U.S. History—
what we will study in this course
What do we already know about
U.S. history?
List things you already know about
U.S. history.
Writing Activity
Put the VMS heading on top of your paper:
Subject:
Name:
Period:
Date:
Title of Assignment : The Most Important Thing About U.S. History
Answer the above question in 3-4 sentences.
Our textbook
Go to the table of contents (page vi).
On your own paper, answer these questions:
1. How many total units are in the book?
2. Name 3 units.
3. How many total chapters are in the book?
4. What chapter looks most interesting to you, and
why ?( Answer in 2 or 3 sentences.)
5. What chapter looks the least interesting to you,
and why? (Answer in 2 or 3 sentences.)
Mapping: Where in the U.S.?
(Go to pages R2 and R3.)
Direction
Places are located to the north, south, east or
west of each other. Maps have a compass
rose to show the four directions.
1. Which is more north, Los Angeles
or Cheyenne, Wyoming?
2. Which is more east,
Columbus, Ohio or
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?
Location
Maps identify the location of a place using
coordinates called latitude and longitude.
Latitude
Latitude measures the distance in degrees
(0 -90) that a location is north or south
from the equator. The equator is an
imaginary line the encircles the globe at
the widest point between the North and
South poles.
Longitude
Longitude measures the distance in degrees
(0-180) that a location is east or west from
the Prime Meridian, an imaginary line
running north and south through
Greenwich England.
Latitude goes across
Longitude goes up and down
Where in the U.S.?
3. On page R3, what city is located at 30
degrees North (latitude) and 90 degrees
West (longitude)?
4. On page R8, what city is located 62
degrees North (latitude) and 150 degrees
West (longitude)?
5. On page R15, what are the latitude and
longitude for Los Angeles? (Clue: you have
to estimate.)
Other map guides
Legends explain symbols and colors on maps.
Distance
Scales show how far places are from each other.
6. On page R3, how far is Montgomery,
Alabama from Savannah, Georgia? (Clue:
use a strip of paper to measure.)
7. On page R2, how far is Las Vegas, Nevada
from Los Angeles?
For next class
Read pages H4 – H11
Prepare for the map challenge!