Old State Capitol

Our Fine State

Louisiana Crawfish

Introduction

Whether you have lived in Louisiana for your whole life, or perhaps for only a short time, there is a lot to learn about our great state. Louisiana has a rich past, including its history, its geography, and its interesting people and places.  The following unit will allow you to investigate interesting and important information that will help you to learn and understand about various Louisiana topics.  This information will also allow you to work collaboratively in pairs to create and share what you have learned through the development of a creative project.

Part 1
Each team (2 students per team) will conduct research using computer technology to locate visual/graphic information in order to create a presentation for the following topics:

• state motto, seal, and flag
• state symbols (bird, flower, tree, mammal, fish, insect, crustatean, gemstone, reptile, and dog)
• state maps (regions, rivers, bordering states, parishes)
• U.S. map (showing Louisiana's location)

• Sites of Interest - find information on 4 different sites of interest in Louisiana
• Louisiana History - locate information about the Louisiana Purchase, Louisiana during the Civil War, and Louisiana during the past 100 years
• Parish Report - choose a Louisiana parish and find information about it
• Famous Person - choose a famous person or political figure that was born in Louisiana and write an original compostion

The teams will collect the information using the Internet, search engines, and Hypertext links, using the collected information to create a final product.  Students will use either PowerPoint or HyperStudio to create a visual/graphic presentation of information in Part 1.

Teams will also use the Internet, search engines, and Hypertext links for Part 2 to locate relevant information.  Final products will be created using popular word processing software, such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect. All compositions should be based on information obtained, but should be written in the students' own words. Students should also incorporate some graphics into their written reports.

1. First, you will be assigned into teams of 2.
2. You and your partner are expected to participate equally on Part 1 and Part 2 of this project. 
3. Work can be done together or can be divided equally to ensure faster completion.  Cooperative learning and collaboration is encouraged.  Since there are 4 topics in each section, a  possible solution would be for each of you to take 2 topics from each to complete. 
4. In Part 1, you will look for and collect the information using the Internet, search engines, and Hypertext links.
5. You need to locate graphics and information about the state motto, seal, and flag. Then write 6-8 sentences in your own words describing the motto, seal, and state flag.
6. For  the state symbols section, you should locate graphics and information about the state symbols (bird, flower, tree, mammal, fish, insect, crustatean, gemstone, reptile, and dog). 
7. Each symbol should have a picture as well as a sentence (seven words minimum for each symbol) written in your own words.
8. For the map section, you should create a total of 5 maps; 4 state maps (regions, rivers, bordering states, parishes), and 1 U.S. map (showing Louisiana's location).
9. Each map should contain a map key and should have a sentence caption (7 words minimum) written in your own words.
10. Using the collected information to create a final product,  you can use either PowerPoint, HyperStudio, Netscape Composer, or some other multimedia tool to create a visual/graphic presentation of information.
11. For Part 2 of this project, you are expected to search for, find, and gather textual information centered around relevant Louisiana topics.  These include sites of interest, Louisiana history, parish information, and famous Louisianians.
12. Sites of Interest - find information on 4 different sites of interest in Louisiana, then write a brief description (6 sentence minimum) for each site in your own words.
13. Louisiana History - locate information about the Louisiana Purchase, Louisiana during the Civil War, and Louisiana during the past 100 years. Then write an original composition (150-250 words long).
14. Parish Report - choose a Louisiana parish and find information about it in order to write a 200-300 word report (including the origin of the parish name, when it was founded, the parish seat, relative location, major towns and cities, rivers and/or bodies of water, natural resources, crops/agricultural products, industries/products manufactured, and climate).
15. Famous Person - choose a famous person or political figure that was born in Louisiana and write an original compostion.
16. Each team should find relevant information about each topic.  All reports are expected to be original compositions in your own words.
17. Use common word processing software to write your final draft compositions.  Use software such as Corel WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.
18. Print a hard copy of Part 1 and Part 2, and create a Scrapbook with a cover (use pictures from flyers and pamphlets from the Louisiana Welcome Center and from the Tourism Office.
19. Also make a cover page, table of contents, and bibliography page.
20. Use bibliographic references for all information and pictures found and list them at the end of the report.
21. Present your reports to the class using both technology and your completed scrapbook.

Useful Search Engines

http://www.altavista.com/

http://www.c4.com/

http://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/
 

Useful Web Sites

Louisiana Travel
http://www.louisianatravel.com/ 

LA Dept of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism
http://www.crt.state.la.us/ 

LA Office of Tourism
http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/tourism.htm 

LA Secretary of State/State Archives
http://www.sec.state.la.us/ 

Louisiana Parishes
http://enlou.com/parishes/

Click on the pictures below for specific tips and guidelines for the written reports.
 
 

Parish Report

Interesting Sites Report

 

Famous Louisianians

Louisiana History

 

Each portion of the project will be evaluated for content, mechanics, and organization.  The Rubric below will be used to assess your team's work.
 
 

Research Report: Louisiana Scrapbook Teacher name: Douglas Samson Student Name ___________________

CATEGORY	Excellent	Good	Satisfactory	Needs Improvement
Amount of Information	All topics are addressed, and all questions answered, with at least 3 sentences about each.	All topics are addressed and most questions answered, with at least 3 sentences about each.	All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with 1-2 sentences about each.	All topics not addressed OR most questions answered with words or phrases instead of sentences.
Organization	Information is very well organized with headings that relate clearly to the material.	Information is organized with headings, but some material under the headings may be out of place.	Information is generally organized, but no headings are used.	There appears to be little organization of the material.
Quality of Information	Information gathered provides answers to the main questions along with several supporting details and/or examples for each.	Information gathered provides answers to main questions along with 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information gathered provides answers to main questions, but no details and/or examples are given.	Information gathered has little or nothing to do with the questions posed.
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Sources	Sources for information and graphics are documented in the designated format.	Most sources for information and graphics are documented in the designated format.	Sources for information and graphics are documented, but most are not in the correct format.	Some sources for information and graphics are not documented.

 

Date Created: 2001-06-29

Copyright 2001, High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium

Conclusion

Once you have concluded this project, I hope you will walk away with a better picture of what it means to be from Louisiana.  Our great state has such a rich history and heritage that we all should be aware of and value.  It is my hope that all students will gain a sense of satisfaction from the creation of this project and the discovery of new information about Louisiana and about ourselves.

Louis Armstrong picture courtesy of http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/armstrong.html

St. louis Cathedral picture courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/neworlea.htm

Louisiana Parish Map courtesy of 
http://www.lapage.com/page/

Louisiana Purchase Map courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/profiles/history.htm

Old State Capitol picture courtesy of http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/plantion.htm

Louisiana Crawfish picture courtesy of http://www.coonass.com/etouffee.htm

Webquest and Webquest template design courtesy of http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html

Rubric design courtesy of High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium and Rubistar.