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Roadside Attractions WebQuest
Introduction Few inventions have had as great and as widespread an impact as the automobile. By 1920, more than 300 cities had roadside camping facilities for motorists and more than one million people used them. Streets and highways were quickly built or modernized and a uniform numbering system for highways was introduced in 1925; by 1930 nearly 27 million cars were registered. The production, sale, repair, and servicing of cars provided work for millions. The Great Depression struck the tourist trade a great blow. Expenditures for hotels, restaurants, vacation clothing, and travel supplies fell from $872 million in 1929 to $444 million in 1932. Clearly, the people who would stay in business during tough times would be those who could appeal to the smaller number of tourists on the road.
Introduction (continued) By the time prosperity returned, roadside advertising had become a normal operating cost for businesses. Fanciful buildings, signs, and colossal sculptures were a colorful feature of highway culture and commerce during the 1920s and 30s. Highly visible and usually humorous, these "roadside attractions" were designed to catch the eye of the passing motorist and entice potential customers. All in all, the 1920s and—in spite of the Great Depression—the 1930s literally changed the American landscape. (Source: http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/6roadside/6setting.htm)
Tasks • List the different types of roadside attractions. • Read about different roadside attractions. • Plan a cross county trip and locate the roadside attractions along your route. • Brainstorm ideas for your own roadside attraction. • Create a billboard to entice customers to stop at your roadside attraction.
Task 1:What kind of roadside attractions exist? • Use the websites listed on the Resource slide. • View the different websites. • In your notebook, list 10 different types of roadside attractions.
Task 2: Read about different roadside attractions. • Use the websites listed on the Resource slide. • Select and read about 7 roadside attractions. • In your notebook, number and list the following information: 1. Name of the roadside attraction 2. Location (city and state) 3. Summarize its history and/or why the attraction was created.
Task 3: Plan a trip and visit three roadside attractions. • Use Mapquest to plan a trip from your hometown to another city and state. • The trip must go though a minimum of five states. • Print the directions and map. • Locate and label on the map three roadside attractions that you could visit while on your trip. • In your notebook, number and list the following information: 1. Name of the roadside attraction 2. Location (city and state) 3. Summarize its history and/or why the attraction was created.
Task 4: Brainstorm Answer the following questions in your notebook. • List 5 ideas for unique roadside attractions that you could create. (5 points) • Choose one of your unique roadside attractions. Write it and give it a name. (1 point)
Task 4: Create your own roadside attraction. Answer the following questions about your roadside attraction. • Where is it located? (city and state) (2 points) • Who built it? (1 point) • Why was it built? What is the story behind your roadside attraction? (10 points) • What year was it built? (1 point)
Task 5: Create a billboard Create a billboard (poster) for your roadside attraction. Include the following information: • The name of your roadside attraction. • A picture of your roadside attraction. • The answer to questions 1 though 4 from Task 4. • Persuade people to come to your roadside attraction. • Inform people reading your poster about your attraction (provide facts or interesting information).
Resources • Roadside America - Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ • Roadside Architecture http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html • Back On Tack - Roadside Attractions & Oddball Architecture http://www.gethep.net/road/ • World's Largest Roadside Attractions http://www.wlra.us/ • Flickr: Weird America! Wacky & weird similar to roadsideamerica.com http://www.flickr.com/groups/roadsideamerica/ • MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions – Map http://www.mapquest.com/directions
Evaluation Total Points Possible for Assignment: 120 • Task 1: 10 points (1 point per type of roadside attraction). • Task 2: 35 points possible (5 points for each roadside attraction). • Task 3: 20 points possible. (5 points for each roadside attraction and 5 points for locating and labeling three roadside attractions). • Task 4: 20 points possible. (See Task 4 slides for number of points possible for each question). • Conclusion questions: 10 points
Evaluation (continued) • Task 5
Conclusion • Congratulations! Your Roadside Attractions WebQuest is now complete! You are now an expert on roadside attractions! • During this WebQuest you have explored why roadside attractions were created and the different kinds of attractions that exist. • Which roadside attraction did you find most interesting? Why? • Are you interested in visiting any of the roadside attractions that you researched?
Image Sources for First Slide • Muffler Man http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/az/AZPHOmuf_gonzales.jpg • Pineapple http://www.wlra.us/ • Moose http://www.virtualsk.com/guides/rvsk/index.html • Dino http://www.goodyblog.com/playing_house/2007/05/roadside_attrac.html • Tire http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/worlds-biggest-roadside-attractions3.htm • Rt. 66 http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/photos/see-the-country-quirkiest-roadside-attractions.html?id=2369799 • Shoe House http://www.ronsaari.com/stockImages/roadsideAttractions/hainesShoeHouse.php • Dog Park Inn http://www.pointclickhome.com/image/tid/3770?page=2 • Floating Loon http://www.howstuffworks.com/roadside-attractions.htm
Additional Image Sources • Map of the United States http://geology.com/world/the-united-states-of-america-map.gif • World’s Largest Frying Pan http://piecesofflair.blogspot.com/2006/05/check-out-worlds-largest-frying-pan.html • The Coffee Pot http://www.pennsylvania-mountains-of-attractions.com/historic-lincoln-highway.html • Smiley Face Water Tower http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1D2P • Carhenge – Alliance, Nebraskahttp://www.roadsideamerica.com/set/OVERhenges.html • Paul Bunyan billboard http://www.roadsidepeek.com/signage/billboardsign/index.htm • Hole in The Rock billboard http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/rockymtn/rmroadside/rmroadattract/index.htm • All other Images are pictures and clipart from Microsoft.