The search for a water route to China motivated the French to explore our area long ago. By using the Great Lakes and our rivers, the French built a fur trading empire here. Those waterways continued to aid in the development of Michigan well into the 1800's.

Michigan sits in the center of the Great Lakes-the world's largest reservoir of fresh water-a resource students need to understand and to protect for the future.

Students will see how our state is uniquely divided into two peninsulas and how diverse communities developed in those peninsulas to take advantage of various natural resources.

Students will gain an understanding of the ways humans have interacted with and changed the environment to suit their needs. When the first farmers arrived, they found a land covered by dense forests which threatened to starve them if they could not clear the land in time to grow their crops. Young readers will discover how lumberjacks raced to cut down timber as fast as possible to provide much needed wood for homes, but in the process neglected to consider the needs of future generations.

Students will see the importance of the Mackinac Bridge, which links the people of our two peninsulas. They will understand how the Great Lakes continue to serve as a transportation link to transport natural resources and to bring in imports and take out exports to world markets!

Our Michigan Adventure incorporates all 18 of the upper elementary social studies benchmarks for the Geographic Perspective.

39 North Street Hillsdale, MI 49242 - Phone: (517) 437-3179 Fax: (517) 437-0531