic location on the growth and expansion of South Dakota, emphasizing Mandan, Arikara, Sioux, and other historic tribes; explorers (Lewis and Clark and the Veredrye brothers) and traders (Pierre Chorteau and Manuel Lisa); railroad expansion and town building; homesteaders and gold miners; and rainfall, prairie, Great Plains, Black Hills, and the Missouri River system.

     4. Analyze issues of concern in South Dakota, including water issues; farming and ranching issues; Indian and Non-Indian relationships; and urban/rural population changes.

Fourth Grade Economic Standards

     3. summarize the factors that affect economic systems, including family finance, drought, and tourism.
Class Activity
Have your class study the rainfall in your community. There are a couple of different ways you can do this. The first thing to do is to get an accurate rain gauge. If you live in a community with a television station, you could get your results from their weather department. Check the amount of precipitation your community receives every day. Chart the results. You can compare the results from month-to-month, week-to-week, etc. This is a good way to study averages, also.

Related Links

1. http://lt012.k12.sd.us/South%20Dakota/Chapter_pages/chapter_12.htm
This website explores deeper into the Dirty Thirties, and some of the effects they had on South Dakota. It gives information on what was happening during the drought and after the drought, and some things that the government did in response.

2. http://www.starryskies.com/Artshtml/dln/5-00/cloud.seeding.html
This website focuses mostly on rain and how we have tried to control it. It gives information on how people have tried to make rain in the past and how people try to make rain now.

Activity
Please use the Glossary as a vocabulary list for this episode. The vocabulary words are used in the online word search, under "Activity".


How to Use directions

     Step 1- Print out the guided notes  (answers) and distribute to students.
Step 2- Watch the video.
Step 3- Go online and do the activity and take the “challenge” quiz. If you do not have Internet available to all students, a PDF format of the word search and quiz have been provided in the Teachers Guide. Also visit the links that we have posted, and do the fun activity for this episode.

Guided Notes  (PDF)

Guided Notes - Answers  (PDF)

Full Script (PDF)