By: Melinda Butler Schaddallee, Goshen Middle School; Goshen, IN, 6/15/1997 

Purpose:

Students will begin the process of identifying their name’s cultural heritage by locating various cities around the world which share their last name.

Grade Level(s): 6-9

Geography Standards Addressed:

• #1) How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
• #2) How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places and environments in a spatial context.
• #3) How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earth’s surface.
• #9) The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on Earth’s surface.
• #10) The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics.
• #12) The processes, patterns and functions of human settlement.

Objectives: Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to

• 1. use the Internet to locate Place and Absolute locations,
• 2. name and locate reference points on maps,
• 3. use latitude and longitude to locate places on maps,
• 4. use maps to practice finding absolute locations of places, and
• 5. discuss the cultural heritage and movement across the globe of their last name.

Materials Required:

• * Geographic Nameserver Worksheet
• * Copy U.S. map (with states and grid if possible) - 1 for each student
• * Atlas
• * Colored pencils

Procedures:

1. Discuss with students the "names" of cities. Possibly in debt about how a certain city might have been named. How many know of cities that are named after them? Have them write a small list of names that they would like to investigate.

2. Log onto the Internet.... Geographic Nameserver

3. Student puts in name that they have selected and print it out or record the information on a worksheet. After they have collected the appropriate data, they must choose which own/city names that they would like to record onto their map.

4. The student must then locate each city on the U.S. map according to the latitude and longitude. Their map should include a simple key, a different color for each city or whatever else you choose to have them locate, as well as a title! Map may be colored.

5. As an extension of this activity, student's can compare two or three of their cities.... regions, climate, etc. Hypothesize about the natural environment of each place in relation to their absolute and relative locations.

6. Discuss names that could not be found... why do you think? See which name seemed to have the most locations.... the least.

Names to Look Up: ______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

Location Name: ______________________________________

State: ______________________________________

County/Population: ______________________________________

Latitude: ______________________________________

Longitude: ______________________________________

Other Information: ______________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Location Name: ______________________________________

State: ______________________________________

County/Population: ______________________________________

Latitude: ______________________________________

Longitude: ______________________________________

Other Information: ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Location Name: ______________________________________

State: ______________________________________

County/Population: ______________________________________

Latitude: ______________________________________

Longitude: ______________________________________

Other Information: ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Location Name: ______________________________________

State: ______________________________________

County/Population ______________________________________

Latitude: ______________________________________

Longitude: ______________________________________

Other Information: ______________________________________

_____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________