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Mississippi River Scavenger Hunt

Brief Description
Students go on a virtual scavenger hunt to answer questions about the Mississippi River.

Objectives

Students explore print and online resources to learn about the Mississippi River and then use the information to complete a scavenger hunt.

Keywords

Mississippi River, scavenger hunt

Materials Needed

Mississippi River Scavenger Hunt student work sheets, pens or pencils, computers with Internet access or printouts from the Web sites referenced in the Lesson Plan section below or other online or print resources about the Mississippi River

Lesson Plan

Provide students with the Mississippi River Scavenger Hunt work sheet, and have them research online and print resources to find the correct answers to the questions. Here are some good Web sites:

• Rivers of Life: The Mississippi
• About the Upper Mississippi River System
• Discover America's Great River Road"

Assessment

Evaluate students on their answers to the questions in the scavenger hunt.
ANSWER KEY: 1. Hernando de Soto, 1541; 2. about 2,350 miles; 3. from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Cairo, Illinois; from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf of Mexico; 4. 18 million; 5. Native Americans gave the river the name Mississippi, meaning "Big River"; 6. Louisiana Purchase; 7. a migration corridor used by 40 percent of North America's waterfowl and shorebirds; 8. ten: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana; 9. the first 400 miles of the river; 10. Muddy Waters.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Linda Starr