West!
Welcome To
The
West!
A web-based activity for 4th grade
Miss Ellis
This page was constructed in partial fulfillment of requirements for EDN 328: Techniques of Elementary and Middle School Social Studies at North Central College
The American West is made up of eleven states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. These states are divided into two groups, the Mountain States and the Pacific States. There are over 30 National Parks in the western states! The west is a beautiful place with a wide variety of climates and landscapes. It is the largest of the five regions of the United States. It is where the country's highest place AND lowest place are found! What else can we find out about the Wild West??
You are responsible for finding out as much information about your state as you can. I am providing you with several websites that will be helpful to you. I am expecting you to be an expert on your state, so you should use a few different resources to discover more about your state! Here are some websites to get you started!
http://www.globalcomputing.com/states.html
Find your state and click on its name to start your research!!
As a class, we are going to be publishing a travel magazine for the western states! Each one of you is going to be assigned a specific state to become an expert on. Make sure you research your state and find out as much information as you can!
Your section in the magazine should include:
A
brief history of how the state became a part of the United States.
The state capital.
The state motto.
Some state symbols that
you found interesting such as the state song, the state bird, the state flower,
and so on.
Some tourist
attractions in your state.
At least one famous
person from your state. You should research this person and give a little
description about why he or she is important.
The state resources.
At least 3 of the
state's largest cities.
A picture of your state
flag.
A map of your state.
The population of your
state.
Anything unique or
interesting that you think would be important to share!!
You are going to learn many interesting facts and tidbits about your state. Use as many resources as you can and include lots of pictures. You may use pictures from the internet or draw them yourself. It is up to you how you want to present this information. I expect your work to be neat and readable. Be creative and have fun with this project!
|
|
CATEGORY |
5-4 |
3-2 |
1-0 |
|
History |
The student has included a brief summary of the history of their state. This will include how the state bacame a part of the country and the date it was ratified. |
The student has a brief summary of the history of the state, the student did not include how the state became a part of the country and/or the date it was ratified. |
There is no summary of the history of the state. |
|
State Capital, Motto, Population, and Resources |
The student has included all of the facts and all are accurate. |
The student has included most of the required facts and all are accurate. |
The student has included few or none of the required facts. |
|
State Symbols and Tourist Attractions |
The student has included many interesting state symbols. There are also several tourist attractions which have a brief description. |
The student has included one or two state symbols and has a few tourist attractions with no description. |
The student has little/no symbols or tourist attractions present. |
|
Famous Person |
The student has identified one or more famous people from their state and has researched them and provided a short summary about them. |
The student has identified one famous person and gives a brief summary about them. |
The student identified one famous person but does not describe them. |
|
State Cities |
The student has identified three or more of the states largest cities and gives their populations. |
The student has 2 or 3 of the states largest cities but gives no population. |
The student has identified less than 2 cities and gives no population. |
|
Flag and Map |
The students section includes both a map of the state, either drawn or pasted on, and a picture of the states flag with a sentence or two that descirbes the flag. |
The student includes both the flag and the map, but there is no desription of the state flag. |
The student has not included the flag and/or the map and there is no description of the state flag. |
|
Appearance |
The student has neat and readable handwritting and includes many pictures relevant to their project. The project is organized and detailed. |
The student uses good handwritting and the project is neat. There are some pictures. |
The student uses sloppy handwritting and there are few pictures. The project is unorganized and messy. |
|
Quality |
The student has many interesting facts and shows signs that they have researched their state. The student provides accurate and complete information. |
The student has all of the required facts but did not research their state beyond what was asked. There information is accurate but not complete. |
The student has very few facts and has not spent time researching their state. This information is inaccurate and/or incomplete. |
|
Extra facts and information |
The student has lots of interesting facts. The student has added many details. |
The project is detailed and has some extra facts. |
There are no extra facts provided. |
50 States: States and Capitals. http://www.50states.com/. May 2. 2007.
Absolute Web Graphics Archive: 10,000 Free Web Graphics.http://www.grsites.com/exec/public/tile.cgi?dir=dgrey&fn=dgrey047&ext=jpg. April 26 2007.
Alaska: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108178.html. May 6 2007.
All 50 American States Web Sites. http://www.globalcomputing.com/states.html. May 2 2007.
Bellsnwhistles. http://www.bellsnwhistles.com/page23.html. April 23 2007.
Bellsnwhistles. http://www.bellsnwhistles.com/page39.html. April 26 2007.
California: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108187.html. May 6 2007.
Colorado: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108189.html. May6 2007.
Hawaii: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108204.html. May 6 2007.
IconBAZAAR. http://www.iconbazaar.com/flags/animated/usa/index.html. April 26 2007.
IconBAZAAR. http://www.iconbazaar.com/alphabets/animated/spin/index.html. April 26 2007.
Idaho: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108207.html. May 6 2007.
Montana: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108237.html. May 6 2007.
Nevada: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108242.html. May 6 2007.
Oregon: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108262.html. May 6 2007.
The US50: A guide to the fifty states. http://www.theus50.com/. May 2 2007.
Utah: History, Geography, Population, and State Facts.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108279.html. May 6
2007.
Washington: History, Geography, Population, and State
Facts.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108286.html. May 6
2007.
Wyoming: History, Geography, Population, and State
Facts.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108293.html. May 6
2007.
The content and opinions expressed on this page belong to Emily Ellis and are not endorsed by North Central College. This College accepts no responsibility for the contents of these pages.
