Date: May 1994

Grade Level(s): 3

Subject(s):

• Social Studies/State History

Objectives:

To familiarize students with the importance of the river with its transportation, drinking water, food, commercial purposes, and travel.

Materials: No special resources are needed.

maps of the world

maps of North America

maps of the United States

globes

compass

drawing paper

colored pencils

rulers

the history of De Soto

the history of the Louisiana Purchase

dictionaries

class encyclopedia

diagrams and pictures of ships found on the river

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

Huckleberry Finn

Songs and words of Old Man River

Rope

Pictures of floodplains, spillways, locks, ports, and levees

Addresses of the Department of Tourism and Commerce of: Minnesota,

-Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi,

-Louisiana

Procedure:

• Given a map the students will label the Mississippi River and the states that border it.
• Given a map students match the names of the states with their capitals.
• Students write a letter to the states that border the River (Department of Tourism and Commerce) asking for information.
• Students compile all the information obtained into a class book.
• Given a map of North America, students locate the river.
• Given a map of the United States, students locate the river.
• Given a globe, students locate the river.
• Given a world map, students locate and label North America by its shape.
• Given a world map, students locate and label the United States by its shape.
• Using a compass, students label North, South, East, and West in the room.
• Using a map and its key, students locate North, South, East, and West.
• Students create a map of the United States with its main water bodies and rivers.
• Given the other rivers of the world length, students compare their distance to the Mississippi River.
• Given the name and history of Hernando De Soto, students identify him as the discoverer of the Mississippi River.
• Given the history of the Louisiana Purchase, students identify that $27 million dollars as the purchase price of the river and the land surrounding it that later became known as the Louisiana Territory.
• Given a dictionary, students identify the difference between a land mile and a nautical mile.
• Given a map, students measure the distance in nautical miles from one point on the river to another.
• Given the definition of "knots", students become familiar with the term "knot" and its relation to "nautical mile."
• Given the facts, students learn the terms - mark twain, crest, Corp of Engineers, and sea level.
• Given diagrams of the following ships, students become familiar and identify the following river related ships - steamboat, tugboat, tanker, barge, freighter, and paddlewheeler.
• Given pictures and definitions, students label floodplains, spillways, Gulf of Mexico, locks, ports, and levee on a map.
• Using a rope marking fathoms (6ft.) measure the depth of the room, 1st floor to the ground, 2nd floor to the ground, and the 3rd floor to the ground.
• Given the song "Old Man River", students become familiar and identify the words.
• Read the book, "Life on the Mississippi" by Mark Twain as a class project.

Tying it All Together: