americanexploration

=American Exploration= Have you ever plotted a family trip or vacation on a map, figuring out the best routes to take and the places of interest along the way? Have you ever wondered who were the first men and women to blaze these trails? Were they Native Americans, Spanish explorers from Mexico, or European immigrants looking for a way west? In this activity you are going to become explorers and map readers tracing the best routes to travel by land between various U.S. cities. You will then try to learn who were the first known explorers who broke these trails and who were the first groups of Americans to follow them.

The Task You and your partner will determine all the possible and the best routes between two cities which your teacher will assign. Once you have agreed on the routes, you will highlight them on the maps provided you. Then, using topographical maps, you will determine if there is any route which seems the best based on the lay of the land. Next you will determine the route used by the early trailblazers - the Mountain Men and the pioneers. Then you will compare and contrast your highlighted route and the trailblazer's route, indicating where they are virtually the same, where they differ, and why. Finally, you will step back in history to the time of your pathfinder. Taking on the role of this pathfinder, you will give a first person presentation to the class, describing your place in American history.

built car for distance and for speed || Find fastest trip: mileage, cost to take the trip today || Types of plan and animal life || Write a brief history of the early trailblazers || Make Venn diagram comparing major cities along route || Research background of historical figures || shortest? longest? || What is safe to eat || Write a ballad over one of the trailblazers || Read the different tribes of Native Americans who lived on our route. Do compare and contrast || Research major cities || school after considering the route || graph elevation || Water - safe or not to drink || Develop vocabulary word webs over route including geographical terms, environment, and social studies || Have students actually make their own "Amazing Race" over specific skills over the content area || Student will present a Powerpoint over the different tools that the explorers would have used || if needed || Write a poem about the wilderness || Learn about the effect the mountain men had on westward expansion ||  || d=rt || Study of ecosystems found along the route ||  ||   ||   || string theory ||  ||   ||   || Back to Content Ideas
 * = ==Engineering== ||= ==Math== ||= ==Science== ||= ==Language Arts== ||= ==Social Studies== ||= ==Library Media/Technology== ||
 * Construct the best
 * make a compass || Calculate mileage
 * Hike behind the
 * || distance formula || How to collect water
 * || Pythagorean theorem
 * ||  || Space-gravity