Explore Mississippi

Introduction

You work for a magazine company. Your editor wants everyone to spend the summer doing research on different places for articles that will be printed in the Fall. Your grandmother is from Mississippi so you decide to go there to visit her and explore the state she lives in. You will visit one city in each region, and find interesting details about each. 

Task

 

Mississippi is home to five regions. The task will be to plan a trip visiting each of the five regions in Mississippi. You will visit interesting landmarks or locations there, and learn other facts about the city, either historical or just interesting. Do not forget that you will be visiting your grandmother who lives in Hattiesburg and spend time with her there.

Process

You will visit the Mississippi tourism website that shows the five regions. You will click on each region and select one of the cities from each list. Make a note of the cities and which region they come from.http://mstourism.com/about-mta/explore-mississippi/

Go to Mapquest's route planner and insert each city. Start in Hattiesburg and finish in Hattiesburg. That way you can stay with your grandmother before you begin your trip and after you finish your trip. The cities will go in this order:

Hattiesburg, Ocean Springs, Natchez, Yazoo City, Starkville, Tupelo, Hattiesburg.   http://mstourism.com/about-mta/explore-mississippi/

For your stop in Ocean Springs, look at their tourism guide and find an activity that sounds exciting to you.  Make a note of what you will do or learn, then explore the website more to find two more facts about the city. http://www.redstardigital.net/lib/os_guide/3.2017.1/mobile/index.html

For your stop in Natchez, look at the different tours offered. Select the tour that you find most interesting and list what you will do and where you will go on the tour. Explore the website more and find two other facts about the city. http://visitnatchez.org/what-to-do-2/attractions/tours/

For your stop in Yazoo City, there are many tour options. Select the tour that you feel would be the most fun. Make a note of what all will be happening on the tour. Explore the website further to find other interesting facts about the city.http://visityazoo.org/what-to-do/tours/

For your stop in Starkville, there are many outdoor recreational parks to adventure in. Choose the one you would like to spend the day in, then choose one of their exceptional restaurants to satisfy your hunger. Explore the website more to find other facts about the city. Don't forget to check out Mississippi State University. http://visityazoo.org/what-to-do/tours/        http://members.starkville.org/list/ql/restaurants-food-beverages-22

Tupelo will be the last city you visit for research. For this visit, plan your trip based on these attractions provided on the list. Name the places you will go, and what you will do there. Find more interesting facts about the city.   http://tupelo.net/category/explore/?sort=name_ASC&page=1&catitem=22

Drive back to Hattiesburg, spend time with your grandmother, and let her show you around her favorite places. While there, develop your article spread. 

On a big map of Mississippi, highlight the route you followed. Circle each city you visited. Next to each city, place a box including a picture, options of fun things you did while there, and facts about the city. This should encourage the magazine readers to take their own tour of Mississippi and see the places you went. 

 

Evaluation

The student will be grades as follows:

  • The student had a map of Mississippi with the route to the suggested cities highlighted.     15 pts
  • It was clear on the map which cities the student visited.     15 pts
  • Each city had at least one picture.    15 pts 
  • There was at least one attraction that could be done in each city.     20 pts
  • There were other facts about the city, not pertaining the the specific attraction.     20 pts
  • The project looks like it could belong in a magazine.     5pts
  • The project is neat, creative, and eye catching.       10pts

Conclusion

You have completed your tour of Mississippi! I hope your summer adventure helped you understand the state your grandmother lives in and I hope your magazine article will encourage other readers to plan a visit to Mississippi. Don't stop exploring other areas!

Credits

Teacher Page

This webquest was designed to allow student to tour the state of Mississippi and visit an exciting city in each of the five regions. The students will route their trip on a map and gain an understanding of the layout of the city and the roads connecting them. The students will learn about fun things to do in each city, historical information, and other interesting facts about the cities. The students will present the information they learn in a way that would encourage others to visit the cities.