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Overview:
The idea for this lesson plan was inspired by Sandra Daniels and Mary Hamrick of Harvard Park Elementary in Springfield, Illinois, who received a teacher grant from the
National Geographic Education Foundation in support of a year-long unit called the Mark Twain Cave Project.
In this lesson, students will learn about the cave described in Mark Twain's famous novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They will read a passage from the book and learn about how the cave has been used throughout history. Students will explore the Internet to learn about the geology of the real-life cave and about animals and plants that live in caves.
[Note: The cave in this lesson is an important part of the storyline in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The lesson is written assuming students have read the full text before the lesson; if that is not possible, summarize the book, and have the students read chapters 29-33.]
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, geology, language arts, biology
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Standard 8: "The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems of Earth's surface"
Time:
Two to three hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- Wall map of the world
- Copies of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for each student (or access to chapters 29-33 on the Internet)
- Writing and drawing materials
Objectives:
Students will
- read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer;
- locate Hannibal, Missouri and trace the length of the Mississippi River on a map;
- explore Web sites about caves—how they are formed and the life forms inside them; and
- draw pictures of caves and what is inside them, and what they would need to take with them to explore a cave safely.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Read aloud the first two pages of Chapter 29 of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Why did the kids in the story decide to explore the cave? Why did Mark Twain use the cave in the story?
Have students go to the Xpeditions atlas and find a map of the United States. Ask them to find Missouri, then the city of Hannibal, where Mark Twain was from, and on which he based the book. Ask them to find the Mississippi River and trace its path through the United States.
Development:
Ask students what they think about caves after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Have them brainstorm words describing caves (e.g., dark or scary or exciting).
Tell students that they are going to learn more about caves—how they are formed, what it's like inside caves, and the kinds of plants and animals that live in them.
Have students form small groups and read one of the following two stories about caves:
Lost in the Cave
Echo the Bat
What did they learn about the environment inside caves?
Ask students to find out more about what they would need if they were going to explore a cave. They should include information about what kinds of clothes they would wear, what kind of equipment they would need, and safety precautions they would take.
The following Web sites will help them in their research:
National Geographic Magazine: Bat Caves
Bridal Cave Kid's Page
Mark Twain Cave
Secrets of McDougal's (Mark Twain) Cave
USGS: Cave Residents
Closing:
Ask students to discuss whether or not they would like to see a cave. Would they like to go on a guided tour or explore a cave that no one has ever been to before? What would be scary? What would be exciting? What have they learned about how to prepare to explore a cave?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to draw a picture of a cave. They should fill it with the kinds of things they would find (e.g., stalactites or pools of water). Have them draw themselves standing next to the cave, wearing the kind of clothing and carrying the kind of equipment they would need to be safe if they were to enter the cave.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students explore caves around the world. What kinds of different caves are there? Which kinds of caves occur on which continents?
- Ask students to compare the caves they have studied with ice caves. Is there life in ice caves? How are the caves different? Similar?
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