Adventures in Time and Place

Adventures in Time and Place
Grade 4: Mississippi
Infographic #6: Mississippi’s Economy
Page 230

Name___________________________________________ Date________________

1. Discover how catfish are raised on farms. Learn why Mississippi is a leader in catfish production. Go to The Catfish Institute.
http://www.catfishinstitute.com/index.shtml

Look for "Catfish Basics." Then click Quick Catfish Facts.
Click and read The Process. Then click the Back arrow.
Next, click and read From the Pond to the Plate.
Scroll up to the top of the page. Click Industry Photo Library.
Click the photographs for a closer look at the steps in raising catfish.

Online Activity: Follow the Catfish
The steps for raising and processing catfish are listed below. They are not in order. Use the information from the Web site to help you order the steps. Look for the first step. Type the number 1 next to it. Look for the next step. Type the number 2 next to it. Continue until you have ordered all the steps.

       When fingerlings reach four to six inches long, they are moved to clay-based ponds.

       The eggs are laid, fertilized, and taken to special hatcheries.

       Quality catfish are selected for breeding.

       After seven days, the “sac fry” hatch from the eggs.

       After about 18 months, or at 1.5 pounds, the catfish are caught in seines and taken alive to processing plants.

       Hatchlings are moved to special ponds where they grow into fingerlings.

       Delicious farm-raised catfish are served in restaurants and sold in grocery stores.

       Within 30 minutes of arrival at the processing plant, the catfish are cleaned, processed, and placed on ice or quick-frozen.

       While in catfish ponds, the catfish are fed puffed, high protein food pellets.

2. There is a lot to do in Mississippi’s 29 state parks. At this Web site, you can choose the parks you’d like to visit and learn about them. Go to Guide to State Parks.
http://www.mdwfp.com/scrWildlife/ParkSummary.asp

Click one of the regions on the map.
Click and explore one of the parks in this region.
Click the Back arrow to explore another park.
Then click Guide to State Parks.
Explore parks in at least two other regions.

Offline Activity: Park It
Choose your favorite park from each region you visited on the Web site. Look for parks with lots of fun things to do. Write a diary for your visit to each of these parks. Include the park’s name, where it is, and what is special about it. Describe the scenery. Then tell what you might do there.