Introduction ________

...There is life on Mars and you're a part of it. Because you were tired of things crashing in on your planet (Pathfinder Rover, etc.), you and your crew come to earth to see what all the fuss is about. Catastrophe strikes during your landing and now you and your colleagues may never be able to return to your homes. You will land separately and explore what turns out to be the state of New Hampshire and determine what might be the best place to make your new home. In your final seconds together you make a pact to meet at the State House building with the gold dome when the Earths moon has risen thirty times.

Click here for a view of NH. as seen from your spacecraft.

Here are two topographical map sites of New Hampshire.

National Geophysical Data Center

Color Landform Atlas of the United States

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So you've arrived in present day New Hampshire from Mars and you're not really sure what you've gotten yourself into. But it is very important that you become an expert on your surroundings. You may never be able to leave! During this WebQuest you will learn about New Hampshire. You and your fellow crew members will--

Investigate at least 8 websites.

Write a friendly letter to send home to your family or friends to tell them of your safe arrival and share some facts about New Hampshire.

Identify on a NH map the state capital and the 10 counties.

Explore a particular county to learn as much as possible about it.

Collect information to later compile into a travel brochure.

Share your research with your crew members and chief commander (previously known as classmates and teacher).

From the information displayed decide if you would like to live in NH.

Step 1.

Now that you've arrived safely you need to send a letter to someone on Mars to notify them. Your chief commander (teacher) will provide you with stationary. You will use the links at the bottom of these questions to find your information.

Questions you MIGHT answer in your friendly letter home.

How are you?

Your experiences during the flight.

How was your landing?

What is the climate like?

What are some native animals?

Questions you MUST answer.

Where is NH located and what is its size?

Identify the symbols at the top of your stationary.

Tell the origin of the state name, and a state nickname.

When did it become a state?

Tell who the governor is and what is the capital city.

Tell 2 things you find interesting from this link or its sub links.

During your travels on this WebQuest remember your promise to meet the others at the gold domed building. Be on the lookout for it.

Start your quest by clicking the link below. Remember that words that are underlined are links to more information.

 New Hampshire Almanac

Step 2.

Your chief commander will assign a county for you to research in groups. You and your partner(s) need to record your information. Your Facts Sheets are very important, be sure to record your information accurately and neatly. Later you will put it into a travel pamphlet to show the other crew members who are exploring other New Hampshire counties. Use the links below to discover and record these facts. See your chief commander for paper to use for your Facts Sheet.

Where is your county located? You need to describe its absolute, and relative locations.

What does it border?

What are the cities and towns that make up your county?

Can you find how and when it got its name? (Check at the New Hampshire Almanac link above for this one.)

What is the population of your county?

What are the geographical features of that county? For example lakes, hills, seacoast, mountains.

What are some activities that you could participate in in that county?

What is special or unique about that county?

Here are the links:

NH Cities & Towns listed by Counties

NH Newspapers on the Internet

Merriam-Webster's New Hampshire Atlas 

New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism Development

Encyclopedias are great resources and provide an overview of subject matter.

If you need more details about the geographical features of your county

check your library encyclopedia or use the encyclopedia links at the end of Step 5.

Step 3.

Well, you are becoming quite familiar with your county. You should know where it is located, what towns and cities make it up, what some of the local activities are, even what newspaper you could get there. Now you need to find out how people earn a living there.

What are the major industries in that county?

What is the average per capita or per person personal income?

What is that counties unemployment rate?

Look for this additional information at these links and record it on your Facts Sheet for Step 3.

FACTS for each county

HOT STATS employment statistics

Step 4.

Use the information on the Facts Sheets you have just created along with any the additional interesting information to make a travel brochure about your county.

Be creative. Use your imagination when developing you brochure. This is something for you to show your fellow colleagues.

Be truthful, use only facts you've discovered.

Make it interesting, don't just relate facts.

Be sure to remember to include some information about why your county is special. Why would it be a good place to live?

Your brochure must include a detailed map of New Hampshire clearly identifying your county.

When you are ready to make a travel brochure you need to collect the supplies you will need from your chief commander. For example: paper, colored pencils, scissors, glue etc. Discuss your ideas with your chief commander to make sure you are including all the necessary information.

Step 5. CONGRATULATIONS!

You have safely explored New Hampshire and no one detected you were a Martian. You and your comrades should proudly display your work and investigate the other crew members' displays. Look closely at where in NH they were. Examine their travel brochures. Is there a county in NH that seems like a perfect place to live? Is there someplace in NH you would like to visit? Think about why.

Here are some extra links that might be useful.

Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia

go.grolier.com If your school doesn't subscribe to this service this link won't work.

Use Word Central's Student Dictionary to look up a word.

Evaluation

This WebQuest is worth a total of 100 points, steps 1-5 are each worth 15 points.

To earn its full 15 points each step must-

Be descriptive and complete in content.

Accurately include appropriate facts and interesting material.

Have no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

Work is done neatly and is well organized with detailed information.

The additional 25 points will be given for meeting the following criteria-

Worked cooperatively.

Stayed on task and made good use of time.

Quality of work is creative, informative and appealing.

Work clearly shows an understanding of the subject matter.

 

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Now that you've spent the equivalent of about an earth's month exploring New Hampshire you've learned a lot about this state. You probably fit in so well no one would ever guess that you're a Martian! You have enjoyed your stay and some of you may have decided on a place for you to settle down, others may wish to continue on your quest for travel, adventure and knowledge.

Go to the Mount Washington Observatory link, once you're there be sure to check out the Summit Cam at the top of the page and the Photo Gallery towards the bottom.

Try these links to explore other states: Stately Knowledge, 50 states.

If you're homesick and wish for a news about Mars try here for some Background information and for more About Mars and links to the rest of The Solar System.

If you were the cause of the navigational difficulties in landing, check this site Learning the Compass.

Thank you to Mary Morrissette, Laurel Powell, and Teresa Starkey for your encouragement and support and especially Gail Grainger for her patience and guidance.

The New Hampshire History Curriculum Guide.

Clipart link

First image was taken by Donald Cooke of Lyme NH of the Haley-Bopp comet.

This WebQuest was created Nov. 30, 2000. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page. Updated June 2001.

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