Aug. 1, 2007: Traveling by Train
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Activities:
1. Design a "game car"
for a train that travels long distances. Draw the inside of the car and
show the different kinds of activities you would include in the car. Label
each of the fun activities.
2. Look at the weather map
in your newspaper. Draw a star where your city is on the map. Now find
three major cities you would like to visit anywhere in the country. Draw
a railroad line from your city to each destination. Which direction will
you travel to reach each city? What other cities will you travel through
to get to your destinations?
3. Pretend you are taking a
train trip from one end of your state to the other. What tourist or historical
sites will you travel near on your trip? Research three sites. Now write
a journal telling about your "trip" and describing the sights
and sounds that you saw on the way.
4. How are trains important
for (a) growers, (b) department and grocery stores, (c) factories and
(d) tourists?
5. Use resource books and the
Internet to learn more about the Transcontinental Railway. Use these questions
to guide your research: What type of terrain did each of the competing
railroads have to cross? Who were the workers on the railroads? What were
the most dangerous jobs the workers had to do to complete the railroad?
Write a paragraph discussing your findings.
This week's standards:
- Students understand science and technology.
- Students understand
the abilities of technological design. (Science: Science and Technology)
(standards by Dr. Sherrye D. Garrett, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
