Mapping the Nation

Creator: Susan Schulten | visit site

Grade Range: 6 - 11

Mapping the Nation is the companion site to the book of the same title. It provides images and context to the book’s content that explores the rise of different mapmaking methods in the 19th Century. Browse the site by chapter, creator, or in chronological order to each map. In addition to the map images, each item includes extensive information including date of creation, type of map, notes, and much more. Many of the maps are available for download, use the notes included to find publishing rights.

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site to use in a variety of ways. Share maps with students that show information for different periods of time during the 19th Century. Because this site includes various types of maps, use these resources to provide a wider context of the time period. For example, choose the time from 1860-1870 to take a look at the Civil War era. Have students use the information found in the maps to research and understand population patterns in the United States, explore the slave population’s distribution, and understand the geographic locations of the south’s cotton regions. Help students understand the different content using Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and share information. Create columns within the Padlet to share maps, articles, and primary sources separated by content such as geography, weather, political information, or other important categories. Ask students to share their understanding using one of the many digital tools found at Adobe Spark in K-12, reviewed here. Have a group create videos that include downloadable maps found at this site to tell the story of the Civil War through a geographic lens, ask another group to create a web page sharing information from a journalist’s point of view, and have others create social media graphics featuring headlines of the day appealing to different areas of the country.

At Home

Share this resource with your student to use for school projects involving events from the 19th Century.

Tags

maps, primary sources, 1800s,

Subjects

American History, Geography (US/World), Government/Civics: U.S, Social Studies, Social Studies,