Text: Northern Lights, The Stories of Minnesota’s Past Revised Second Edition

Author: Dave Kenney

Power Point by: Dustin Pautsch

CH. 1 STUDYING MINNESOTA

LEARNING OBJECTIVES• Provoke discussion as to what Minnesota is.

• Understand and identify shared history

• Understand the basic principles of social studies

• Construct a short essay explaining what your home state means to you.

• Upload a picture with a caption to Picasa with a caption that shares your interpretation of Minnesota.

WHAT IS MINNESOTA?• Land of many lakes

• Mix of people

• Hot-dish

• Hockey Pucks

• Great lakes

• Frozen Tundra

• Minnesota Nice

DIFFERENT LIVES, SHARED HISTORY• What makes Minnesotans different from Iowans or Californians?

• No one is the same

• It’s the cultural stories and origins that make Minnesotans different.

• Culture binds people.

• Definition:

• SHARED HISTORY: The past events and stories that are common to everyone in a group.

MINNESOTA STUDIES• What gives Minnesota its identity?

- People

- Geography

- Government

- Economy

Definition:

Social Studies: The study of human society, including four main disciplines: history, geography, civics, and economics.

ASSIGNMENT• When we think of Minnesota we think of certain characteristics. Find a picture that shares

your vision of Minnesota. Upload the picture to Picasa with a caption of your choice. Compare other students interpretation's of Minnesota to help understand Minnesota culture in a broader sense.

• Write a short essay, 1 page that depicts your idea of Minnesota and its culture. Use the question, What is Minnesota to me?