Travel the USA—the AG-WAY!!
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Transcript of Travel the USA—the AG-WAY!!
Travel the USA—the AG-WAY!!
Taking a virtual trip
to learn about agriculture
in the United States,
with lessons in geography, science,
math, reading, and writing
Margaret Perret, Louisiana Farm Bureau
St. Martin’s Episcopal School, Metairie, LA
This unit came about when I bought an old Fodor map book, traveling the route of I-55, from its beginning near New Orleans to Chicago. Having recently met a teacher from Illinois with whom I was already sharing ag-related materials, I planned a trip for my class to “travel” north on I-55, learning about each state’s agricultural commodities along the way.
Travel the USA—the AG-WAY!! Project Organization
Our virtual trip took place over one week. We followed the route on a US mid-section desktop map. We also put together a long strip map, marking each day’s travels. On display in the classroom were maps of the country and the states we would study.
We kept records of time and distance traveled, costs of lunch, dinner, and hotel rooms on our Travel Logs. Our hotel stays were in major cities along I-55 which always had a $10 per child charge!
To spice up this year’s project, each day’s adventure also took us to a farm to get a closer look at one aspect each state’s agricultural production.
I GOOGLED farms in each state, then located them through the use of Google’s maps for directions and satellite photographs.
Writing a short paragraph and drawing a picture of our experience completed each day’s activities.
Mapping out the trip!
Travel the USA—the AG Way!Travel Log
Day # _____ Date: ____________Departing: ________ at ____AM / PMDestination: ____________________Arriving: _________ at ____AM / PMDistance traveled: __________miles
COST:Per person Class Lunch $_______ $_______ Dinner $_______ $_______ Hotel $_______ $_______ Total $_______ $_______
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Use the State Profiles from the Ag in the Classroom website to learn information about each of the states along your route.
The Enchanted Learning website has maps and general information about each state. They also have many printable worksheets and quizzes on many geography topics.
Capital
Major City
3 state symbols
3 agricultural commodities
3 fun facts
State:
Use the information on the Agricultural Profile to complete the chart.
Our project led us north on I-55. Click here to see our route:
Google I-55 LaPlace, LA to Chicago, IL
The following slides focus on farms in each state of our “travels.”
Ride on the Great River Road to see sugarcane growing on Evergreen Plantation in Edgard, Louisiana, 70049!
Directions from I-55, LaPlace, LA to Evergreen Plantation, Edgard, LA
Google Map: Evergreen Plantation, Great River Road, Edgard, LA
Evergreen Plantation
Pick pecans in Mississippi at Delta Pecan Orchard, RR2 Box 14 Hwy 3, in Tutwiler, Mississippi, 38963.
Delta Pecan Orchard
Google Map: Delta Pecan Orchard, Tutwiler, Mississippi
Directions from I-55, Jackson, Mississippi to Delta Pecan Orchard, Tutwiler, Mississippi
Don’t forget the MILK!!
Visit Sweetwater Valley Dairy Farm in Philadelphia, Tennessee.
Sweetwater Valley Dairy Farm
Google Map: Sweetwater Farm, Philadelphia, Tennessee
Google Map Directions from Memphis, TN to Sweetwater Farm, Philadelphia, TN
Workers are busy at Peterson Farms in Decatur, Arkansas where they produce over 2 million chicks per week and sell 1.5 million broilers every week! That’s a lot of chicken!!
Peterson Farms
Google Map: Peterson Farm Hatchery 1, 1200 E Roller Ave, Decatur, Arkansas
Directions from I-55, Memphis, TN to Peterson Farms, Decatur, Arkansas
LaBoube Cattle Farm
Spend the night in the Guest House when you visit LaBoube Farms to see their Angus and Hereford Cattle!
Google Map: LaBoube Farms, 573-486-5100, Hwy H, Hermann, Missouri 65041
Directions from I-55 St. Louis, Missouri to LaBoube Farms, Hermann, Missouri
Google Map: Corn Maze, Richardson Farms, Spring Grove, IL
Directions from I-55 in Chicago to Richardson Farms, Spring Grove, IL
Richardson Farm, Spring Grove, IL
Visit the Richardson Farm in Spring Grove, Illinois to see the World’s Largest Corn Maze!
Following are other ideas and websites to help you to add more excitement to your travels.
The USDA website has neat maps that show where each commodity is produced. Once you determine your virtual trip route, you can click on each of the commodities listed to see what is produced in each of the states along the way. This data can be used to complete the Commodities Graph.
Rice
Wheat
Cotton
Soybeans
Sugarcane
Corn
Pecans
Beef Cattle
Dairy Cows
Hogs and Pigs
Sheep and Lambs
BroilersTobacco
Vegetables
Number of US Farms in 2002
Graphing commodities
Add fun to your lessons with commodity AG-tivities!
Other projects include:
Cotton: Sock Babies—directions in handouts
Poultry: Dyeing Easter Eggs
Rice: Rice Babies—directions in handouts
Corn: Popcorn Fun
Soybeans: How Strong Are Soybean Seeds?—directions in handouts
Popcorn Activities
Naturally dyed Easter eggs
Decorating Easter Eggs with Parsley
Click here for fun 4H Virtual Farm tours!
For our rice babies, pantyhose legs were filled with rice according to each child’s birth weight.
Various creatures were made with leaves.
A fun game helped determine Jelly Belly jelly bean flavors.
Click here for a Jelly Belly Factory virtual tour!
Google I-10 Map, Santa Monica, CA to Jacksonville, FL
Google I-80 Map, San Francisco, CA to New York City, NY
Google I-35 Map, Laredo, TX to Duluth, MN
Google I-95 Map, Miami, FL to Houlton, ME
Other virtual across-country trip possibilities:
An Agricultural Alphabet
A lligators N uts—Peanuts and Pecans
B eans and Beef Cattle O ysters and Okra
C orn and Cotton P umpkins
D iversity in our nation Q uilts of cotton
E ggs R ice
F ood and Fiber S ugar
G eography T rees
H ealthy meals U nderstanding agriculture
I llinois commodities V irtual trips
J ambalaya and Crawfish Pie W heat
K umquats X tra fun
L ouisiana commodities Y oung and old
M aps Z eal for learning
Travel the USA—the AG-WAY!!
Margaret G. Perret
Louisiana Farm Bureau
St. Martin’s Episcopal School
School: 5309 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70003
Home: 508 Colony Place, Metairie, LA 70003
504-388-7019