This unit traces one focus question through eras to show change over time, concentrating on nh landscape formation, natural boundaries, human boundaries, and boundary disputes.
 

FOCUS QUESTION 1: What are the boundaries ofNdw Hampshire and how did they get there?

ERAS: I (Beginnings to 1623), 2 (1623-1763), 3 (1754-1820), 4 (1801-1861), 5 (1850-1877), 6 (1870-1900), 7 (1890-1930)

INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES: Students should be able to identify neighborhood, town, and state boundaries. Students should be able to distinguish between natural and man-made boundaries. Students
should be able to identify major state geological features. Using maps, students should be able to explain how NH boundaries have changed over time.

QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE (inquiry questions taken from NH History Curriculum):

1. Are there boundaries around me? Where are they? What do they mean to me?

Methods: [Note: See resource list for books mentioned in the methods section.]

A.  Using Sobel's book as a reference, have the children draw maps of their neighborhoods, including their boundaries. How far will their parents let them go on their own? Then have the students discuss their maps and boundaries.

B.   Make oaktag stencils of the outline of your town. (Town maps are available in your local library, historical society, town hall, or at the New Hampshire Historical Society.) Students use the stencils at their desks while you work with an overhead projector. Students trace the outline of their town on paper. Then guide them through adding bordering communities and natural features such as rivers. Students devise a compass rose and legends for their maps.

2.   Where are there boundaries in New Hampshire?

Methods:
A.  Small groups look at state maps of NH. What are some natural boundaries? Each group lists the major topographical features. Compare lists.

B.  Make oaktag stencils of the state. Use the same process as I .B. Use the lists generated in activity 2.A., and have students draw these on their maps. Then discuss the political boundaries.  Do they match the natural boundaries? Use other boundaries, such as major regions of New Hampshire. (See Brietbart map or Ladd map.)

C.  Do map worksheets in "Literature Based Map Skills" (Sniffen).

3.   How were the natural boundaries in New Hampshire formed?

Methods:
A.  Show the video, "Franconia Notch." (See student worksheet for directed viewing.) The video illustrates the glacier effect on the NH landscape and introduces vocabulary.

B.  Give students fact sheets about glaciers. (Lacasse, 1977, and see following pages.) Read aloud and discuss.

C.  Make a model of a glacier. Freeze a large pan of ice with colored aquarium rocks mixed in. Place on a "mountain" of soil. Let the ice melt. Students should record their observations.

D.  Color an outline map of North America. Color land one color and the ocean blue. Using the Holt science book, students sketch in the boundary of the glacier. Students take cotton balls and glue over the sketched in area representing the glacier. Note the location of NH.

E.  Students list evidence they have observed of glaciers' effect in New Hampshire. What natural features were formed by glaciers?

4. Have man-made boundaries in New Hampshire always been in the same place? If not, who moved them and why?

Methods:
A.  Discuss the native peoples ofNH. Where did they live? Using the "Indians ofNH" map (or maps found in Galloway's books or "Facts on 
File" ), see if you can find any natural boundaries between the different tribes. Write your conclusions. What natural features formed boundaries most often?

B.  Discuss European exploration and colonization. Use maps found in "Facts on File" to trace where they explored and settled in New England and NH.

C.  Using a series of maps ( Drake, 1889; Bailey, 1960; Bardwell, 1989; Gilmore, 1989), compare boundary changes from the 1600s to 1997. Discuss why changes were made and the impact of population growth. Using maps. discuss Bennirig Wentworth's role in granting town charters in the interior ofNH and what is now Vermont. Highlight the major boundary changes the Mason grant and the impact that had on future disputes, the 1740 boundary, the Indian Stream controversy, the Connecticut River boundary dispute, and the modern day boundary dispute with Maine. Have
students plot the changes and the dates they occurred on a series of blank state maps. What conclusion can they draw? (That our state boundaries have changed over time.)

D.  Have students research in newspapers what citizens and editors had to say about different boundary disputes. (The NH-ME line is the most recentmid 1990s.) Role play a decision to change a boundary. Have students bejudges, lawyers, and citizens from both sides of the boundary.

E. Using several maps and time lines, create a time line of important facts relating to NH boundaries.

ASSESSMENT:
1.  Students label boundaries, natural features, and neighboring communities on a blank town map.

2. In an essay, students explain how glaciers impacted the NH landscape, and give examples. Use a rubric to evaluate.

3. Students label man-made boundaries, natural features, neighboring states, and country on a blank NH map.

4. In an essay, students explain that NH man-made boundaries have changed over time, and give examples. Use a rubric to evaluate.

SOURCES:
Abruscateo, Joseph, etal. Holt Science. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1986. Chapter on glaciers.

Bailey, Lillian. Up and Down New Hampshire. Oxford, NH: Equity Pub.,1960.
 
Bardwell, John D., and Ronald P. Bergeron. The Lakes Region of New Hampshire, A Visual History. Norfolk, VA: The Donning Co., 1989.
 
Benjamin, Cynthia. Literature-Based Map Skills-- Northeast United States. Kent, CT: Sniffen Court Books, 1994.
 
Blaisdell, Katherine. Over the River and Through the Years for Children, Book One, Early History of the Upper Connecticut Valley. Littleton.NH: Sherwin/Dodge Printers, 1985.
 
Brietbart, Janice, et al. State of New HampshireThe Indians of New Hampshire. Workbook for grade 4.
 
Browne, G. Waldo and Rilma Marion Browne. The Story of New Hampshire. Manchester, NH: Standard Book Co. Inc.. 1925.

Galloway, Colin. The Abenaki. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.
 
Drake, Samuel Adams. The Making of New England. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1889.  Facts on File, Inc. 1984.
 
Fiske, John. The Beginnings of New England. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, MA: 1889.

Franconia Notch State Park. Distributed by NH Movies, Cineworks Productions, Inc. 124 Great Bay Road, Greenland, NH 03840.
 
Gilmore, Robert C. and Bruce E. Ingmire. The Seacoast of New Hampshire. Norfolk, VA: The Donning Company, 1989.
 
Hearse Brothers,. "Indians of New Hampshire." 1973. Map.
 
Lacasse, Maryann Jewel). History, Facts and Fun with New Hampshire. 1977.
 
Ladd, Richard J. New Hampshire Past and Present. Seabrook, NH: Whithey Press.
 
Landau, E\aine,TheAbenaki, Danbury,CT: Franklin Watts, 1996.
 
Marsh, Carole. New Hampshire Timeline: A Chronology of Our State's History, Mystery', Trivia, Legend, Lore and More!  Decatur.GA: Gallopade Pub., 1992.
 
Moses, George Higgins. "New Hampshire, the Granite State," National Geographic Magazine 60, no. 3 (Sept. 1931) 257-310.
 
Murphy, Francis, Co-operating Sponsor. American Guide Series, New Hampshire, A Guide to the Granite State. Boston, MA: HoughtonMifflin Co., 1938.
 
Pettengill, Samuel B. The Yankee Pioneers- A Saga in Courage. Hanover, NH: Regional Center for Educational Training, 1977.
 
Price, Chester. "Historic Indian Trails of New Hampshire, " The New Hampshire Archeologist 14 (June 1967) Available as a poster from the Museum of New Hampshire History Store.
 
Robinson, William F. Abandoned New England's Hidden Ruins and Where to Find Them. Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1976.
 
Sobel, David. Children's Special Places. Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens, and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood.  Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press, 1993.
 
Speare.Eva. Indians of New Hampshire. Littleton, NH: Courier Printing Co., Inc., 1965.