http://www.crt.state.la.us/
Let's Stay Home for Vacation
Discovering the Regions of Louisiana
by: Helene Tucker, Cabrini High School
June, 2000
Dad came home and slammed his briefcase on the table. "Two dollars and fifteen cents for a gallon of gasoline in an oil producing state", he exclaimed. Our problem was compounded by the brand new "gas guzzling" SUV which sat in the driveway. "This year we will just have to stay home for vacation".
These were the words I, Roaming Ruthie, were dreading. This had been the first year that neither me or my two brothers did not have to go to summer school. What would we do?
Suddenly, I remembered what I had learned in my Louisiana Studies Class about all of the places to visit in Louisiana. Since we did live in Louisiana - technically we would be "staying home". How could Dad object? We had to use the SUV for something. Right?
Let's visit the different regions of Louisiana and see what we can do by just "staying home".
Regions of Louisiana
http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/tourism/maps/getmap.htm
Louisiana is divided into 5 regions. We visited each area and discovered that each had very unique types of attractions which helped us to understand how diverse Louisiana really is. Below are some of the places we visited. Come on our vacation with us and the see if you can discover how many new worlds you can discover by "just staying home".
Your challenge:
Answer the questions about each place which we visited. See if you can guess what region of Louisiana we were visiting that day.
Day 1
1. What is unique about the age of this plantation?
2. Why wasn't this plantation destroyed during the Civil War?
3. What region of Louisiana were we?
Day 2
4. How was this village created?
5. What religion were most cajuns?
6. What is a cistern?
7. What type of wood was used for most of thes Cajun homes? Why?
8. What is a "garconniere"?
9. What region of Louisiana were we in?
Day 3
10. When was the structure at Poverty Point built?
11. How would you describe this structure?
12. What is a possible reason why early Louisiana inhabitants built this site?
13. What region of Louisiana were we in?
Day 4
Frogmore Plantation and Cotton Gin
14. What is the main activity at the Frogmore Plantation?
15. Who is Dorothy and what does she demonstrate?
16. What kind of cotton gin does Frogmore use today?
17. What region of Louisiana were we in?
Day 5
18. What does the term "Vieux Carre'" refer to?
19. There are only a few actual "French" buildings in the Vieux Carre". Explain why.
20. What region of Louisiana were we in?
21. Roaming Ruthie had a great vacation. She realized that she really did not stay home for vacation, but had visited 5 unique areas of the state. She now needs your help. Help Ruthie by writing a one page essay "How I Spent My Summer Vacation". Ruthie discovered that parts of Louisiana were very different then the town she lived in. Explain what she discovered about Louisiana on her vacation.
Teacher's Page
Discovering the Regions of Louisiana
By: Helene Tucker, Cabrini High School, June, 2000
Students are invited to visit sites located in various parts of Louisiana to begin to appreciate the diversity of different regions of the state.
This activity is designed for 7th and 8th graders.
Objectives: The student will
***
identify the five regions of Louisiana.
*** understand differences between regions of Louisiana.
***visit internet sites and collect information about regions of
Louisiana.
Requirements: To complete this activity students need to have access to an online computer. They should understand how to navigate from different internet sites by using active links.
Time Frame: This activity should take approximately 1 hour.
Instructions: Students should be instructed to visit the active links which appear under the picture from each day's adventure. They are to answer the related questions on a separate sheet of loose leaf paper. The final paper , "How I Spent My Summer Vacation", may be assigned for homework if students are limited on time.
Extended Activities:
1. Have students visit the following website:
2. Students can plan additional trips with different locations.
3. Students may write a diary of what they would see on their vacation.
4. Have students search the net for additional websites which may aid people traveling around Louisiana.
5. Have students produce Power Point presentations in which they would capture pictures off the Internet and create a tour of a region.
Louisiana Content Standards Addressed by this Activity
1. identifying criteria used to define regions and explaining how and why regions change; G-1B-M3
2. identifying and describing the characteristics, functions, and applications of various types of maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies; G-1A-M1
3.identifying key demographic concepts and using these concepts to analyze the population characteristics of a country or region; G-1C-M2
4. identifying and describing the human characteristics of places, including population distributions and culture G-1B-E2
5. explaining and giving examples of how characteristics of different physical environments affect human activities; G-1D-M2
6. explaining and evaluating the importance of places and regions to cultural identity; G-1B-H4
7. recognize the importance of information technology and its effect on the workplace and society. (5)
8. use telecommunications and online resources efficiently and effectively to collaborate with peers, experts, and others to investigate curriculum-related problems, issues, and information and to develop solutions or products for various audiences. (1,2,3,4)
9. determine when technology is useful and select the appropriate tool(s) and technology resources to address a variety of tasks and problems. (2)