Download Weird and Wacky Indiana

Weird and Wacky Indiana
RULES: No shoes allowed on the map. Please have students remove shoes before walking on the map.
Socks are required. No writing utensils on the map.
Grade Level: Grades 3 – 12
Purpose:
 To have students use maps to identify characteristics of places and
 To have students identify, describe and understand what makes a place unique socially, historically and
geographically.
Indiana Social Studies Standards Addressed:
3.1.8 Write and illustrate descriptions of local communities and regions in Indiana’s past and present.
3.3.1 Use labels and symbols to locate and identify physical and political features on maps and globes. Label a
map of the Midwest, identifying states, major rivers, lakes and the Great Lakes.
3.3.5 Observe and describe the physical characteristics of Indiana using words and illustrations and compare
them to the characteristics of neighboring states.
3.3.9 Identify factors that make the region unique, including cultural diversity, industry, the arts and
architecture.
4.1.18 Research and describe the contributions of important Indiana artists and writers to the state’s cultural
landscape.
4.3.12 Read and interpret thematic maps – such as transportation, population and products – to acquire
information about Indiana in the present and the past.
6.1.23 Form research questions and use a variety of information resources to obtain, evaluate and present data
on people, cultures and developments in Europe and the Americas.
6.3.4 Describe and compare major cultural characteristics of regions in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
6.3.13 Explain the impact of humans on the physical environment in Europe and the Americas.
8.3.1 Read maps to interpret symbols and determine the land forms and human features that represent physical
and cultural characteristics of areas in the United States.
S.1.8 Identify, evaluate and use appropriate reference materials and technology to interpret information about
cultural life in the United States and other world cultures, both in the past and today.
USH.9.5 Use technology in the process of conducting historical research and in the presentation of the products
of historical research and current events.
WG.2.3 Give examples and analyze ways in which people’s changing views of places and regions reflect
cultural changes.
Materials:
 Roadmaps of Indiana
 Indiana in Maps: Geographic Perspectives of the Hoosier State by Jeffrey Wilson; published by GENI
 Oddball Indiana by Jerome Pohlen
Objectives:
 Students will identify places on maps.
 Students will identify features of places.
 Students will research the geography and history of Indiana.
 Students will create charts and graphs representing geographic data.
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Procedures:
1. Ask the class what makes a place different from another place.
2. Pass out Indiana maps and Indiana in Maps and allow them to work alone or in groups to look at both.
3. Ask them to list and discuss things they have found that make Indiana unique and then identify the
locations on the Giant Map of Indiana.
4. Use Indiana maps to identify places in Indiana with unusual names. Write the names on index cards and
display them on the Giant Map of Indiana.
5. Assign a place from Oddball Indiana and have the students use the internet and other resources to learn
more about their assigned place.
6. Have students report on their assigned place and locate it on the Giant Map of Indiana
7. Have students create different types of graphs summarizing what they have found out (example: the
number of big things, museums, things in nature, county location, etc.)
8. Have the students create a David Letterman style Top Ten List of Weird and Wacky Indiana.
Additional Activities:
1. Locate big sculptures in Indiana and locate them on the Giant Map of Indiana.
2. Identify a weird and wacky place or thing in your community. Have the students write a short paragraph
describing it.
3. Create a digital walking tour of Weird and Wacky Indiana or of unusual things in your community.
4. Have students make models or dioramas of an unusual person, place or thing they have learned about in
this lesson.
5. Study and read about legends and myths in Indiana. Have the students use newspapers and other
resources to locate unusual stories in the news. Have them report their findings.
6. Create a Weird and Wacky bulletin board display with students contributing things from the information
they have learned.
Assessment:
 Student participation in class.
 Student generated reports and writing.
 Student generated graphs and charts
Additional Resources:
Web Sites:
 http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/in/all
Books:
 Indiana off the Beaten Path by Phyllis Thompson
 The Indiana Book of Records, Firsts and Fascinating Facts by Fred Cavinder
 Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities and Other Offbeat Stuff by Dick Wolfsie
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