A Trip Down the Mississippi

A WebQuest for 5^th Grade

(Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Math)

Scott Chronister, Aliza Baumgartner, Jocelyn Jones, Brendan Dailey and Tina Anderson

Email Addresses:

Teacher Webquest Page

You are about to embark upon a journey down one of the earth's natural wonders. For centuries, it has been the lifeblood of a nation, a source of inspiration, and home to some of the most historically and culturally significant events in the United States. It is none other than the mighty Mississippi River!

Home to Mark Twain, fierce battles, beautiful sunsets, and remarkable steamboats, the Mississippi River is a key piece of Americana. Now, you will travel along the banks of the "Muddy Mississippi" on a 2,348 mile journey from its source in Minnesota to its mouth near New Orleans. Along the way, you will meet interesting people, see historic places, and soak up all of the natural wonder that America's river has to offer. Enjoy!

Task

As you journey down the Mississippi, you will be making a stop in each state (10 in all) that borders the river. You will learn important facts about the river's history, ecosystem, landforms, and, of course, the water itself. You will visit key historic and cultural locations that include a battlefield, an aquarium, and New Orleans, the jewel city of the Mississippi!

You may be wondering what you will do with all of the information that you are about to collect. Well, along with your partner, you will use that knowledge to become an expert tour guide for the Mississippi River! One of you will be the fact master and the other will be the artist. The fact master will decide what tourists need to know about each stop. The artist will use the information collected to illustrate something about that stop in the booklet.

Together, you will create a travel booklet that details a 10-day river getaway. From Minnesota to Louisiana, your clients will see a small piece of what each river state has to offer. Specific details for the project are available on the link entitled “Process”

As a final piece of the project, you will use provided figures to estimate a cost for your clients (figures also available on the process link)..

Process

Step 1

You will…

*Decide which person will be the artist and which will be the fact master

*Visit the websites listed on the Resources Page and take notes based upon art or facts.

*Use your notes and observations to complete the booklet described below

Step 2

You will the complete the following:

*Cover page with your names, trip title, and artwork

*Details page with basic facts, river dynamic facts, and timeline facts (2 of each)

*State pages with activities (each page should include 3 facts and an illustration) organized from North to South

(10 pages)

SAMPLE PAGE

U.S.S Cairo

Vicksburg, Mississippi

(Your Drawing)

Facts

1)                  Fact 1

2)                  Fact 2

3)                  Fact 3

State Pages Must include :

USS Cairo- Mississippi

Any New Orleans Cultural Museum- Louisiana

National Mississippi River Museum- Iowa

Step 3

• You will complete a Cost Calculations page

• Trip covers 10 days + 2,348 miles

• Gas Cost – 30 mi/gallon at $1.90 a gallon

• Hotel Cost - $60 a day

• Food Cost - $20 a day

· Spending Cost (entry fees and others)- $50 a day

• Total Cost = _____________

• How many driving hours at 60 Miles per hour? ____________

13 Pages Total

Resources

You will use the following websites to complete your booklet. Below each link are directions and information that you will need when accessing that site.

River Facts Page

Click on each of the 3 links (River Basics, River Dynamics, and Timeline). Select 2 facts from each of these links for your Details Page.

Great River Attractions by State

Once at the site, scroll down and click on the link reading

“Overview of attractions in towns and villages.”

Visit one river attraction in each state excluding Mississippi, Louisiana, and Iowa. These states have attractions already picked for you to visit. Click on a city to view attractions in that area.

Mississippi River Museum (Iowa)

Select a feature attraction from the list on the site and describe what a traveler would experience at the exhibit.

U.S.S Cairo at Vicksburg National Battlefield (Mississippi)

Read the ship’s history and then click on “Exhibits” on the blue toolbar to take a tour of the museum. You should be able to describe what key facts a tourist would learn.

New Orleans Museums (Louisiana)

Choose a cultural museum for your group to visit from the listing on the website. Be sure to note interesting facts or exhibits associated with the museum that you choose.

Evaluation

You Will Be Graded on the Following:

-Your work as an individual as well as your group performance

-The use of facts from the Webpages

-The creativity/inclusion of your artwork

-Artwork and facts work together

-Your completeness in meeting the requirements of the booklet

Rubric

(A Trip Down the Mississippi Travel Booklet.)

Evaluation Rubric

Interdisciplinary and Disciplinary Criteria	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Written Product (Booklet)	. Grammar and spelling errors present and plentiful, lack of organization, missing 5 or more pages	Grammar and spelling errors present, lack of organization, missing 3 or 4 pages here.	. Minimal grammar and spelling errors, organization is not North to South, missing 1 or 2 pages	Free from grammar and spelling errors, organized North to South, missing 0 pages
Creative Product	Missing 5 or more pictures, no recognizable/ approved format present	Missing 4 pictures, no recognizable/ approved format present	Missing 2 pictures, booklet or approved format	All pictures are present(one on each page), booklet or approved format
Collaboration (to be assessed by partner)		Lack of cooperation among group members, no job responsibility taken, no correlation or accuracy between pictures and facts		Cooperation among group members, job responsibility taken, pictures and facts are correlated and accurate
Analysis	Missing 5 or more facts, pictures do not correspond with the facts	Missing 3 or 4 facts, pictures do not always correspond with the facts	Missing 1 or 2 facts, all pictures correspond with the facts	Missing 0 facts, all pictures correspond with the facts
					Total Score

Written by: Tina Anderson, Scott Chronister, Brendan Dailey, Aliza Baumgartner, Jocelyn Jones

Conclusion

Conclusion

When you have completed ‘A Trip Down the Mississippi” webquest, you will have…

-A fully-functional travel brochure which outlines a trip down the Mississippi River

-A greater knowledge of the Mississippi River culture and river cultures in general

-A broader sense of how rivers and their surrounding communities change through time

-Improved research, organization, and publication skills

Questions for Further Study:

-Consider what would’ve been the popular stops had you been creating this journey in 1904. How about 1804? How has the river changed with time?

-Why is the Mississippi River such an important piece of Americana?

-How would the United States be different if there were no Mississippi River?

Your Questions and Feedback:

What problems and/or new questions did you come across while completing the Webquest?

How could this Webquest be improved?

Credits and References

Photographs Courtesy Of:

http://www.caleuche.com/River/HeadwatersPhotos.htmhtm (Guy Hagland, 1992-2002).

www.steamboats.org

www.greatriver.com

www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/steamboat.htm

www.neworleans.com

www.nps.gov/vick/cairo/cairo.htm

Works That Inspired the Creation of this Webquest:

Harris, Eddy. (1995). Mississippi Solo: A River Quest. New York: Owl Books.

Junkerman, J. (Director & Producer). (2000). The Mississippi – River of Song. [Video Tape]. New York: Acorn Media.

Special Thanks to:

**Cohort Instructors: Dr. Koontz, Dr. Sandmann, Professor Friesen, and Professor Makki for all of your help throughout the semester and on this project in particular.

**All of our colleagues in Cohort I for their support and dedication during this semester.

Back to the Top!

Original template created by Tom Ely and modified for this class.

Step 1

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** 13 Pages Total**

Evaluation

Rubric

13 Pages Total