Internet Virtual Nebraska

By Mary Jane Bell

Grade Level:

Suitable for junior high students and upper level students with lower level skills.

Summary:

The students will be introduced to the Internet and Virtual Nebraska. They will be directed to go to Nebraska Cities and then to the Fremont site. Fremont is the town closest to the Lyons-Decatur School that is included. They will read information about the Fremont area and locate several features. The lesson is basically a check-off system or short answers. They will notice that the image is not real color, but infrared.

Student and Teacher Background:

The media center personnel will help schedule your classes if computers are available. Give media center copies of your lesson and you may need to find out if students access the Internet in the same manner as faculty members. This lesson is not difficult for students or faculty with little or no Internet experience. In our school system students have to have Internet permission, so make sure they are approved to use the Internet. Instruct students that they may go to only Virtual Nebraska sites during class.

Materials Needed:

World Wide Web
Ruler
Nebraska maps

Learning Objectives:

The goal is to introduce the students to the Internet and to Virtual Nebraska. This map is useful because north is at the top of the map, and it is easy to orient to the state map.

Possible Extensions to this Activity:

Students may want to write up questions about another city or location for students to answer. The materials could be used to supplement agriculture, geography or history lessons at a learning center. The checklist could be put on a laminated sheet and the librarian could use it to introduce students to the Internet. The laminated sheet could be checked off and written on with an erasable pen such as Vis-à-vis.

Using the Internet find Virtual Nebraska. Go to http://www.casde.unl.edu.

Go to Nebraska Cities.
Go to the city of Fremont.
Read the details about Fremont.
On the Fremont area map find the following, put a check beside each item as you locate it.
1. The Platte River which flows in from the west.
2. The city of Fremont.
3. The Highway 77 that enters Fremont from the north.
4. The location of the new interchange north of town was not yet built when this image was made, see if you are able to find where it is now located.
5. If you are familiar with any other features of the Fremont area, see if you can locate them.
6. Locate the housing development north of town.
7. Locate the housing areas built along the Platte River.
8. Locate the airport.
9. Locate any golf courses.
10. See if you find any evidence of center pivot systems.
If you use the hand cursor you may click on a section of the map and it will be enlarged.
1. Click on a part of the screen to enlarge the main part of Fremont.
2. Locate vegetation (trees, lawns, athletic fields).
3. Locate the four lane streets and the two lane streets.
4. Is it possible to locate sidewalks? YES NO YOU MAY GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL FULL CITY MAP BY CLICKING ON BACK IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE SCREEN.
Enlarge (click on a part of the screen) an area on the map that is an obvious waterway, the Platte River. You may use a Nebraska state map or atlas to help you locate the waterways.
1. What are the red images in the waterways?
2. How can you tell shallow water from deeper water?
3. It is possible to tell where the water has flowed in a different channel at sometime in the past. Describe evidence to show old channels.
Click on a part of the screen that is a waterway, but it is not as obvious as the Platte River. There is one in the northeast corner of the area map. Use a Nebraska map or a topographical atlas to find out the name of the waterway.
1. Follow the waterway from the north as far as you can.
2. Locate any farms or farm structures on the map.
3. Find one section (a square mile), is it all used for farming? YES NO. Explain your answer to part RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL FREMONT AREA MAP
From the north edge of Fremont, go east as far as you can to the edge of the map.
1. Compare what you find with a Nebraska map, what is the name of the town?
2. How many miles East of Fremont are you?
3. Where would you measure? Be very specific about how you would do the measurement. RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL FREMONT AREA MAP.
Find a center pivot that makes a complete circle, enlarge that area.
1. Describe what you see in and around the center pivot.
2. Find another center pivot and compare what you see to the previous circle.
3. You should find at least three things to compare.

Answer Sheet

Using the Internet find Virtual Nebraska. http://www.casde.unl.edu/vn.html

Go to Nebraska Cities.
Go to the city of Fremont.
Read the details about Fremont.
On the Fremont area map find the following. PUT A CHECK BESIDE EACH ACTIVITY AS YOU COMPLETE IT.
1. The Platte River which flows in from the west.
2. The city of Fremont.
3. The Highway 77 that enters Fremont from the north.
4. The location of the new interchange north of town was not yet built when this image was made, see if you are able to find where it is now located.
5. If you are familiar with any other features of the Fremont area, see if you can locate them.
6. Locate the housing development north of town.
7. Locate the housing areas built along the Platte River. Locate the airport.
8. Locate any golf courses.
9. See if you find any evidence of center pivot systems.
If you use the hand cursor you may click on a section of the map and it will be enlarged.
1. Click on a part of the screen to enlarge the main part of Fremont.
2. Locate vegetation (trees, lawns, athletic fields).
3. Locate the four lane streets and the two lane streets.
4. Is it possible to locate sidewalks? NO YOU MAY GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL FULL CITY MAP BY CLICKING ON BACK IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE SCREEN.
Enlarge (click on a part of the screen) an area on the map that is an obvious waterway, the Platte River. You may use a Nebraska state map or atlas to help you locate the waterways.
1. What are the red images in the waterways?
2. How can you tell shallow water from deeper water?
3. It is possible to tell where the water has flowed in a different channel at some time in the past. Give evidence to support. Return to the Original Fremont Area Map
Click on a part of the screen that is a waterway, but it is not as obvious as the Platte River. There is one in the northeast corner of the area map. Use a Nebraska map or a topographical atlas to find out the name of the waterway.
1. Follow the waterway from the north as far as you can.
2. Locate any farms or farm structures on the map.
3. Find one section (a square mile), is it all used for farming? This depends on whic Section they go to.
4. Explain your answer to part c. Student explanation required. RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL FREMONT AREA MAP
From the north edge of Fremont, go east as far as you can to the edge of the map.
1. Compare what you find with a Nebraska map, what is the name of the town?
2. How many miles East of Fremont are you?
3. Where would you measure? Be very specific about how you would take the measurement. RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL FREMONT AREA MAP.
Find a center pivot that makes a complete circle, enlarge that area.
1. a. Describe what you see in and around the center pivot. Varies, description should include any color changes in and around the center pivot.
2. b. Find another center pivot and compare what you see to the previous circle.
3. You should find at least three things to compare. Student list.

Nebraska Sandhills 1
Mary Jane Bell
Lyons-Decatur School District, Nebraska

GRADE LEVEL:

The lesson is suitable for junior high students.

SUMMARY:

The students will use the Internet and locate the Virtual Nebraska site. They will then go to Nebraska Shuttle Images and locate the Sandhills I. They should do Lesson 3 before doing this lesson. Lesson 3 had more details. They should notice that Lesson 3 had actively growing vegetation, and the Sandhills I image is from a different season of the year. They may have difficulty in realizing that this image is during the non-growing season so there is no actively growing vegetation shown in red. Hopefully they will notice that this image was taken from a greater altitude.

STUDENT AND TEACHER BACKGROUD:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

World Wide Web
State of Nebraska maps or Atlas

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The goal is to introduce the Nebraska Sandhills, an area most of the students in the classroom are not familiar with. They may not realize the vast area that is undeveloped with roads like in the eastern part of the state, where most sections are laid out with north-south roads. They won’t see as much evidence of channel changes as they did along the Platte River.

POSSIBLE EXTENSIONS OF THE ACTIVITY:

The students may be able to contact a school in the sandhills area through the STEDII project. The lessons and materials could be used to supplement geography of history lessons at a learning center.

Use the Internet to find Virtual Nebraska http://www.casde.unl.edu/vn.html

Go to Nebraska Shuttle Images. Locate Sandhills I. Read the information about the sandhills.

What color image is the Nebraska National Forest?
Describe the sandhills, using complete sentences.
What is the white material inside the red line?
Why does Lake McConaughy and the Platte River appear shiny?
Why doesn’t Box Butte Lake appear shiny?
Why are the lakes inside the red line dark?
Notice the flow of the North Platte and the South Platte rivers, have they joined together into the Platte River on this image? Compare the positions on this sandhills view with a Nebraska state map, atlas or topographical map.
Where do the two rivers join to become the Platte River?
Do you see any evidence of vegetation other than the forest? Explain your answer.
What is the river shown between the Nebraska National Forest and the Sandhills arrows?
Give evidence to support your answer.
Is this an infrared image of the sandhills? Explain your answer.

Answer Sheet - Sandhills 1

Use the Internet to find Virtual Nebraska. http://www.casde.unl.edu/vn.html

Go to Nebraska Shuttle Images. Locate Sandhills I. Read the information about the sandhills.

What color image is the Nebraska National Forest? Dark
Describe the sandhills, using complete sentences. Student descriptions accepted must have at least three points.
What is the white material inside the red line? snow
Why does Lake McConaughy and the Platte River appear shiny? sunlight reflection
Why doesn’t Box Butte Lake appear shiny? not frozen, not reflecting sunlight.
Why are the lakes inside the red line dark? not frozen
Notice the flow of the North Platte and the South Platte rivers, have they joined together into the Platte River on this image? No Compare the positions on this sandhills view with a Nebraska state map, atlas or topographical map.
Where do the two rivers join to become the Platte River? East of the town of North Platte, the two rivers actually join southeast of the town of Brady. The North Platte River has flowed along the north side of the interstate highway #80 and the South Platte River has flowed along the south side of the interstate. The two rivers join about 2.5 miles southeast of Brady.
Do you see any evidence of vegetation other than the forest? Explain your answer. No, nothing appears different in color, no evidence of vegetation along the rivers or around the lakes.
What is the river shown between the Nebraska National Forest and the Sandhills arrows? Give evidence to support your answer. Snake river
Is this an infrared image of the sandhills? Explain your answer. No, because the vegetation of the sandhills in not red, the Nebraska National Forest is not red. Yes, it was taken in the non-growing season, or after a frost because there is snow on the ground. In Nebraska there will not be anything growing enough to show the characteristic colors of infrared vegetation.

Nebraska Sandhills II

GRADE LEVEL:

The lesson is suitable for junior high.

SUMMARY:

The student will use the Internet to find Virtual Nebraska, the Nebraska Shuttle Images and then locate Sandhills II. The students will be reading information about the Nebraska sandhills and relating it to the image they see. The image does not have north located toward the top center of the screen. They will see clouds and will need to compare it to how it differs from the snow cover that they say in Sandhills I. Look for both clouds and snow cover in this image. Clouds will have shadows.

STUDENT AND TEACHER BACKGROUD:

The media center personnel will help schedule your classes if computers are not available in your classroom. Give the media center copies of your lesson and you may need to find out if students access the Internet in the same manner as faculty members. This lesson is not difficult for students or faculty with little or no Internet experience. In our school system students have to have Internet permission, so make sure they are approved to use the Internet. Instruct students that they may go to only Virtual Nebraska sites during class.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

World Wide Web
Nebraska state map or atlas

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The goal is to show another view of the Nebraska sandhills. This image shows no actively growing vegetation, and if students check the date in question # 1, it is probably after the usual frost date for Nebraska. It is harder to locate features and compare them to a Nebraska map when roads are not shown. The only orienting features are probably the rivers.

POSSIBLE EXTENSION OF THE ACTIVITY:

The lessons and materials could be used to supplement geography of history lessons at a learning center.

Use the Internet to find Virtual Nebraska. Go Nebraska Shuttle Images.

Locate Sandhills II. Read the information about the sandhills

When was this image taken?
What was the altitude of the Space Shuttle Challenger when this image was taken?
Locate the Snake River and the Niobrara River.
Describe the light colored structures in the upper left corner?
1. Do you see evidence of shadows?
2. What do you think the light colored structures are in the upper left corner? Give evidence to support your answer.
Describe the sandhills in the lower left corner.
What are the dark structures in between the sandhills? Give evidence for your answers.
Why can’t you see any vegetation along the Snake and Niobrara Rivers?
What are the darker structures to the right of the north arrow?

EXTRA CREDIT:

In the lower right near the center, there is a fork in another Nebraska river. Locate it and identify it using a Nebraska map, atlas, or topographical map

ANSWER SHEET NEBRASKA SANDHILLS II

Use the internet to find Virtual Nebraska. Go Nebraska Shuttle Images. Locate Sandhills II. Read the information about the sandhills

When was this image taken? October 5-13, 1984
What was the altitude of the Space Shuttle Challenger when this image was taken? 218 nautical miles
Locate the Snake River and the Niobrara River.
Describe the light colored structures in the upper left corner? White rounded structures with spaces in between, not a solid white cover.
1. Do you see evidence of shadows? Yes, to the left of the white structures. There are darker areas between the sandhills.
2. What do you think the light colored structures are in the upper left corner? Give evidence to support your answer. Clouds, because you can see shadows, snow covering in Sandhills It was mostly solid with very few spaces. It looks like there might be snow on the top of the sandhills in the top left corner, evidence of valleys, or darker runoff channels in between the dunes.
Describe the sandhills in the lower left corner. Accept student descriptions with at least three parts.
What are the dark structures in between the sandhills? Give evidence for your answers. Lakes, they are not frozen, so they are dark. They were identified in Sandhills I.
Why can’t you see any vegetation along the Snake and Niobrara Rivers? It is October, possibly after a frost or freeze, so there is nothing growing. A tree wouldn’t be visible from 218 nautical miles, only the whole Nebraska National Forest was visible.
What are the darker structures to the right of the north arrow? Lakes

EXTRA CREDIT:

In the lower right there is a fork in another Nebraska river. Locate it and identify it using a Nebraska map, atlas, or topographical map.