Activity 2: Map It!

Objective:

Materials:

• Class size map of Louisiana
• Louisiana map for each group
• Transparency of Louisiana
• Yellow markers or highlighters
• Stick-on stars
• Adventure Journals

Activity:

1. Give each group a map of Louisiana and a highlighter.

2. Summarize what the students just saw on the video:

   "Wow! That was neat! Britt took us to Natchitoches to see where Clementine Hunter lived, and to New Orleans where Edgar Degas once lived. Both Clementine Hunter and Edgar Degas were very special artists. Their views of the world and how they saw the world started right here in Louisiana where we live. Let's find Natchitoches, New Orleans and our town on our maps."

3. Demonstrate how to locate New Orleans and Natchitoches on the large class map.

4. Help the students find their city on the maps.

5. Explain and identify what a map legend is and how to read one.

6. Explain and identify what map coordinates are and how to locate a place using them.

7. Locate Natchitoches, New Orleans and your own town. Have students stick a star on these locations and highlight the names with a marker.

8. Explain and identify what map scale is and how to use one. Chart distances from your city to Natchitoches and New Orleans.

Extension:

1. Use a Louisiana or United States floor map to locate the cities.

2. Have children remove their shoes and sit around the map.

3. Choose two children to stand by each map coordinate and walk the coordinate line until they meet at the location. Let each child participate.

4. Explain where highways, towns and cities are on the map and help students use the scale to determine the mileage from their city to Natchitoches and from their city to New Orleans.

5. Let students decide which roads they would take to get from their city to the two cities.