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Overview:
Students will discuss the concept of boundaries and borders and will investigate the characteristics of the United States-Mexico border. They will pretend to live on the U.S. side of the border and will write dialogues between themselves and kids their ages who live on the other side.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"
Time:
Three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
Objectives:
Students will
- define and discuss the word "boundary";
- look at a map, and list some of the boundaries shown;
- discuss natural versus human-made boundaries and the reasons people tend to create boundaries;
- discuss what life might be like along a national boundary;
- view a map of the California-Mexico border, and list the differences they notice between the two sides;
- read and view pictures of Tijuana, Mexico, and discuss what it might be like to live there or in San Ysidro, California, right across the border;
- research daily life and culture in Mexico and the United States, particularly in border areas; and
- pretend to live along the U.S.-Mexico border, and write a dialogue between themselves and kids who lives on the other side.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Ask students to define the word "boundary." What are some of the boundaries in the classroom (e.g., the invisible "lines" between their desks or the space between their desks and yours)? What are some of the boundaries in their homes (e.g., walls separating rooms or walls separating the outside from the inside)?
Have advanced readers read "What Is a Boundary?"
Development:
Have students look at a world map, either in the classroom or at the MapMachine and list some of the boundaries it shows. They might mention political boundaries between countries or natural boundaries created by seas, lakes, rivers, or oceans.
Ask students whether all of the boundaries they have seen on the map are natural (e.g., rivers, lakes, or mountains) or whether some of them appear to have been created by people.
They should notice that some boundaries—for example, the western portion of the U.S.-Canada border—do not follow any natural landscape features but rather run along a relatively straight line that could only have been determined by people. Other boundaries, such as the Great Lakes portion of the U.S.-Canada border, are natural features that people have conveniently used to create national boundaries.
Ask students what they think it would be like to live on a national boundary, such as the U.S.-and-Canada or the U.S.-and-Mexico boundary. What do they think would be some of the most interesting and most difficult things about living so close to another country?
Point out the locations of San Ysidro, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, on a map. Have students look at this map of the San Ysidro-Tijuana border. Ask them to list the differences they see between the two sides of the border.
Have students read the information and look at the pictures at National Geographic's Tijuana and the Border Web site. Ask them to use what they have seen on the map and at this Web site to write or discuss answers to the questions "What would it be like to live on the California side of the border?" and "What would it be like to live on the Mexican side of the border?"
Have students conduct additional research to find out more about daily life in Mexico, particularly in border areas such as Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila. Ask them to take notes explaining what people do for work and in their free time. One good site to start at is Mexico For Kids.
Closing:
Ask students why they think people and groups of people create boundaries between themselves and others. Why do people find it necessary to separate themselves from other groups of people? They might contribute a variety of answers, including:
- to distinguish between different languages or cultures;
- to keep other people out; and/or
- to keep themselves safe.
Discuss what students think might be the particular characteristics of life along the U.S.-Mexico border. What languages would they hear? What activities might they do? What might be some of the most difficult things about living so close to the other country, on either side of the border?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to pretend that they live on one side of the U.S.-Mexico border. Have them write dialogues between themselves and kids their ages who live on the other side. The speakers should discuss what it's like to live along the border.
Extending the Lesson:
Have students continue their research to find out what it might be like to live along another national boundary, such as the U.S.-Canada border or the border between two European countries. Have them write paragraphs explaining what life might be like along this border.
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