Exploring Tennessee's Past and Present

In the 1600’s when settlers arrived in what is now Tennessee, there were already Native Americans who had been living here for many years. One of the tribes that lived in what is now east Tennessee was the Cherokee. One of the most famous members of the Cherokee tribe was a man named, Sequoya. Read to discover why he became famous.

• Sequoya fought for the U.S. in what war?
• What did Sequoya create for the Cherokee people?
• How did Sequoya get the idea to create an alphabet for the Cherokee people?
• Name three things that happened as a result of Sequoya's new alphabet:

Challenge: After reading the story of Sequoya on this page, create a play that tells about Sequoya’s life and how he created the Cherokee alphabet. If you choose this challenge, tell me and I will give you three partners to work with. You are the director of this play, so create it however you want, but it should be about at least three minutes long. After all the groups have created theirs, we will have a “play day” and you will get to perform your play for the class.

After America gained Independence from Britain in 1776 the land in Tennessee was opened for people to begin settling and living there. Many people brought slaves with them. Explore this website to learn more about the slaves that once lived in Tennessee and how their hard work contributed to the state of Tennessee.

·           How much of the population in TN was composed of slaves in 1790? How much at the time of the Civil War?

·           Name two projects that African American slaves worked on that helped shape the stare of TN:

·           In 1860, which region of TN had the most African Americans?

·           Describe what life was like for slaves in Tennessee.

You just learned about what life was like for slaves in Tennessee. In 1863, President Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all slaves in the Confederate states, including Tennessee. Even though African Americans were no longer slaves, they were still treated badly. Special laws did not allow African Americans the same rights as white Americans. Ida B. Wells was a Tennessean who stood up for her rights and the rights of other African Americans. Read to see what she did.

·           How did Ida stand up for her right to sit in first-class on the train in 1884?

·           Lynching occurred when large groups of people would kill African Americans even though they had done nothing wrong. How did Ida respond to the killing of the three men?

·           If you had lived during this time, what would you have done in response to the violent killing of the three grocers?

During World War 2 thousands of Tennesseans served our country either in Tennessee or across the ocean in France, Germany, Philippines, and Japan. Some Tennesseans volunteered to join the army, while some worked in factories in Tennessee making war planes and atomic bombs. Not all the Tennesseans who served in other countries during the war were men. Read this page to learn about Cornelia Fort who gave her life to help the U.S. win World War 2.

·           What did Cornelia do after she graduated from college?

·           What happened to Cornelia when the Japanese were headed to bomb Pearl Harbor?

·           How did Cornelia serve the United States during World War 2?

·           If you lived during World War 2 and new how to fly planes would you be willing to fly planes to military bases, knowing that you could possibly be shot down out of the sky by enemy planes? Why or why not?

Before Tennessee could become a state, a document had to be written about how the state was going to be run. This document was called the Tennessee Constitution and it describes how our government works. The Tennessee Constitution is similar to the U.S. Constitution, but there are some important differences. Get your magnifying glass out, read this, and see if you can spot the answers to these questions.

·           Name three similarities between the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution:

·           When was the Tennessee Constitution written?

·           If I am 33, was born in California, and have lived in Tennessee for 3 years, could I run for governor of Tennessee? Why or Why not?

·           Can the Tennessee Constitution be changed? Name one change that has been made to it.

Challenge: Read Article I, Section 1 write it down on a piece of paper. If there are words that you do now know the meaning of, look them up in a dictionary and write their meaning on the same paper. If you choose this challenge, I will assign you a partner, and you and your partner’s job is to put the words to a song. You can create your own song or put the words to the tune of a song you already know. Also, create motions or actions to do with your song, that illustrates the meaning of Article I, Section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution.

We just discovered some of the differences between the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution. Remember that both Constitutions describe that the government is going to be run by three separate groups. The U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions have three branches, so that no one person will have too much power or authority. Let’s learn about the three branches and what each of them do to help run our state.

·           What must happen for a law to go into effect?

·           Name the three branches of the Tennessee government and describe what each does. Who heads the legislative and judiciary branches?

·           What is unique about Tennessee’s legislative branch?

Our previous travels have taken us back in time to learn about different people whose lives impacted Tennessee, and to Nashville to learn about the state Constitution that is still used today. On the next stop on our trail we will learn about different natural features of Tennessee. Here is a clue for your journey. Look in the “Land and Resources” section for the answers to these questions.

·           Where are the highest elevations in Tennessee found?

·           Where is some of the best soil in the state located?

·           How could land in the Gulf Coastal Plain be described?

·           What is the only natural lake in the state, where is it located, and how was it formed.

·           Tennessee has at least 25 man-made lakes. Name three. Who built some of these lakes?

I hope you are rested and have a full stomach, because we are about to take a trip across the entire state of Tennessee! On this trip we will learn about the six physical regions of Tennessee. The land and geography in each region is unique. Before you start your trip, ask me for a map that will be your guide on your trip. Find the “Trek across Tennessee” video and click where it says here.

·           Name three things you learned about the Gulf Coastal Plain?

·           Why did Tennessee Bill call the Central Basin a bowl? What big city is found here?

·           Why do you think it is hard to grow crops in the Cumberland Plateau region?

·           If you could visit any region which one would you visit and why?

·           When you are in the Unaka Mountains region it looks like there is smoke around you. Why?

Welcome back from your trek across Tennessee! We just learned about the 6 physical regions of Tennessee and the different terrain and natural landforms that are found in each region. Now, we are going to go on another trip, but this time we will visit the four largest cities in Tennessee.

·           Organize the four largest cities in Tennessee in order according to their population and include the population of each.

·            What large river flows along the western border of Memphis?

·           Where is the state capital located? This city has a metropolitan form of government. Explain what that means.

·           What is the main reason that Chattanooga exists in the place that it does today?

·           If you could take a trip to any one of these cities, which one would you visit? Why?

Now that we have completed our trek across the state to see the six physical regions, as well as our trip to the Tennessee cities, it is time to locate the places we have visited on a map. Let’s play “I spy!” Look at the map on this page and try to locate the places I am spying.

·           I spy the river that forms the western border of the Gulf Coastal Plains.

·           I spy the city where the state capital is located and the second largest city in the state.

·           I spy mountains located in eastern Tennessee in the Unaka Mountains Region.

·           I spy a river that is near Chattanooga and flows in between the Gulf Coastal Plains and the Highland Rim.

·           I spy a city northeast of Chattanooga in the Valley and Ridge region.

Challenge: Create your own map of Tennessee. You may draw or trace the state, or you can print out a blank map of Tennessee. On the map, label the 6 physical regions of Tennessee, the four largest cities in Tennessee, Reelfoot Lake, the Mississippi River, the Tennessee River, and the Great Smokey Mountains. You may decorate the map however you would like.