Economics and Geography Lessons

Mama is a Miner

MCPS Status of Book as of 4/4/96:
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Title: Mama is a Miner by George Ella Lyon (Orchard Books, New York, NY, 1994)

Lesson Developed by Barbara S. Yingling

Literature Annotation: This story captures a little girl's feelings about having a mama who works in the coal mines of Kentucky. The descriptive text and beautiful illustrations take the reader down the crowded mantrip car into the heart of Black Mountain for a peek at the life of a miner.

Grade Level: 2-4

Duration: 60 minutes

Economic Concepts: Production, Resources, Opportunity Cost

Geography Themes: Relationships: Humans and Environment, Place, Regions

MSPAP Outcomes and Indicators:

Economic Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes needed to be effective citizens, consumers, and workers in American society.

Indicators:

• Describe the relationship between available resources and the production of goods and services.
• Identify economic resources located within a community.

Geography Outcome: Students will demonstrate an understanding of geographic concepts and processes as needed to examine the role of culture, technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities.

Indicators:

• Explain the relationship between the physical setting of a community and its ability to satisfy the wants and needs of its people.
• Explain people's adaptation to and modification of their environment as a result of changes in technology.

Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Identify different jobs involved in coal mining.
• Draw and label pictures of the capital resources used in the mining process.
• Discuss the impact of technology on the mining process.
• Make predictions about the location of coal deposits in Maryland.

Vocabulary: technology, mantrip, working face, continuous miner, seam, roof and ribs, shift

Materials:

• Book: Mama is a Miner
• A piece of charcoal
• Two pieces of clothesline rope, about 5 feet long
• A lightweight blanket
• Flashlight
• Masking tape
• Piece of tag paper, 10" x 4", with the word "technology" written on it
• 8_ x 11" sheet of plain white paper, 1 for each student
• Laminated desk map and a marking pen, 1 for each student
• "Jobs of Coal Mine Workers" web, 1 copy for each student
• "Interview worksheet," 1 copy for each student

Teacher Background: Knowledge about the formation of coal deposits, the location of coal deposits in the United States, and the changes in the mining industry due to technological advances will be helpful in implementing the lesson. Understanding the concept of opportunity cost is necessary; opportunity cost is the next best alternative given up when a decision or choice is made.

Lesson Development:

Review/Motivation:

1. To give the students an idea of the cramped working space of a coal miner in a "low coal" mine, make a simulated coal mine in your classroom: Attach the two pieces of clothesline rope to the wall 36" apart and 36" off the floor. Tie the other end of the ropes to the backs of two chairs. Place a blanket over the ropes to create a dark tunnel. Place some strips of masking tape, marked black with the charcoal, on the wall at the end of the "mine" to be the "seams" of coal.

2. Show the students the piece of charcoal and explain that this natural resource comes from under the ground. Tell them they will be "miners" working in a mine"shaft" to collect the "coal". Have the children take turns crawling on hands and knees through the pathway, carrying a flashlight, to get to a coal "seam". Each student should tear off a small piece of the tape ("coal") and return with it to the "mouth" end of the mine. Discuss with the students how it feels to be in a dark, cramped space for this work.

Activities:

1. Read the story, Mama is a Miner, to the students.

2. Distribute the web, "Jobs of Coal Mine Workers." Revisit the book to have the students identify the different types of work that miners do. Have the student record the types of jobs on the web. (Some of the jobs are driving the mantrip, watching the roof, keeping the cable of the continuous miner clear, spreading rock dust on the roof and ribs, checking the quality of the air, shoveling, and digging) Have the students share their responses to the following questions:
   • How do the workers in a coal mine depend on each other? (Some workers keep the mine conditions safe for others; the workers who transport the coal depend on the workers who dig and shovel to load the coal; all the workers depend on the boss for leadership.)
   • Why do you think the workers take turns doing the different jobs? (Digging and shoveling are strenuous work, so workers need to take breaks from that kind of work. Workers watching out for safety need to be mentally alert. Changing jobs from time to time keeps workers alert and eases their muscles in the cramped conditions of a mine.)
   • Why does the mama do this kind of work if it is dangerous? (She needs the pay from the work to meet the needs of her family.)
   • What might be the opportunity cost for Mama in making a decision to be a coal mine worker? (Mama may feel that her opportunity cost is staying home with her family or holding less dangerous job that pays less.)
   • What workers in other occupations choose jobs that maybe dangerous? (Police officers, fire fighters, military workers, circus performers, and so on)

3. Distribute a desk map of the United States and a nonpermanent marker to each student. Have the students create a map symbol for coal deposits and make it part of a map key on the map. List on the board the following states that are rich in coal deposits: Kentucky, West Virginia, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, and Montana. Have the students use their markers to draw the symbol for coal deposits in these states. Ask whether the students observe any pattern in the distribution of the coal symbols on the map. (There are symbols clustered in the area south of the Great Lakes. Lots of the deposits are in the eastern part of the country, but not along the shoreline. There are mountains in some of the states with coal deposits.)

4. Explain that Maryland is not listed as a leading state for coal deposits. Ask students, "If Maryland does have coal, in which part of the state would you expect the deposits to be found?" (We would expect the coal to be found in Western Maryland because the pattern on symbols n the map shows coal all around that region and not by the ocean shore.)

5. Remind the students that the workers use capital resources to help them produce a product (coal) to sell. Distribute a sheet of white paper to each student. Have them fold it to make 8 boxes and give it the title, "Capital Resources Used in Coal Mining". Have the students name the capital resources mentioned in the story, and draw and label pictures of 8 of them in the boxes. (Pick, shovel, helmet with a light, battery pack, mantrip car, continuous miner, buckets, gloves, rubber boots, and so on) Discuss the function of each capital resource as the students share their responses.

6. Hold up the card with the word "technology" in bold print. Explain to the students that technology has changed the process of mining for coal. Refer back to the activity in the motivation part of the lesson in which the students crawled into the mine to get coal from a seam. Explain to the students that this was the technique for mining before people invented special machinery to help them in the mining process. (The coal was collected by hand, using picks to remove from the rock. Then the coal was shoveled into baskets or wheelbarrows and taken outside. Later, mine cars were developed that were drawn over wooden boards and later rails. These loads were pulled by humans, dogs, ponies, mules, or horses. Two of the most important developments in the late 1700s and early 1800s were the locomotive for transporting coal and the pump for draining the mines. These inventions greatly aided underground coal mining.) Help the students to make the generalization that the term "technological changes" means changing the work from work done by hand to a mechanized method using machinery.

7. Have the students look through the story page by page to find examples of technological advances in the mining process. (Examples: the mantrip car, conveyor belt, continuous miner, etc.) Discuss with the students the impact of these technological advances on the productivity of the mine. Point out to the students that mining methods are still changing. Giant excavators (digging machines) are able to remove more coal from the surface of the ground, so underground mining is used less often than it was in the past. This is one example of how technology has made the work safer for the miners. But using machinery might decrease the number of workers who are needed for the job, causing the unemployed workers to look for other jobs or to get trained for new jobs.

8. Help the students to list examples of technology being used in their daily lives. As a use is mentioned, discuss the positive and negative aspects of using the technology. Help the students generalize that technological changes can be viewed as positive or negative, depending a person's viewpoint. (Example: A car is used for going shopping. Advantages: The trip is faster; my legs don't get as tired; I can shop at a store farther away; Disadvantages: I have to pay for gasoline; I don't get the exercise I'd get from walking; my car pollutes the atmosphere)

Conclusion/Closure:
Write the following phrases on the board:

Why I Would Like To Be a Coal Miner
Why I Would Not Like To Be a Coal Miner

Ask the students to Think/Pair/Share for 3 minutes to discuss the two opinions and how they feel about the topic. Have the students choose one of the titles and write a paragraph stating and supporting their opinion about the subject. Direct them to include at least 3 reasons that are based on information they have learned about the jobs and responsibilities of a coal miner.

Thoughtful Application:
Remind the students of the ways in which technology changed the coal mining industry. Ask them to think of ways that technology has an impact on the work done by their parent or another adult. Distribute the "Interview worksheet." . Tell students to interview an adult worker to find out the kind of technology used in their job and the impact that technology has had on the workers. When the Interview worksheets are returned, have the students share the information with the class.

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Last updated on April 5, 1997
Maintained by John L. Day

<jday@umd5.umd.edu>