Foundations Activity

Map Resources

Objective: Students will demonstrate knowledge of WBL’s indigenous peoples, the importance of the railroad, the existence of resort communities, WBL’s economic/business development, and the foundations of the White Bear Area.

Materials: Photo map of White Bear Lake, photos, five teacher fact sheets and student fact sheets.

Preparation: Display or project the photo map at the front of the classroom. Read over the teacher fact sheets. Copy the student fact sheets (divide the number of students by five and make that many copies of each sheet) and map (one for each group).

Introduction: Today we’ll learn about ways people explore the past. Maps and documents are other tools historians use to tell us about the history of White Bear. We will focus on five topics that were important to our community: the indigenous people (Native Americans), the railroads, the resorts, the businesses, and the foundations of our community. As you’ll see, the lake was important to all of these groups.

Photo Map: Divide the class into five groups. Each group will focus on a particular category: Indigenous people, railroads, resorts, businesses, and foundations (schools, churches, etc.). Give each group the appropriate fact sheet, a blank map and the pictures. Ask the students to read over the material, paying special attention to any mention of the lake. Then mark on the map where each photo they have that matches the photo on the overhead map would go. Ask each group to come forward and explain how the lake was important to their topic, i.e: one of the businesses on the lake was ice harvesting, visitors came to the resorts to use the lake, the Native Americans fished and harvested wild rice, many of the clubs and churches wanted to be near the lake, the railroad utilized the water for steam to power their trains.

Note: If the students have questions, refer to the teacher fact sheets for more detailed information.