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Core Map: Anon., "Carte Particuliere du flevue [flueve] St. Louis dix lieües au dessus et au dessous de la Nouvelle Orleans" (A particular map of the St. Louis River [Mississippi River] ten leagues above and below New Orleans, on which are marked the homes and lands granted to some private individuals along the Mississippi) (ca. 1723), in Cartes Marines. Newberry Library call number: Ayer ms map 30, no. 80 (Printable PDF version of the Core Map)
Resources related to Map 4.
Curator's Notes for Map 4.
Overview
This lesson has students color the core map to help them learn how waterways have influenced where people have founded communities.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- identify the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, and long lot settlements on the core map.
- identify the French as founders of New Orleans.
- explain why people often founded communities along waterways, using the long lots along the Mississippi River in New Orleans as an example.
Key Terms
waterway,
long lot
Materials
Computer image or overhead of core map, copies of the core map printed in black and white, a World map, a map of the Southeastern United States (see Resources), crayons or colored pencils.
Time
3-4 class periods or 90-120 minutes
Getting Started
- Have the students access the core map. Locate the place name "Nouvelle Orleans."
- Query students about the language of the map. Explain that the lesson involves examining the French settlement in the New Orleans area to see why the French located their city and homes where they did.
- Help the students access a world map on the Internet or in an atlas and locate France. Locate the city of Orleans. Query students so they discover that New Orleans was named after the city of Orleans in France. Have the students locate Louisiana. Briefly discuss how the French traveled from France to Louisiana.
- Help the students access a southeastern U. S. map on the Internet or in an atlas (see Resources). Identify Louisiana and locate New Orleans. Note that Louisiana and New Orleans were once French colonies, but now are part of the United States. The day before the lesson, ask if any students have visited New Orleans or have relatives or friends there. Have them bring in pictures of New Orleans if they have them.
- Have the students view the core map. Explain that the map shows the earliest settlements in the New Orleans area. Have them scroll around and zoom in to identify New Orleans, the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, and a long lot. Discuss with them the symbols for forested areas, for cleared land, and for houses. To reveal translations for some of the place names and features, select "show translations" from the menu on the core map and click on the buttons that appear.
- Identify a long lot and explain that the following activity will help show why the French divided the land this way.
Developing the Lesson
- Explain that the students will color a copy of the core map to identify why the French used long lots to divide the land and why they chose to live where they did.
- Distribute the black and white copy of the core map. Have the students color them, using one blue for the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartain, green for forested land, another color for cleared land (not long lots), another color for the long lots, and another color for New Orleans. You may wish to distribute only a section of the map and have students use alternating colors for long lots so that no long lot next to another is the same color.
- Have the students display their maps to the class and explain why they colored them as they did.
- Query the students about the similarity of the location of all the long lots (bordering on the Mississippi River). Discuss why being on the river was important by having the students list the ways the French settlers of New Orleans used the river. Synthesize their ideas into one list that includes transportation, everyday needs, and watering crops.
- Conclude the activity by discussing how waterways affect where people locate their communities, using findings from the coloring activity.
Evaluation
Using a 1-4 scale (4=excellent, 3=good, 2=fair, 1=poor) assess student performance as follows:
- Coloring the core map
For 4 points, the student successfully completes all of the above tasks.
For 3 points, the student successfully completes all but one or two of the above tasks.
For 2 points, the student successfully completes approximately one-half of the above tasks.
For 1 point, the student does not successfully complete any or only a few of the above tasks.
- Discussion
For 4 points, the student explains how and why people settled near water comprehensively and articulately.
For 3 points, the student experiences minor errors, problems, or omissions in explaining how and why people settled near water; or had minor difficulty articulating their explanations.
For 2 points, the student experiences major errors, problems, or omissions in explaining how and why people settled near water; and/or had difficulty articulating their explanations.
For 1 point, the student does not explain how and why people settled near water; and/or could not articulate their explanations.
Extension
Create a black and white map of the New Orleans area based on the core map showing only waterways and vegetation. Have the students color in the waterways with one color and vegetation with another. Have them locate specific places on the map where they would set up their communities. Have them draw communities on the map and make a list of reasons why they chose that specific place. Each group reports and shares their findings.
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