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Journey
to
Chiapas, Mexico
A Geography WebQuest
for 7th Grade beginning Spanish students
Designed
by
Letitia H. Green
LpHickman@yahoo.com
April 2005
Introduction
| Task
| Process
| Evaluation
| Conclusion
| Credits
| Teacher
Page
Introduction
You are a traveler from San Diego, CA. You would like drive to the
state of Chiapas,
Mexico. In order to get there, you will have to do some research and
develop a travel plan.
The
Task
You will work in a group and at times by
yourself figuring out how to drive to Chiapas, Mexico. You will
determine how long it will take, along which highways you will travel,
and through which cities and Mexican states you will travel. Your final
task is to produce an "itinerary" for your trip that explains when you
are leaving, what route you are taking, which cities you will be in on
which day, what the weather is expected to be like in each area you
stop at that time of year, and when you expect to arrive in Chiapas.
The
Process
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1. |
Make your team.
First you
will be assigned to a team of 3. Enter the names of your group on
your trip itinerary by clicking here.
Print this "itinerary" out for each team member. Print one extra.
The team printouts will be for each team member to keep track of
the choices you are making.
The extra copy of the itinerary
will be used for your final task: to turn in a completed itinerary
with the decisions you have made.
If you need extra columns or rows
on your itinerary, you may attach a
"distance table" and continue your cities on there. Staple this
sheet onto your itinerary and have all three of your team sign it
also.
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| 2. |
Get a highway map.
Next, you
will need a driving map of the entire country of Mexico, including
the southern portion of California that includes San Diego.
Click here to choose resources for
your map.
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| 3. |
Find your destination city.
Now that you
have your map, you and your partners need to open it up and find
San Diego, California and Chiapas, Mexico. Choose a destination
city in
the state of Chiapas, in which to end your trip. Enter this
under "Destination" in your itinerary.
Use the last line of your final itinerary to indicate where you are
ending up.
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| 4. |
Choose the cities you must travel through.
Next you will develop a list of
the cities that you will need to travel through in order to get to
your city in Chiapas.
Using your printed itinerary, enter into the table each city you will travel through on your
route south. You can add as many as you want, but remember, the
more you add, the more work you will have to do to determine the
distances between them. I recommend that you enter only one city for
each "state" in Mexico that you travel through. Use the largest
cities along the route.
Start with the
city from which you are leaving (your "origin"), San Diego, CA.
Tijuana has been listed as the next city. Though you could travel
along the highway in California and enter there, for simplicity, I
have decided you need to enter Mexico in Tijuana. Baja is the
state. Then, continue over to the main part of Mexico and down!
You're off!
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| 5. |
Determine the straight line distance between
San Diego and Chiapas, Mexico.
Determine
the distance between San Diego, CA and your chosen city in Chiapas,
Mexico. Use the scale on your road map. For an example of how you
determine this distance using your map graph, go to
Reading Topographic
Maps.
Read the explanation of how to use
the scale on a map. Look at Figure (5-2) and do the same exercise
for the straight distance between San Diego, CA and your
destination city in Chiapas. Enter this information on your
itinerary
in "Number 3: Straight distance between Origin and Destination
Cities." This straight distance is sometimes referred to
by "as the crow flies" because it is a straight line distance
between the two cities, no matter what is in between.
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| 6. |
Determine the distance between the cities
along the way.
Using what you have
learned in No. 6 above, determine how many miles there are between each city
that you listed on your itinerary. Measure the distance along the
highway(s) between each city. This is an approximate distance, not
necessarily an exact distance. Round to the nearest mile. Start at the city you are leaving, and measure
along the highway until you get to the city you have picked in
which to stop. You
will input the information in the printed Itinerary when you and
your teammates determine the distances. For San Diego, CA, the
first distance is '0'. The first city you will encounter is
Tijuana, Mexico.
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| 7. |
Calculate the number of days it takes to make
it to Chiapas.
Now that you have
finished your list of cities and the distances between them, you
must decide what day you are going to leave San Diego, CA to drive
south. To begin your trip pick a date. Then put this in the
Itinerary next to the first
city, San Diego, CA. Now, assume that the three of you will share
the driving; you will drive all day and through the night, sleeping
in the car when you are not the one driving, and stop only to grab
fast food and fill up the gas tank.
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| 8. |
If you travel 50 mph on average, and travel 24 hours per day until
you there, how long will it take you to get to Chiapas?
(Distance/Speed = Time)?
Write your answer on the bottom of your itinerary. Show your work
on the back for extra credit. |
| 9. |
BONUS QUESTION: If you only travel 12 hours per day, every OTHER
day, how many days will it take to get there?
Write your answers on the bottom of your itinerary. Show your work
on the back for extra credit. |
Evaluation
You should produce your itinerary using all the skills of your team.
Divide the work up, help others when they get behind, enjoy yourself,
help others enjoy the process as well.
You will be evaluated on following directions, organizing information,
neatness, turning in your work on time, and how well your team worked
together.
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Beginning
1
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Developing
2
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Accomplished
3
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Exemplary
4
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Score
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Group interaction
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Difficulties arose that could not be worked through. Itinerary
was delivered on time. |
Worked together well.
Some issues arose but the group worked them out. Itinerary is
organized and was delivered on time.
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Worked well
together and divided the work evenly. Everyone contributed and
the itinerary was delivered early or on time.
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Superb itinerary
delivered early and with pride. Went out of way to do more
than was asked. Appreciation for each other is high.
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Organization and Timeliness
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Itinerary was out of
order, disorganized or incorrect. Itinerary was not turned in
on time.
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Itinerary was
complete but had factual errors. Itinerary was delivered on
time or not on time.
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Itinerary
was complete, factually correct and delivered early or on
time.
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Itinerary was complete,
factually correct, delivered early, and had additional
information not required.
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Conclusion
When you have completed the assignment, you will have learned how
long it would take to drive to Chiapas from San Diego. Along the way, you will have
learned to use the graphic scale on your map to calculate
distances. You should have learned the names of the different states in
Mexico in order from North to South that you need to
travel through, and many of the cities that you will be traveling
through. You will know the distances between cities in Mexico, and you
will be able to estimate about how long it would take to drive the
length of Mexico from the United States, if you drove all the time
without any real rest other than for gas, food and the bathroom. If you
answer the bonus question, you will know how long it would take you if
you drove alone, and rested every other day.
If you have a chance, check out the weather in some of your cities
at the weather
underground for Mexico. Also, check the United States Department of
State travel up-dates on
Mexico.
Every country has its problems and to get good advice before you leave
can be very helpful.
Credits
& References
Encyclopedia Brittanica
My husband and children
Automobile Association of America
Last
updated on August 15, 1999.
Based
on a template from The
Web Quest Page
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