WHY LOUISIANA AIN'T MISSISSIPPI... OR ANY PLACE ELSE!

OBJECTIVES

1. Students will be able to locate cities on a map, distinguishing between a city and a capital city.

2. Students will be able to use a compass rose to determine which direction one city is located in reference to another. They will also be able to properly use a map key to navigate through the details of a map as the model of a real area.

3. Students will use speed and distance to discover how long it takes to travel a certain number of miles using a map as the model for an actual area..

4. Students will practice conversion from miles into kilometers.

5. Students will understand the basics about the placement of interstate highways across the United States.

6. Students will determine the approximate longitude and latitude of a town in Louisiana.

EDUCATION STANDARDS: SOCIAL STUDIES, ELA

• Louisiana Social Studies Standards: 8.5, 8.6
• Louisiana Math Standards: 8.EE.B.5, 8.F.A.2
• Louisiana Technology Standards: 8.2J, 8.3G, 8.2M

MEDIA RESOURCES & WEBSITES

• Why Louisiana Ain't Mississippi... Or Anyplace Else Video Clips
  • Piney Woods
  • Louisiana Coastal Marshland
  • Louisiana Prairie 1
  • Louisiana Prairie 2
• Handouts
  • Louisiana Areas/Ethnicity Map
  • Map & Highway Skills
  • Map of Louisiana & Mississippi
    

MATERIALS NEEDED

Computer, Internet

1 mile is equal to approximately 1.609 kilometers

distance = rate x time

(d = r x t)

Louisiana Areas/Ethnicity Map

Map & Highway Skills

SUGGESTED TIME

1. Teachers may allow students to work on this in groups, a whole class lesson, or in pairs.

VERIFICATION
Checks for Understanding-Additional questioning, observations

ACTIVITY/LESSON

1. Students are issued a map of Louisiana connected to a map of Mississippi and are told to locate cities with which they are familiar. Have students recognize which cities are north, south, east, & west of each other.

2. Discuss the scale and the key and how each one is used with reference to the map.

3. Students will use the scale to find the approximate distances between cities in Louisiana.

4. Students should observe the map to recognize that the interstate highways running east/west are even numbered and the ones running north south are odd numbered. Both directions should have highways numbered chronologically ordered in their respective directions.

5. Students will consider and discuss what loops are off main interstate highway systems.

6. Students will use the key to find the capitals of Louisiana and Mississippi and tell the approximate distance between the two capitals by measuring.

7. Students can research the average speed limit between cities or towns within the state and figure the approximate time it would take to travel from one town to the next.

8. Students will research the average speed limit on the highways between the capitals of LA and MS and calculate the time it would take to travel from one capital to the other.

9. Teacher may give a general 60 or 70 mph travel time to eliminate the research portion.

10. Students will convert MPH to KPH, or miles per hour into kilometers per hour.

VOCABULARY