3rd Grade: Historical Accounts
How has Lake Norman changed over time?
Standard: 3.H 2.1 Explain change over time through historical narratives (events, people, places)
Objectives: View images and maps of Lake Norman as it was created. Read different articles of historical narratives about families that have lived on the land of Lake Norman. Write a diary entry describing your opinions of the land being flooded.
Essential Questions: How have the towns of Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, and Mooresville changed since the creation of Lake Norman? How has the lake impacted the families that lived in this area? What would you do if your family home and land were taken away?
Teacher Presentation / Discussion: Show pictures of the Catawba River farms and homes before they were destroyed to create Lake Norman. Use the Currents Magazine timeline to give a brief history of how Lake Norman was created. Show the maps and pictures of Lake Norman throughout the development of the area. Divide the class into groups or partners. Use the articles from the different perspectives. Then have the students write their own thoughts about the creation of Lake Norman. Have them pretend that their house is near the flood zone, and their family will lose either their house or most of their land in the creation of the lake.
Articles:
1. Historical Narratives is a summary of an article “Residents recall impact, early years of Lake Norman” describing several different people’s perspectives and memories of the land before Lake Norman was created.
2. Knox Family ( “Just Call It ‘Port Knox”) Describes a home that belonged to the Knox family under the lake near the end of John Connor Road. (The article mentions the home of Sam Furr) This article provides a positive and negative opinions of the lake from the locals at the time.
3. “Thoughts on 50-Year-Old Lake Norman” is an article from a newspaper columnist describing his memories of the lake filling during the early 1960’s.
4. August_2003_Lake_Norman_Magazine
5. March_2004_Lake_Norman_Magazine
6. November_2004_Lake_Norman_Magazine
Student activity: In groups (Jigsaw) read the articles about the families and the historical narratives that originally lived on the land that is now Lake Norman. Pretend that you are a family that lived in this area in the 1950’s-1960’s. Think about what you would have done if your family land was going to be flooded. Write a diary entry telling about the news that your land is being taken away, how it will affect you, how you feel, and what it is like watching waters flood your land.