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Place |
__ What are the unique human made and natural characteristics of the region? __ What are the advantages or disadvantages for human habitation? |
| A virtual tour of the Grand Canyon. | |
| An interactive html journey through the sights, sounds, and depths of Yellowstone National Park. | |
| Choose geographical region: BAY AREA | |
| Three of the fastest growing forms of cheap and clean energy are solar , wind, geothermal. Sunny days and windy mountain passes help the west use these great resources. Read how they all work from the California Energy Commission. | |
| So you understand energy and how it’s made. But maybe you still need to understand how and where people use it every day? Check out this interactive site! | |
| This exploration into the giant sequoias is worth a trip. How can they grow that high? Don't forget about the other huge trees, the Redwoods. | |
| You’ve won a vacation in your favorite biome. How are you going to survive? With the research and help of a Botanist, Meteorologist, Zoologist, Cartographer, Environmentalist, Sociologist you will. (made for 6th graders) | |
Sometimes location makes all the difference in a region. The west
is located where the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate rub causing
all types of problems. For people in California, earthquakes are
something people have learned to live with. |
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| The rubbing of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate also allows
magma places to slip through creating volcanoes. -Take the volcano quiz from the Red Cross Disaster Quizzes  |
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Location |
__ Where is the region? |
| Satellites using latitude and longitude can pinpoint anywhere from space. If you’re at all curious how amazing these machines are, use this program. I tried to locate my school, but it is difficult. Try using the advanced features to find a specific place. | |
| One of the most noted mapping companies around. | |
| You’re flying from one point to the other in your region or in the nation and you have no clue how far it is. If there’s no map handy, use this reference tool! | |
| Do you have a question about volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, rocks, maps, ground water, lakes, or rivers? | |
| How does it work? So I used the Terra Server (above) and found my area, but how can any one point on the Earth be identified with invisible lines? | |
Check out the HRW World Atlas (this link is to the USA only). Each region has a different location and topography. Hey...what does "topography" mean? Look it up in the online geography dictionary! |
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Movement |
__ What physical movement has helped form this region? __ How has geography affected interaction between this region and other regions? |
| This simple animations shows the date and size of the United States as it grew. Click here for a printable color map with much more detail. | |
| I don’t know what the general climate is for a state, but you can find yours here! If this isn’t helpful enough, ask Weather.com. Oh wait, you need historical data? Use the Climate Diagnostics Center's climate maps dating back to 1895! | |
| How does geography influence where people live? Find out here with landform maps of all fifty states. | |
| This WebQuest asks the students to create their own character and write five journal entries about their decision to move west for the California gold rush. | |
| This WebQuest asks students to research, write, and create a play about the real and rollicking Gold Rush in California. Some background help from PBS Kids can be found here. | |
| Students will put themselves in the position of a family of pioneers and work in groups of three to create a five-day travelogue of their journey. The presentation will include a daily log of the students' progress toward completion of the project, a Power Point presentation of their travelogue, and a map of the Oregon Trail created by a team member. | |
| Your task is to pretend that you are a member of a group of pioneers selected by the government to complete the Oregon Trail. On your journey you must gather information about different aspects of the trail. The information gathered will be compiled into a report which will be sent back East so that the U.S. government and others can learn more about The Oregon Trail. | |
| Using information obtained from the Internet, student teams, known as Wagon Trains, will construct questions in the style of those found on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Once questions are constructed and refined, the Wagon Trains will participate in a trial run of their own game show. With this experience behind them, Wagon Trains will refine their questions and answers and the fifth grade 'Westward Expansion" review for their classroom test. | |
| "Groups of four will complete the following tasks: 1) Compile your group journal entries and design one group Hyperstudio presentation. This presentation should represent daily movement, activities, thoughts, feelings, special events, etc. Include happenings that might be important to the survival of your group. 2) You must find a way for your group to arrive safely at your Forts. Include a list of supplies you will take and justify the need for the supplies. 3) Perform an authentic dance from the time period." (copied from intro) |
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| "The Historical Society of Independence would like to recreate the trip to Oregon on the Oregon trail. They aren't sure if the recreation is a good idea and are asking your team for help. As a team you will find out whether the obstacles faced by the pioneers are still present today. After you find the obstacles that still exist today you will decide if the recreation is a good idea and present your findings to the Historical Society." (copied from intro) | |
Human
Interaction with Environment |
__ How have people past and present interacted with the environment? __ How do people adapt to change and depend on this region? |
| Looking for a comprehensive reference page on America’s West? AmericanWest.com will help with a multitude of links to other great pages on all states west of the Mississippi. | |
You
have just been informed by the President of the United States that
you are to create a new fifty cent coin to recognize the accomplishments
of the men and women who participated in the Lewis and Clark journey.
You and your fellow Treasury Board members have already selected a
picture to adorn the back of the coin. Now you must decide which one
individual's likeness will appear on the front.
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A Lewis & Clark
WebQuest where their job to become an expert member of Lewis
and Clark's Corps of Discovery. During the journey the group must
keep a Lewis & Clark journal and eventually share their findings.
The final project is to create a board game to relive their experience.
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| Forest fires threaten the west every year. Check out what you can do to prevent them and protect the forest. | |
| Ever wonder why it was such a big deal that George Bush wanted to open up the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling? Find out more about oil drilling and what it entails from the Minerals Management Service. | |
| This great site tells you all about commercial fishing of most ocean creatures you’ll find in your local grocery store. | |
The Iditarod
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Every March since 1973 this historic recreation of the medical supplies run to Nome, AK takes center stage. Iditarod.com is the official site with constant race updates, musher bios, award pictures, merchandise, and a few web cams during the race. Cabela’s is a great companion site. Another great site containing an interactive map is Scholastic.com. |
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Part
of an Independent Learning Project for Cambridge
College |
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Backgrounds
from Absolute Background
Textures Archive
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Updated:
April 22, 2004
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*All
graphics were created by author, unless otherwise noted.
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