Title: "Splish, Splash, I was out on a raft"
            Recreation on West Virginia Waters

Grade Level: 8

Subject: Social Studies (West Virginia Studies)
 

Learner Outcomes:

• The student will explore and locate recreational activities available on and in West Virginia waters.
• The student will practice summarizing and evaluating a web site.
• Student will input data using correct keying, editing, and formatting techniques.
• The student will develop an appreciation for the importance of tourism to our state.

Materials:

• List of URL sites to river recreation activities in the state of West Virginia.
• Mission statement of West Virginia Tourism Commission - Transparency
• Overhead projector
• Projection screen
• Chalkboard

• MicroSoft Word
• Computer Lab
• Color Printer
• Internet access
• Projection Device and screen
• Computer Disks - one per student

• If using the computer lab in the afternoon it would be helpful to download a web wacker such as NetAttache Light. This would speed up the search process.
• Schedule lab time as school policy dictates.
• Review the district Acceptable Use Policy and remind students of principles of netiquette.
• Special considerations must be given when grouping students. Attention to special needs students and individual computer skills must be addressed by the teacher.

1. As part of a large classroom discussion students will be asked to define tourism. List several phrases and/or ideas associated with responses on chalkboard.
2. Discuss with students how they or their parents arrive at vacation sites. Possible answers might include ads in magazines, surfing the Web, travel phamplets, word of mouth, etc.
3. Discuss why states advertise to attract tourists. Obvious answers will involve generating revenue.
4. Use transparencyto expose students to the West Virginia Tourism Commission mission statement. Student will read it aloud as others do so silently.
5. The mission statement will generate discussion, either small group or entire class, about the importance of tourism to our state. Each part of the mission statement can be given to a small group of students to evaluate and relate to our state. Emphasis should be placed on the last phrase, "thereby improving the way of life for West Virginians."
6. Illustrate to students the statistical information that relates the importance of tourism to West Virginia. This information will also help to reinforce the mission statement.
7. In conjunction with the water unit students will explore a small part of the tourism industry by looking at some opportunities available to visitors on and in West Virginia waters. If possible take entire class to the computer lab. Distribute alist of URL's that pertain to whitewater and fishing activities in our state.
8. Each student should be assigned at least one of the sites to explore and summarize.
9. Allow approximately 15 minutes for students to investigate their site. Place students in groups of three. Each student will continue to work at their individual workstation.
10. Using the information from their site, each student in the group, will use their summary to write an enticing news article.
11. Each article needs to include a subtitle, the summary, and a graphic copied from the Internet. The URL must also be placed at the bottom of the article. RUBRIC See link to student instructions for news letter assignment.
12. Place all completed newsletters on a tourism bulletin board in the classroom, library, or school hallways.

• Consideration must be given when grouping special needs students.
• Providing a print copy of the assigned URL site will help to ease the summary writing process. This will help to eliminate the problems associated with the transfer of information from screen to paper.

• Students may create an Internet scavenger hunt for peers using the list of selected URL's given in this lesson. Document must be composed in MicroSoft Word and incorporate five sites with a minimum of fifteen questions.

• Create a travel itinerary for a whitewater rafting trip that would include lodging, mileage, detailed travel route, and estimated expenses.

• Students can do a short summary of their tourism site as part of the school wide announcements. This may encourage other students to look at the site and perhaps visit the actual area.

West Virginia Instructional Goals and Objectives:

Social Studies

Economics - 8.26

Computer/Technology-8.59, 8.61, 8.68

References:

Resources: West Virginia: The History of An American State, Vicki Wood

  Division of Tourism Office

  Charleston Daily Mail
 
 

Additional Resources:

World Wide Web
Rubric
Transparency of mission statement
Transparency of tourism statistics
Student Resources: Description of assignment - Newsletter assignment
 

Internet links: Welcome to New River Gorge National River

America's Best Whitewater

West Virginia Department of Natural Resources

West Virginia Whitewater

Blackwater Falls State Park

Tygart Lake Resort State Park

Hawks Nest State Park

Stonewall Jackson Lake

West Virginia Rafting

Whitewater Rafting West Virginia

Mountain Streams Whitewater Rafting

Wildwater Expeditions Unlimited

Mountain River Tours in Fayette Co.

Rivers II

New River

ACE Whitewater and Adventure Center

West Virginia Whitewater Rafting

USA Raft
 
 

Created By:   Darialouise K. Collins

                            Kimberly Fowler

                            Diane Stilwell
 
 

                       South Middle School
 

Other Lessons with this Unit:

Social Studies:    Follow the River
                                            What's that Smell?
                                            Go With the Flow
                                            Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Down the River

Science:              Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Down the River
                                            What's that Smell?
                          Water U Graphs

Math:                  What's that Smell?
                                           Follow the River
                                Water U Graphs
 
Related Lessons:

   Mary Ingles, Follow the River
    A Fish Out of Water
    Relating the Related Arts
    A Fish in Hand...