Landforms, rivers and resources of the United States and Canada

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card I (three sources, shared waters). Source 1: the border between the United States and Canada runs through four of the five Great Lakes; Lake Michigan lies wholly in the United States. Source 2: the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 created the International Joint Commission, which helps both countries settle disputes over shared waters. Source 3, a university lake study: algae blooms in Lake Erie grow when fertilizer from farm fields washes into rivers that flow into the lake.

2. 1.

   Which chain best explains the algae blooms in Lake Erie, Tala asks?

   • Lake Michigan lies wholly in the United States, so its water pours into Lake Erie
   • Fertilizer washes off fields into rivers, flows into the lake, and algae grow
   • The International Joint Commission puts fertilizer into the lake, and algae grow
   • Algae grow in the lake, and then farmers add fertilizer to the fields nearby
3. 2.

   Why would the United States and Canada want shared rules for the lakes, Jun asks?

   • Rules for the lakes were needed after the Seaway opened in 1959, as ship traffic grew
   • Lake Michigan lies in both countries, so rules for it must be shared
   • The border runs through four lakes, so what one country does affects the other
   • Canada owns the four lakes, so it can set the rules alone for the water in them
4. 3.

   Which claim do Sources 1 and 3 together support, Esme asks?

   • Farm fertilizer is the cause of each problem in the Great Lakes, from algae to ship traffic
   • The treaty of 1909 ended algae blooms in Lake Erie once both countries signed it
   • Lake Erie is a shared lake, and farm runoff into it can create a problem for both countries
   • Algae in Lake Erie washes onto farm fields and ruins the fertilizer that farmers spread

5. Use this

   Card J (two sources, oil sands in northern Alberta). Source 1, an industry summary: thick, sticky oil is mixed with sand under forest land. Companies dig it up or heat it underground to bring it out. Pipelines and trains carry the oil to refineries in Canada and the United States, and the work provides many jobs. Source 2, an environmental report: digging clears forest, uses large amounts of water and energy, and the cleared land takes many years to restore.

6. 4.

   A mining worker and a forest scientist read Card J. Why might they weigh the oil sands differently, Ren asks?

   • The worker is wrong about jobs, because Source 1 gives no information about jobs or income
   • The worker wants the forest cleared first; the scientist wants it cleared last
   • The worker counts jobs and income; the scientist counts cleared forest and water used
   • Both read Source 2 alone, so they weigh the oil sands in the same way each time
7. 5.

   Source 1 is from an industry and Source 2 from an environmental group. How should you read them, Milo asks?

   • Trust Source 1, because companies that do the work know the most about everything
   • Compare them: each may stress what matters to its writer, so check the facts in both
   • Trust Source 2, because groups that study harms have no purpose behind their reports
   • Use Source 1 alone, because it comes first on the card

8. Use this

   Coal from nearby hills and river transport helped steel mills grow there.

10. 6.

    What did the 1848 canal across the ridge make possible, Pia asks?

    • It joined the Great Lakes route to the Mississippi system across a low ridge
    • It separated the Great Lakes streams from the Mississippi streams for the first time
    • It let ships sail from Pittsburgh into Lake Michigan along the Ohio River
    • It ended the need for any railroad or road between the lakes and the Mississippi
11. 7.

    Why did steel mills grow at Pittsburgh, Ari asks?

    Use the picture in question 6.

    • Steel mills grew first, and coal and rivers then moved there to serve them
    • A canal opened across a ridge in 1848, which linked lakes to the Mississippi
    • Pittsburgh lies on Lake Michigan, which carried steel to the east coast
    • Nearby coal and river transport made the mills easier to supply and ship from

12. Use this

    Card L (three sources, the Ogallala Aquifer under the Great Plains). Source 1, a USGS summary: since heavy pumping began in the 1950s, water levels have dropped by more than 100 feet in some places and changed little in others. Source 2, a Kansas farmer (invented): "My well gave a strong flow when my parents farmed. Now I water fewer acres." Source 3, a USGS summary: in dry parts of the Plains, rain and snow refill the aquifer very slowly.

13. 8.

    Which claim do Sources 1 and 3 together support, Kira asks?

    • The aquifer has dropped by the same amount in each place since the 1950s
    • Pumping has lowered levels in places, and slow refilling makes it hard to undo
    • The aquifer will be empty across the Plains within ten years, since pumping has not slowed
    • Rain and snow refill the aquifer faster than farmers have pumped it
14. 9.

    A farmer and a county water planner read these sources. Why might they disagree about pumping limits, Luz asks?

    • The farmer wants limits so the aquifer lasts; the planner wants no limits
    • The planner owns the farm, so the farmer has no say over pumping
    • The farmer wants water for crops now, while the planner wants the aquifer to last
    • Source 3 says the aquifer refills quickly, so the planner sees no reason for limits
15. 10.

    A farmer switches to crops that need less water. Using Card L, what might change over time, Noah asks?

    • Pumping would slow, so levels may fall more slowly, though refilling stays slow
    • The farmer's well would give a stronger flow at once, as in the parents' day
    • The aquifer would refill within a few years, so the problem would end
    • Pumping would speed up, so the aquifer would drop even faster