Set Induction/Anticipatory Set:
Ask the students if they have ever noticed that the license plates of their state indicate which county the car is from? Ask if they know how they can tell that a car was registered in their county?

Instruction/Teaching to the Objective:
Tell them that Several States in the USA have license plates that show where the vehicle is from. Tell them how your state does this.

Guided Practice:
Using an enlarged poster with the Blank map of your state, tell the students that you saw a car from a distant county recently. Tell them HOW you knew what county the car was from and show them on the large poster map where the county is located. Put your initials on the county that you have chosen for demonstration. Tell the students that this project may take several weeks and that each day we will ask if any of the students have seen cars from other counties. Ask the students where they would look for distant cars? (motels, local museums or tourist attractions).

Independent/Group Practice:
At the beginning of class each day ask if any students have seen vehicles from counties that we have not already found. Have the student tell where they saw the vehicle and how they recognized which county it was from. Then let the student put their initials in the county outline on the large poster map.

Closure:
After a few weeks, have the students discuss where most of the cars were seen (shopping malls, motels, museums or tourist attractions). Discuss the reasons why some of the counties were not represented.

EVALUATION:
Students should become aware of the relationship between distance and frequency of 'sightings.'

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS:
Print and enlarge a Blank Map of your state to mount on the wall. One or two minutes a day.

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