A Sample Unit Plan

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A Sample Unit Plan

Historical Background Leading to Taney County's Organization (1682-

1845)Grade Level: 6-8Time: Two Weeks (extra days

optional)Submitted by Michelle Waters, Forsyth Middle

School

Unit Overview: The unit is a brief introduction to major events leading up toTaney County's founding, with emphasis on natural resources, NativeAmericans already in the region, and Spanish and French exploration. Twoguiding questions provide the thematic focus:

1) How did the natural resources of the area contribute to thedevelopment of Taney County?

2) To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can thisbe a true statement?

Relevant Taney and Beyond Historical Archives:

The Land of the Osage

Hewing out a Homestead County Founding

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply

information and ideas.

1.2. conduct research to answer questions and evaluate information and ideas.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively

within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes

and audiences.

2.7. use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Knowledge Standards:
http://www.projecttaney.org/50083/osageind.htmlhttp://www.projecttaney.org/50083/homestea.htmlhttp://www.projecttaney.org/50083/counfoun.htmlhttp://www.projecttaney.org/50083/osageind.htmlhttp://www.projecttaney.org/50083/homestea.htmlhttp://www.projecttaney.org/50083/counfoun.html


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SS 2. understand continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United

States, and the world.

SS5. know the major elements of geographical study and analysis (such as location,

place, movement, regions) and their relationships to changes in society and

environment

SS 7. use tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps, documents)

FA 5. understand visual and performing arts in historical and cultural contexts.

Unit Goals (Aligned with Missouri's Show-me Standards)

Unit Objectives:

1. organize and maintain a course notebook.2. use maps to locate the Ozarks Plateau, Missouri, Taney County, and majorwaterways of Taney County at the time of its formation.3. describe the geographical characteristics of the White River region of theOzarks Plateau.4. explain the relevance of European exploration to settlement of the region.5. research and present information about the Native American cultures ofTaney County prior to 1845.6.explain the significance of specific people, places, or events to the county'sformation and chart the major historical events that led to the organization of

Taney County.

Method of Evaluation

GradedActivities:

Possible% Points

RawPoints

Maps 5% 25

Notebook 30% 150

Timeline 10% 50

NativeAmericanProject

30% 150

TermsPacket

5% 25

Test 20% 100

Totals 100% 500


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Materials Needed:

Aley, Tom. "Moving Water, The Rocks, The Landscape." In The Heart of OzarkMountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring: White Oak Press,1992, pp. 88-90.

Hartman, Mary. "Forsyth: A Town of Many Courthouse." In The Heart of OzarkMountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring: White Oak Press,1992, pp.168-174.

"The Louisiana Purchase Doubles America's Size." The 50 Greatest Events in AmericanHistory published by the Postal Commemorative Society, 1998.

Maps: Rand McNally's Missouri State Road Map, 1995

Outline Map of United States with State Boundaries

Historical Maps on File: Missouri 1800-1845

Historical Maps On File: Mississippi Explorations 1682-1800 transparency

blank maps of White River / Taney County

Transparencies of Bluff Dwellers, Osage, European Explorers, Napoleon, ThomasJefferson, Lewis and Clark as available; transparency of timeline, if desired

Books about the Osage

Internet access to Springfield-Greene County Library: Shepard Room: Periodicals: KeyWord: Osage Indians

Internet access to Taney and Beyond

Art supplies and computer paper for a dot-matrix printer

Breakdown by Lessons

Lesson 1Guiding Questions:

How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the developmentof Taney County?


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To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this bea true statement?

Lesson Objectives:

# 1. organize and maintain a course notebook.# 2. use maps to locate the Ozarks Plateau, Missouri, Taney County, and majorwaterways of Taney County at the time of its formation.

Teaching Sources:

Rand McNally's Missouri State Road Map, 1995Outline Map of United States with State BoundariesHistorical Maps of File: Missouri 1800-1845Teacher Notes

Aley, Tom. "Moving Water, The Rocks, The Landscape." In The Heart ofOzarkMountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring: WhiteOak Press, 1992, pp. 88-90.

Procedure:*Prior to class, assemble blank maps and reading packets for students; set upoverhead equipment; write guiding questions and lesson objectives on the

board.

*Pass out syllabus and Unit Objective Sheet; explain organization requirementsfor Unit Notebook (All work for the unit will be complied into the notebook /folder and turned in at the end of the unit.)

*Direct attention to guiding question and objectives; outline note-takingtechniques.

*Use Lesson 1: Teacher Notes to introduce course, unit, and studentassignments.

*Use map transparencies and copies of Missouri road maps to identifygeographic locations relevant to discussion; ask students to label their maps:Ozark Plateau, state of Missouri, Taney County boundaries, WhiteRiver/Lakes, large creeks in Taney County, early townsites

*Brainstorm geographical characteristics of region: karst, hilly, rocky, streams,forests, valleys, caves, etc.


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Assignment:Read Tom Aley's article, noting the geographic/geological characteristicsmentioned in the article; write a journal entry summarizing the characteristicsand predicting their importance of these characteristics to the inhabitants of thearea.

Lesson 1Teacher Notes

In 1837, the Missouri State Legislature carved out a new county from the Ozarks Plateauregion of the state. The new county was situated along the White River on the south-southwest border. They called the new county Taney (pronounced with a long a sound) inhonor of the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roger B. Taney (pronounce Tawney).

The land was rich in natural beauty and abundant in natural resources. Numerous streams

and springs, clear and swift-flowing, sculpted the uplifted karst into a myriad of thicklywooded hills, deep hollows, and fertile, but narrow, valleys. Underground waterwayscreated a network of caverns that served as shelter for the area's prehistoric inhabitants.The Osage made seasonal hunting trips into the area. Europeans explored the unchartedwilderness and reported finding a land suitable for settlement. Mineral deposits, rivers,and a vast timberland offered economic opportunities for trappers, miners, and earlywhite settlers. The grasslands supported wildlife and livestock raised by the farmersliving on the land after the United States acquired the territory following the LouisianaPurchase.

It was a beautiful place to live, yet it was not an easy place to live. The soils were coarse

and rocky, the hills steep and rough, the ridges high, and the rivers wild. The wildernessof the Ozark Mountains did not at first attract the swarms of settlers who moved west ofthe Mississippi River as did the prairie lands of Kansas and Nebraska, but there wereenough rugged individuals who became enchanted with the Ozarks and established roots.

The history of this area is a wonderful, multicultural story of brave men and women,unique in culture. It is a story of the Anglo-Americans, western expansion and thedisplacement of Native Americans that migration caused. It is the story of white settlers,clans from the Appalachian Mountain regions,who came to this area and toughed it out toforge an environment that today attracts millions of visitors annually, a land ofenchantment now called Ozark Mountain Country. The natural beauty and resources that

first brought people to this region prior to the Civil War is the key to the livelihood ofthousands, beauty and resources worthy of preservation.

Unit 1 of the History of Taney County deals with the land, the people, and the events thatled to the county's political organization and Forsyth designated as the county seat, a timespanning roughly from 1600 -1845. To better follow that development, we mustunderstand that the region has been referred to as the Land of Taney, a name borrowedfrom Elmo Ingenthron, an historian who lived in Forsyth for many years. His book, The


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Land of Taney, is one of the few authoritative historical accounts available at this time.

Guiding Questions:How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the development of TaneyCounty?

To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this be a true statement?

Taney County, at the heart of the Ozarks Plateau, is a land full of interesting geologicalfeatures. It is an upland area that lies between the Appalachians and the Great plainsregions. Geologists believe the Ozarks were created long, long before the RockyMountains, and that the area was once covered by a shallow sea. The article by Tom Aleyis one that can give us a basic understanding of how the physical geography of the areacame into being. After you read this article, ask yourself how it relates to our guidingquestions?

Lesson 2Guiding Questions:How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the development ofTaney County?To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this be a truestatement?

Lesson Objectives:

#3. Describe the geographical characteristics of the White River region of the

Ozarks Plateau.

Teaching Sources:

Aley, Tom. "Moving Water, The Rocks, The Landscape." In The Heart ofOzark Mountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring:White Oak Press, 1992. 88-90

Procedure:*Prior to class, write guiding questions and lesson objectives on the board.

*Review reading assignment.------- To know the land is to know the people who live there. Agree ordisagree? Why?------- According to Tom Aley, how was the plateau formed?------- How was it transformed into a hilly terrain?------- Why is the soil rocky?------- What does the phrase "Land of Hollow Hills" mean?


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------- What is a sinkhole?------- What is Aley's advice concerning contaminants in our area?

*Have students copy this from the board: The land, with its resources, is thekey to the development of Taney County in terms of population growth and

distribution, economic endeavors, and social development.

*Using Teacher Notes lead class into a discussion as to why the statement onthe board might be true.

Assignment:None

Lesson 2

Teacher NotesThe study of history can be thought of as a study of cause and effect. It means looking atwhat happened "then and trying to understand how what happened first caused whathappened next. Consider these questions and try to give examples:

----- What happened in our county's past that caused this area to become one of thenation's major vacation destinations?----- How did past events in the nation affect events locally?----- What local events took place that caused people to behave a certain way?----- How did their behavior affect changes to the land?----- How did changes in the land cause people to do things differently?

----- What is happening now in our county that affects the nation?----- What is happening now that might have a positive effect on the future of our county?----- What is happening now that might have a negative effect on the future of ourcounty?

As we study the past events of this county, keep in mind the relationship between theenvironment and the people. You will be asked to determine whether that relationship haschanged or stayed the same over time. You will be asked to agree or disagree with thisstatement, "The land, with its resources, is the key to the development of Taney Countyin terms of population growth and distribution, economic endeavors, and socialdevelopment, and you will need to support your opinion with examples from the past and

current events.

Lesson 3Guiding Questions:How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the development ofTaney County?


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To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this be a truestatement?

Lesson Objectives:

#4. explain the relevance of European and American exploration to settlementof the region.

Teaching Sources:

Teacher NotesHistorical Maps On File Mississippi Explorations 1682-1800 transparencyTransparencies of Bluff Dwellers, Osage, European Explorers, Napoleon,Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark as availableTransparency of timeline, if desired

Copies of "The Louisiana Purchase Doubles America's Size." The 50 GreatestEvents in American History published by the Postal Commemorative Society,1998.

Procedure:*Prior to class, assemble reading handouts for students; set up overheadequipment; write guiding questions and lesson objectives on the board.

*Begin lesson using Lesson 3 Teacher Notes, showing map and timelinetransparencies where appropriate. Students should note dates and major events

for their chart project later on.

Assignment:Read "The Louisiana Purchase Doubles America's Size." Journal entries shouldfocus on why Americans regarded Thomas Jefferson a hero because of theLouisiana Purchase and how this reading relates to the idea that "To know theland is to know the people who live there."

Lesson 3

Teacher NotesBefore there were people in the Land of Taney, there was the land. in time, the firstinhabitants arrived. These prehistoric Native Americans are known as the Bluff Dwellers,and there is evidence that some of these people lived nearby. Excavations, resulting fromroad and housing developments, have unearthed artifacts to that effect. The NaturalHistory Museum at theSmithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. has been given numbers of bones and primitiveweapons believed to have been made by the Bluff Dwellers from this area.


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Bluff Dweller were hunters and gathers who lived in the hollowed out edges of the bluffsalong the White River. No one really knows what happened to these people, but onetheory is that they died from an unknown cause. Another idea is that they were frightenedaway by the ancestors of the Ozark Osage when those earlier tribes moved across theMississippi River sometime before the European explorers discovered that river.

The Native Americans who lived in the Ozarks when Europeans came to the area beforethe 1600s were the Osage. Although the permanent villages of the Osage were situatedbetween Springfield and Kansas City, along the Osage River, we know that they lived inthe Land of Taney part of the time. The White River and the forests of this area weretheir hunting and fishing grounds. There are legends that Spanish explorers traveling withHernando de Soto were the first white people to encounter the Osage in the 1500s. We donot know if these legends are true, because there is no written evidence to support thatidea. What historians do know is that the Osage were in the Ozarks Plateau regionssometime between 1682-84, when Robert Cavelier de La Salle claimed the land forFrance, calling it the Province of Louisiana after king Louis XIV.We are going to look

briefly at the events that led to the United States gaining possession of the Province ofLouisiana in 1804.

Lesson 4Guiding Questions:How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the development ofTaney County?To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this be a truestatement?

Lesson Objectives:

#4. explain the relevance of European and American exploration to settlementof the region.#5. research and present information about the Native American cultures ofTaney County prior to 1845.

Teaching Sources:

Lesson 4 Teacher Notesblank maps of White River / Taney CountyBooks about the OsageInternet (Springfield-Greene County Library: Shepard Room: Periodicals:Key Word: Osage Indians)


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Procedure:*Prior to class, assemble Osage leaning center (books, magazines, pictures,arrowheads, etc.); map handouts and project assignment; write guidingquestions and lesson objectives on the board.

*Begin lesson using Lesson 4 Teacher Notes

*Assign Osage Project and allow students to look over learning center to getideas.

Assignment:Project Assignment (see next page)

Project Assignment

Individuals:Select two of the projects / activities from the list below to complete on yourown and present to your classmates.

Partners:Select three of the projects / activities from the list below to complete togetherand present to your classmates.

1. Create a children's storybook about the Osage myths.

2. Create a portfolio of original drawings with captions depicting some aspectof the Osage culture.3. Design a bulletin board display showing the social status of Osage society.4. Create a model of an Osage hunting camp.5. Make a collage of words and pictures depicting the work of Osage womenand men.6. Create a dictionary of Osage words and terms relevant to their culture.7. Write a research paper with a bibliography about Maria Tall Chief.8. Design a mini-museum of Osage artifacts.9. Make a board game about the Osage trading activities.

10. Compose a poem or song about life in the Osage society.11. Role-play a talk show interview with an Osage leader.12. Draw a map and label significant camps of the Osage territories in the past.13. Design a coloring book or paper dolls showing the fashion of the Osage.14. Write a script about the Osage Treaty of 1808.


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Work must show creative thinking, an acceptable interpretation of theinformation reviewed in class readings, videos, and discussions.

Your work must clearly demonstrate that satisfactory time and effort was giventoward the completion of the project.

You are to submit a written statement describing the process you used tocomplete the assignment and why you are or why you are not pleased with theresult.

All work must be presented on the due date to be eligible for full credit.

Your class presentation will be evaluated by your peers as to the effectivenessin communication.


In the Osage Treaty of 1808, the Osage deeded their land to the U.S. government. Thegovernment agreed to pay the Osage $1200 cash and an equal or above amount each yearfollowing for as long as the Osage lived. Of course, the government failed to keep thetreaty promises. In 1971, a court settlement was made and the government was made topay $13, 250,000 back pay to the Osage.

The Osage were discovered in this area by a man named Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.

Schoolcraft was an English geologist and ecologist who, with a companion and a packhorse, set out on foot,from Potosi in the autumn of 1818. He traveled southwestward tothe White River. From his journals, (found in part on-line at the Shepard Room) we learnthat he described the Ozarks as being "clear-aired and clear-watered. Schoolcraftrecorded seeing the following wildlife and fruits: wolves, bear, elk, deer, fox, wildcats,mink, raccoon, opossum, squirrels, polecats, pigeons, turkey, geese, swan, grapes,blackhaw, mulberries, crabapples, pawpaw. He discovered two trappers, cabins along themouth of Creek in 1818. Schoolcraft's accounts are valuable resources for understandingthe earliest history of white settlement in the Land of Taney.

An Osage hunting camp was discovered on the banks of Swan Creek at what is now

Forsyth's Shadow Rock Park. The Osage continued to make hunting trips to Swan Creekeven after the Treaty of 1808.

At one time, the Osage controlled all the land north to south from the Missouri River andthe Arkansas river, and east to west from Mississippi River to the foothills of theRockies. They established a trading network with the other Native American groups afterthe French trappers and traders moved into the Ozarks. Although the they establishedtrading relationships with other Native American peoples, the Osage could be quite fierce


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warriors, and they protected their lands vigorously. They called themselves "Children ofthe Middle Waters."

In addition to the Osage, there were a number of other Native Americans in the area from1820 to 1830 roughly. All together, these displaced Native Americans were known as the

White River Indians. During the 1820s thousands of emigrant Indians were removedfrom their homelands east of the Mississippi River and given temporary land in the upperWhite River watershed region. Using the map of the county, label the names of the tribesat the locations they are known to have lived.James River= Osage/DelawareBull Creek= PeoriaSwan Creek= MiamiBeaver Creek= WeasCowskin Creek= PiankashawLong Creek=ShawneeBear Creek= Cherokee (drop-offs from the Trail of Tears during the 1830s)

You will be asked to prepare a well-developed project about the Osage.The resources inthe classroom cannot be taken from the room, so you will be given time to use thoseresources in class. Also, we will be going to the Internet Lab to research additionalinformation. The project itself must be completed as homework and will be due in oneweek.

Lesson 5Guiding Questions:How did the natural resources of the area contribute to the development of

Taney County?To know the land is to know the people who live there. How can this be a truestatement?

Lesson Objectives:

#6. explain the significance of specific people, places, or events to the county'sformation and chart the major historical events that led to the organization ofTaney County.

Teaching Sources:

Copies of reading materialHartman, Mary. "Forsyth: A Town of Many Courthouse." In The Heart ofOzark Mountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring:White Oak Press, 1992, pp.168-174.Art supplies and computer paper for a dot-matrix printer


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Procedure:*Prior to class, write the following terms or names on the board. Have studentscopy them into their notebooks, if they do not have them already. Explain thatthese people, places, or things are somehow important to the development ofthe county. Ask the students to underline any of these terms in the reading iffound. (They will be asked to define these terms and make miniature flashcards to use in a memory game later .) Ozark Bluff Dwellers, Osage, RobertCavelier de La Salle, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Thomas Jefferson, MeriwetherLewis, William Clark, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, White River Indians, AndrewJackson, Roger B. Taney, John W. Hancock, John Danforth, John Forsyth,Ozark Plateau, Province of Louisiana, White River, Swan Creek, Bull Creek,Osage Treaty of 1808, Treaty of Fountainbleau, Treaty of Ildefonso, Squatter'sRights

*Read the Hartman article aloud, by turns, during class. **See Lesson5:Teacher Notes for outline

*Pair students and ask them to use their reading handouts and notes forreference as they make an illustrated timeline (colored) of events that occurredin the Land of Taney from 1682 - 1845. Timelines will be displayed and peer-evaluated for completion as assigned and accuracy of facts.


Hartman, Mary. "Forsyth: A Town of Many Courthouse. In The Heart of OzarkMountain County: A Popular History. Ed. Frank Reuter. Reeds Spring: White Oak Press,1992, pp.168-174.

Article Highlights1. Forsyth has had nine courthouses since 1837.

2. Missouri Territory formed in 1812; became the 24th state in 1821

3. Discussion of European explorers, Osage, Schoolcraft, White River Indians

4. White settlers move into area (Squatter's Rights,1816, not mentioned, but Congressgave these earliest trappers the right to remain on the territorial lands they had improved.)

5. Taney County formed in 1837; John W. Hancock establishes post office and names itafter his friend, Sen. John Forsyth of GA; Andrew Jackson's Sec. of State

6. Dispute over the location of the county seat site lasted until 1845; two sites for a time--one at Bull Creek and the other at Swan Creek.


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7. Flood in 1841 destroys log courthouse at Swan Creek.

8. 1843, John Danforth purchases 50 acres at the mouth of Swan Creek, post office, andtrading post; donates land to the county for the site of courthouse.

9. Dispute settled; Forsyth becomes official county seat 1845.

10. Fifteen years of growth and prosperity in the county; Civil War breaks out; skirmishat Forsyth damages new brick courthouse.

11. 1863, Federal troops occupying Forsyth burn town to keep Confederates fromcontrolling White River.

12. During and after strong Confederate sympathies in the county; Bushwhackers controlarea; The Baldknobbers form to counter the corrupt government in office after the war.

13. Courthouse destroyed by arsonist in 1885.

14. 1890, Forsyth incorporated as a town.

15. 1906, railroad completed through Branson and Hollister; mail boats to Forsyth fromBranson.

16. Powersite Dam completed in 1913 forming Lake Taneycomo (short for TaneyCounty, Missouri); area begins catering to tourists at Rockaway Beach.

17. Electricity comes to Taney County's rural areas.

18. 1947, Bull Shoals Dam project begun.

19. 1950, Forsyth moves to top of bluff; lake formed flooding townsite; another newcourthouse.

Concluding the Unit:Timelines will be completed and displayed and evaluated by classmates.Students will be involved in creating the scoring guide for the timelines.

Students will work on terms, definitions in class following lesson 5. Usingsmall squares of paper, place terms on one side of the paper and the definitionson the other. Students can use the small papers to play a form of trivial pursuitor TANEY Bingo as a review for an OBJECTIVE TEST (map locations, termsand definitions, chronological events).


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Performance AssessmentNOTEBOOKStudents will be asked to explore answers to these questions and record theirresponses in their notebook. Assessment will be made holistically in terms ofstudents addressing the questions and supporting their answers with ideas fromthe material covered in this unit:How did the natural resources of the areacontribute to the development of Taney County? To know the land is to knowthe people who live there. How can this be a true statement?

PROJECTOsage Projects will be presented on the last two days of the unit. Presentationsshould be video taped for use in completing the analytical teacher evaluation

part of the

Documents

A Sample Unit Plan