Social Studies Curriculum - Unit 1
Unit 1- Before There Was A Georgia
Unit Overview: The focus of this unit is the major topographical features of Georgia.
Evidence of Learning
What students should know:
Unit Overview: The focus of this unit is the major topographical features of Georgia.
Evidence of Learning
What students should know:
- Georgia has five main regions (Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Appalachian Plateau, Valley and Ridge, and Blue Ridge Mountains).
- The largest region is the Coastal Plain.
- The Coastal Plain is flat or nearly flat land found along the coast.
- Piedmont is another large region of land that is hilly and has many forests.
- Most of Georgia's people live in the Piedmont region.
- The Appalachian Plateau takes up the small corner of northwestern Georgia.
- A plateau is an area of fairly flat land which also has mountains.
- The Valley and Ridge region is found in north Georgia.
- A ridge is a long, narrow strip of highland which also has mountains.
- Many of the ridges in this region are rocky and covered with forests.
- The valleys have good soil for farming.
- The Blue Ridge Mountains are located in the northeastern part of Georgia.
- Georgia's highest mountains are in the southernmost part of the Appalachian Mountains.
- The major rivers in Georgia are: Ocmulgee, Oconee, Altamaha, Savannah, St. Mary's, Chattahoochee, and Flint.
- In the past, Native Americans lived along these rivers.
- Later, settlers from Europe followed the rivers and built towns on the river banks.
- Many of Georgia's rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Farmers brought their cotton to ships that carried it on the rivers to the coast.