Objectives
Students will recognize the different improvements in mechanization
Students will identify the impact of mechanization on society
Students will create and label a map of Louisiana railroad towns
Students will demonstrate map skills
Students will create and label a timeline of oil and natural gas discovery and production
Materials
Paper
Pencils and rulers
Large, current map of Louisiana
Reproducible Louisiana map
Reproducible note organizer
Computer and TV monitor or SmartBoard
Technology Connection
Hardware
Software
Web Sites
E-mail Addresses
Background Information
Detailed background
EZ Content Blueprint
Lesson Procedures
Introduce idea of early life in Louisiana
Discuss transportation challenges and settlement patterns
Connect to challenges in students’ daily life without technology—computers, cars, etc.
Identify changes in mechanization—Use provided Power Point Presentation and EZ Content Blueprint
Use PowerPoint presentation to introduce technological changes
Students will participate by filling in note organizer
Discuss convenience, benefits, and consequences of mechanization
Ask students how they think life improved,
Consider how the landscape changed,
Discuss positive and negative effects on Louisiana society
Discuss how the new mechanization changed architecture
Skill building. Map skills - Use Activity 1: Railroad Town Locator
Students correctly locate and label railroad towns
Using created map, students practice finding distance and direction
Skill building. Map skills and timeline creation - Use Activity 2: Oil & Natural Gas Boom Timeline
Students use places and dates to create oil industry map
Timeline creation from facts and dates in oil and gas history
Writing assessment
Written description of how life and Louisiana changed.
Ask students to pretend they are writing to a distant relative describing the changes brought to their lives and their towns by a steamboat or by the railroad.
Reproducible Materials
Blank LA Map (In MS Word format)
(18.50 KB )
Note organizer (in PowerPoint format)
PowerPoint Presentation
Assessment Procedures
Participation in discussion and note taking
Correctly locating and labeling railroad towns
Using map skills to determine direction and distance
Creation of timeline
Written description of changes brought by changes in mechanization
Since this is a short lesson and neither teachers nor students are held accountable for this detailed topic, assessment is based on teacher preference.
Printable Version
(30 KB)
