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Students will participate in an intergenerational program called “Creating A Legacy” where they interview elders to establish multigenerational links to better understand time, continuity and change as it relates to personal histories.

Lesson Plan

Courtesy of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Grade Level: K-4 Elementary School

Time period: Modern Era 1968 to Present

Arkansas Academic Standards are subject to revision every six years by the Arkansas Department of Education.

The lesson plan utilizes Surprised by Death by George Lankford, published in 2009 by Butler Center Books and distributed by the University of Arkansas Press. Students will not only study the territorial era of Arkansas but they will review the literature written during the time by an Arkansan who is a major character in Surprised by Death,

Arkansas ranks first in the world in the production of bromine, the basis for many widely-used chemical compounds. In this lesson students will learn about the formation and history of Arkansas’ bromine reserves in Union and Colombia Counties in the West Gulf Coastal Plain Natural Division. They will also learn about the many uses of bromine-derived compounds and their health and environmental effects as they debate the pros and cons of bromine production in Arkansas.

In this lesson students will learn about a human activity that had a major affect on the natural landscape in the Ozark Plateau Natural Division—the removal of the deciduous forests that occurred by the end of the nineteenth century. They will compare the Ozark deforestation with the removal of Truffula trees and associated ecological events in the story of The Lorax,

In this lesson, students will practice decision-making skills as they choose an Arkansas town to promote. Students will then research and create a promotional brochure for their chosen Arkansas town. Students will then conduct a “”Locate Arkansas”” Fair using their visuals.

Lesson Plan

Courtesy of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Grade Level: K-4 Elementary School;

In this lesson students will learn about some of the climate changes that occurred over geologic time, shaping the land that we call Arkansas. They will come to distinguish between weather and climate as they study the ways in which climate impacts our lives. While focusing on Arkansas, students will learn about human influence on climate in the form of global warming.

Students will develop an understanding of the relationship between cotton agriculture, technology, and culture in Arkansas through an investigation of the Rust Cotton Picker and its effects on Arkansas’ economy.

Lesson Plan

Courtesy of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Grade Level: 5-8 Middle School

Time period: Early 20th Century 1901-1940

Arkansas Academic Standards are subject to revision every six years by the Arkansas Department of Education.

Students will construct a relief map of Arkansas using salt, flour, and water. They will then paint their three-dimensional maps and label the important geographic features of our state, such as mountain ranges, rivers, cities, surrounding states, etc. This lesson works well as a culminating activity after in-depth study of the geographic features of Arkansas.

Students will review the Progressive Era (1900-1920) in Arkansas. Students will explore, interpret, and analyze various historical viewpoints concerning economic, political, and social issues including gender and race. The culminating activity is a writing activity where students will describe the guests they would invite to a dinner party which would have been held in the Progressive Era of Arkansas’s History,

Students will understand the contributions of poetry to Arkansas’ culture as well as the impact of Arkansas’ characteristics on their poetic voice.

Lesson Plan

Courtesy of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Grade Level: 5-8 Middle School; 9-12 High School

Time period: Louisiana Purchase Through Early Statehood 1803-1860

Arkansas Academic Standards are subject to revision every six years by the Arkansas Department of Education.