OUR GOOGLE MAP

Google Maps in the Classroom

Google maps allows teachers to design highly motivating activities that encourage students to practice reading, writing and speaking skills as well as develop visual literacy and technical skills. It appeals to visual learners in particular. It is easily adaptable for project based learning tasks for the entire class, for groups or for individuals. And best of all, it is fun and free!

As both of us are going to be elementary school teachers, our focus for this assignment is using Google maps in the elementary classroom.  Google Maps is highly visual and contains detailed information can be incorporated into numerous lesson plans.  Students can use Google Maps to learn about specific locations and see what they look like from an aerial view, compare their home streets with those of distant pen pals, and study satellite images. 

Google maps are also editable, which makes it easy for students to personalize their own maps.  Through this you are able to pin point various places on a maps and add videos, links, and other relevant information.  Students could create a map on what they have done over a school holiday; teachers could use it as a tool to creating an itinerary for field trips, and even to mark the journey of various other people, such as characters in a book. 

In today’s classroom, it is important to capitalize on the children’s interests and experiences.  Adding the use of technology engages students into learning.  Through Google maps, students can view that map from a simple local map view, terrain or satellite view. 

1. Social Studies

The way that social studies are taught in an elementary school classroom varies greatly at different grade levels.  For young students, the “traditional” approach to teaching history, such as through lecture, taking notes, learning facts and dates, test taking, is highly ineffective today.  It is important that young children learn about social studies through a resource based approach.  It is important to avoid using historical events in isolation.  It is important to draw connections with the students’ present lives, the environment, technology and current events (Saskatchewan Evergreen Curriculum) 

Students will most likely be more familiar with maps, than the globe, and as a result will have distorted views of the world.  Through Google maps, students would be able to see the world in many different views, therefore clearing up this misunderstanding.  It is important that students are exposed to a variety of maps and have the opportunity to see the world from different perspectives. 

For many young children, it is difficult for them to imagine what something looks like from an Ariel view.  This does develop with age, but by using Google maps, students will quickly have a better understanding of this term and how maps are made. 

Google maps would prove to be a vital component in any elementary school social studies classroom.  It would teach students to use virtual maps while learning about different components of mapping.  In Saskatchewan, mapping is introduced in grade two and is carried through until grade five.  As stated in the Saskatchewan Evergreen Curriculum, these are the outcomes students are expected to achieve during mapping units that exist within the classroom (all of which could be accomplished with the use of Google maps):

Grade 2:

      Specific Outcomes:

      Students Will:

·        identity, group, community, maps, symbols

·        Know that communities have natural and constructed features.

·        Know that communities have similarities and differences

·        Access information from various resources including maps.

·        Organize and present information using maps and charts.

Suggested Activities:

• Study and make large, simple maps of the school, neighbourhood and greater community. Use a key, scale, and direction rose.
• Use pictures, films, filmstrips, books, to explore a variety of neighbourhoods or communities. Identify how they are different from and similar to the local community. Consider their location, size, age, purpose, and composition. (Or Google Map
• Study a map of a familiar area such as the school or neighbourhood. Discuss the different symbols used.
• Make a map of the classroom, school, and/or playground.  
• Use an aerial photo of a farm or of your area to give the students the perspective of a map.
• Make a large map of the neighbourhood. Use a key, scale, and direction rose. Indicate the neighbourhood boundaries, the school, and natural and constructed features. Have students make symbols for features such as houses, school, and playground and add them to the map. Keep the map for further additions.
•  Start a map of the community and surrounding area. Add natural features such as rivers, lakes, hills, valleys. Keep the map for further additions.
• Add the main streets of your community to the map. Have students suggest other constructed features such as railways, buildings, and bridges to put on the map. Keep the map and add other features (city hall, factory) as you learn about them.
• Use maps to plan routes for field trips. Have students follow your route on a map during the trip.

Grade 3: Students compare Canadian cities.

      Specific Outcomes:

      Students will:

·        Know that the natural environment helps shape the community.

·        Know that various reasons determine the differences and similarities between communities

·        Identify characteristics of various communities.

·        Identify and explain some similarities and differences between communities.

·        Appreciate that communities have similarities and differences.

      Suggested Activities:

• Review features of the local community which was studied in Grade 2. Include natural features such as climate, seasons, size, the landscape (e.g., hills, vegetation, river, lakes), and constructed features (e.g., streets, buildings, dam).
• The teacher may choose to have the students study and compare two communities from nature (e.g., a nearby swamp and a bluff of trees). Comparisons may involve the life forms and food chains as well as the smells and sounds.
• Compare the local community with one that is quite different but that the students are familiar with.
• Compare the climate of the two communities. Make connections between climate and lifestyles of the people.
• Compare the landforms and environments of the communities. Make connections with how the physical environment affects the constructed environment as well as people’s lives.
• If the community under study has a well-known structure (e.g., Toronto’s Sky Dome, Golden Boy in Winnipeg), have the students recreate it.
• Study a map of the local community as well as maps of the communities under study. Display the map along with pictures of the community. Have the students make connections between the pictures and the maps.
• In studying maps of cities, compare where the different areas (e.g., downtown, industrial area, parks) are located. Identify various natural features (e.g., river, hills, islands, and ocean) and how the city is built on or around them. Compare where certain buildings (e.g., museums, hotels, City Hall, police station) are located. Discuss reasons why they are located in similar or different areas.
• Introduce the students to Canada as a country. The teacher may choose to use a map of the Canada and of the world. Discuss different places within the country that the students have heard of, have visited, or know something about.
• In preparation to expand this study to other areas of the world, the teacher may initiate activities that will increase the students’ knowledge of world geography, for example:
  • compile a list of place names they hear throughout the year, and use an atlas to locate these places;

Grade 4: They begin with an introductory unit that establishes the identity of the province. Using maps, charts, graphs, and other tools, students develop an understanding of Saskatchewan today.

      Specific Outcomes:

      Students Will:

·        Identify province, geographic features, map, scale, direction, grid, climate, symbols, heroes

·        Know that Saskatchewan, a province in Canada, has regions that may be defined by landforms, climate, and vegetation

·        Know that various symbols have been identified to represent the province and its regions

·        Know that various kinds of communities exist in northern/southern, rural/urban areas of the province population distribution is related to various factors including opportunities for work

·        Know that many Saskatchewan women, men, and children from many areas of work and recreation may be recognized as heroes

·        interpret and create maps of local communities and the province

·        learn to see relationships between/among climate, landforms, vegetation, population distribution, and opportunities for work

·        identify provincial and regional symbols and describe their significance

Suggested Activities:

•  Have the students participate in various activities that develop map reading skills (e.g., playing Battleships, interpreting symbols, and working with grid, measuring and drawing to various scales).
• Practice the using grid, scale, direction, and color to interpret various simple maps.
• Cut sections from a Saskatchewan road map. Enlarge them and make photocopies or overhead transparencies. Have students working in groups to make up questions about their section of the map. Exchange with another group to answer the questions. Return them to the original group to check answers.
• Have students working in groups to create large maps or a model of the province. Absolute accuracy of scale should not be a concern. The teacher may choose to have students add additional information to the map during the course of the year.
• Explore the weather and climate of the province. Have students interpret climate maps and graphs. Hang a thermometer outside a window on the north side of the school. Over a period of time, record the temperature at a certain time of day on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The students may also record other weather conditions at the same time
• Identify severe weather conditions like tornadoes, blizzards, strong winds, drought, and other storms. Discuss how they affect people, animals, and the environment.
• Study maps of Canada. Identify other provinces and territories.
• Make connections between/among location, climate and landforms.
• Identify the various symbols that are associated with the province. Make connections with the geography and the people of the province. Discuss the appropriateness of the symbols. Have students select or design their own symbols.
• Map as a model: Construct a model (train set, town, and farm). Photograph the model looking down on it and using several shots. Patch photos together to make a larger picture. Draw maps on the basis of the photographs.
• Use reproductions of aerial photos, and other maps, to study local communities and the province.
• Using a road map of Saskatchewan to determine directions from place to place.
• Use a road map of Saskatchewan to determine distances using the scale. Use a variety of maps to compare scale. Which maps represent larger or smaller areas?
• Mapping Saskatchewan: turn to a map of Saskatchewan in an atlas and explore: the shape of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan’s approximate length and width (use scale to determine this), and Saskatchewan’s neighboring provinces, territory, and states.

• Turn to a map of Canada and examine Saskatchewan in relation to the rest of the country. Look at size, location, number of major cities and towns. Make some comparisons with the other provinces.

·        Examine Saskatchewan within the context of North America, and the world. Look at it in terms of size, position, population, distances between major centers, and so on.

·        What features in the vegetation regions (animals, lumber, and minerals) would attract people to Saskatchewan and encourage them to stay here? How might people use the resources in each of these regions? For example, why might people settle along the shores of the South Saskatchewan River? A river can offer transportation, water, pasture, wood for fuel, and fencepost.

·        Identify the symbols of the province and local symbols (e.g., for the fair, town). Research the meanings and the significance of the symbols.

·        Use large scale city maps to compare cities.

•  
  • What highways lead to each city?
  • Where are the business and industrial areas located?
  • What is the arrangement of parks in each?
  • Which waterways run through the city?
  • How many bridges and tunnels are there?
  • Is the city compact, or spread out?
  • Are any two cities exactly alike?
• Find provincial and national parks on a highway map. Collect pictures of activities that people enjoy while visiting a provincial park
• Explore reasons why people would settle in particular areas. Read the following scenarios about families that are planning to move. Where is the best place for the family to go? Give reasons for your answer.
  • Janet’s parents have decided they do not want to farm any more. Both her parents finished high school before she was born. They now want to go to university. Her dad wants to take classes to become a high school English teacher and her mom wants to study engineering. Where should they move?
  • Bob lives with his dad in Saskatoon. Every spring his dad really looks forward to working in the big garden in their backyard. Last week when his dad was laid off from his job, he decided he’d like to buy a few hectares of land and garden for a living. He would grow vegetables and sell them at the summer markets in Saskatoon. He could also advertise in the Star Phoenix for people to come and buy vegetables from his small farm. Where should they move?
  • Barbara just graduated from university. She sent job applications to many places. She has just been offered a job in the legislative building as a special assistant to one of the MLA’s. Where might she live?
  • Dan has just retired from his job in Regina. He has always loved spending his summer holidays camping and fishing in northern Saskatchewan. He has decided to live on an island on a lake where the fishing is good. Where should he go?
  • Louise has just graduated from university with a degree in veterinary medicine. She has a pre-school daughter and would like to set up a clinic in a small town close to where there are farms that raise cattle. Where might she move.

Grade 5: In grade five, students explore the identity of Canada.  They learn about its geography, landforms, rivers, climate and vegetation.  They learn about places in the country, its symbols and people.  Here, students develop skills that allow them to create and interpret maps. 

Specific Outcomes:

Students will:

·        Interpret various maps of Canada.

·        Identify and describe climate and geographic features of a region

·        See relationships between climate, landforms, vegetation, and population

·        Understand that maps show Canada in different ways

·        Identify and interpret symbols of Canada to its regions

Map Symbols

·        Find and interpret the legends on a variety of maps of Canada or regions of Canada.

·        Use direction and grid

·        Use scale to determine distances

·        Locate and describe geographic features

Suggested Activities:

·        Explore various types of globes and maps to identify features that are natural (mountains, water), political boundaries (countries, provinces, and states), cartographic markings (grid, equator)

·        Compare maps

·        Use a variety of maps to become familiar with different symbols that are used

·        Locate geographic regions in Canada (Arctic, Canadian Shield)

·        Locate provinces/territories of Canada

·        Use historical maps to see how boundaries have changed over time

·        Identify various natural features found in Canada

Map Symbols

• Using a resource, explore the different ways Canada has been divided at different times during history. 
• Investigate where people tend to live.  Study a map of Canada showing population distribution.  Locate major cities, major farming communities, reserves, and the sparsely populated regions, especially the north. 
• Choose several Canadian or world locations that are some distance apart.  Mark the locations on a classroom map.  Chart the weather over a period of time.  Make comparisons.
• Choose several Canadian locations.  Describe the features.

Tracing Routes:

Identify the means of communication or transportation. 

• Your aunt is moving from Yorkton to Sydney, Australia.  How will she travel?
• Your mom won an Air Canada trip for two from Calgary to Los Angeles.  How will you and she get there from your home?
• A business company in La Range has just received a call from Hong Kong for a large order of wild Rice.  How will the wild rice get there?
• Your school raises money for UNICEF.  IF the money you collected goes to help immunize children in Morocco, how will the money get there?
• This morning one of the students in your class brought a letter that she received from her pen pal in Nigeria.  How did the letter get to her home?

                Field Trips

Field trips expand children’s learning through active hands-on experience with the rich resources of the local community. Field trips increase student knowledge and understanding of a subject and add realism to the topic of study.

Good planning must precede field trips. Field trips take a great deal of work and planning on the part of the teacher.  It is also highly beneficial to prepare your students before taking them to the site.  Activities such as showing photographs of the site, visiting websites, and sharing the trip schedule.  By using Google Maps, teacher can have the field trip itinerary already prepared for their students to view, or the class could work on the map together.  Through the use of Google Maps, videos, pictures and websites can all be added on right on the map.  Students can look at the location of the site in comparison to where they live, and so on.  Also the different views of satellite and terrain add special components to the students understanding of the site they are going to be visiting.  Students are able to see how long it will take them to get to the site; they can decide on which mode of transportation they will be taking.  Through this, students are working on their mapping skills by pin pointing, using scale, etc.  Also, students are reading, writing and improving their visual and technological skills.

Personal Narrative

Google maps could also be used in the classroom for students to create a map of where, for example, they went over the summer holidays.  They would be able to link it to websites, videos or even add personal photos.

Throughout the process of creating a cultural flannel board story, I feel I am one step closer to bringing multiculturalism into my classroom.  As a teacher in today’s world, it is important to promote diversity and understanding of these varying cultures within my classroom.  Choosing the story Lon Po Po by Ed Young, has allowed me to understand that not everyone sees the world the way that I do.  Just because I know a version of The Little Red Riding Hood, does not mean that all children with varying backgrounds will relate to the same version.  Children who are learning English need to feel connected to the literature in some way, and by using culturally relevant stories, the success rate of that student can be greatly increased.  Also, I feel it is important to not only recognize the diverse cultures in my classroom, but it is equally important to celebrate them.  By bringing multicultural literature into the classroom, all the students are able to learn unique features of varying cultures.
Although a large amount of work goes into creating a flannel board story, in the end I think it is highly worth all the time and effort.  I do not consider myself an artistic person, so this assignment has really helped me to believe that I do not have to be an amazing artist to create eye-popping flannel pieces.  Throughout this process, I have tested my patience, as I made more than one mistake creating the flannel pieces.  I read numerous folktales and fairy tales of other countries, and found many that I wanted to do.  It was hard to pick just one, and the main reasoning behind choosing Lon Po Po by Ed Young was I knew it was a story that I could use numerous times in my classroom, as children are able to compare and contrast the unique features of two different cultures.  As I bring in folktales through units, as it  appears in the Evergreen Curriculum Language Arts Guide, this story will be very beneficial.

I do, however, feel as though computers will be taking over the classroom, and digital literacy will be more appealing to the students.  With this thought in mind, I find myself wondering if spending endless hours creating a flannel board story was really worth it.  However this does bring the important aspect of oral reading into the classroom.  I find it very interesting that there are ways to connect both technology and flannel board stories.  This is done by using the felt pieces to tell the story and recording my voice using voice thread.  This is shown on my fellow classmate, Dionne’s blog.  I think it is great to be able to combine both aspects of learning into literature.

The reality is, however, that there is not enough technology in every classroom.  The school that I interned at was a small K-12 school in rural Saskatchewan.  This was a BIG challenge for all teachers to be incorporating technology into the classroom, when there was limited access to it.  There was a mini-computer lab in the library that only had 12 computers, which was not enough to teach a lesson based on the use of a computer.  Reality was that if the computers were to be used, t he class had to be split up in order to use them.  This was the same upstairs, in the high school portion of the school.  There were only two Smart Boards  in the entire school–one for the elementary section and one for the high school section.  The problem was that they were located in a room where classes ran almost every period of the day, preventing other classes and teachers the opportunity to use them.  Fortunately a month into my internship, my cooperating teacher applied for a grant for a Smart Board in her classroom.  She got it and it was installed immediately.  I was very fortunate to have access to a Smart Board daily for the next few months of my internship.  This made bringing technology into the classroom much easier.  I guess I just wish there was a way that every classroom in Saskatchewan could have a Smart Board in their classroom.  It is highly beneficial and an amazing teaching tool.  With all the sites on the internet now that are appropriate to use in the classroom, it makes learning more relevant to the world in which the children are living in.

I grew up in Springside, Saskatchewan and attending elementary school here until grade six.  There were nineteen students in my class, which is big considering it is a small town, rural school.  Since my grade left, the school has seen smaller class sizes and split grades.  However, I will never forget my time spent here and I am still close friends with many of my classmates.  Not only did you interact in school, but after school and on weekends.  Living in a small town allowed for this.  You could go anywhere in the town without your parents worrying about your safety.  Developing this close tie with eighteen kids my age was very rewarding.   In school, everybody knew everybody, which was the same throughout the town.  The teachers were able to assist you in any way that was needed.  There were many school functions and community functions that made you feel like a big family.  This is what I valued about rural Saskatchewan, and will always hold this close to my heart.

In grade seven, I traveled to Yorkton to attend junior and high school.  The atmosphere was very different.  Having over two hundred students in your class made it difficult to know absolutely everyone.  There was no longer this sense of closeness or family.  There were numerous classes in each subject area and you were expected to make new friends.  This was challenging.  However, the bigger center did offer many more opportunities for the students.  Instead of just the basic intramural activities and after-school activities, there was almost every sport/activity you could think of.  This was great and I was able to participate in many varying activities.  I did enjoy my time spent in the bigger center, but it was completely different than the rural school.  It is almost disappointing when you are sitting at your graduation ceremony and you have never met the people sitting on either side of you.

During my internship, I had the chance to work at a K-12 rural school.  Once again, I was reminded of my childhood as this sense of community and family was evident.  Everybody knew everybody, and everyone respected everyone.  Although there were split grades up to high school, there did not seem to be stress on the part of the teacher or on the student.  The class sizes were small, usually under twenty, so the teachers were able to cater to the needs of the students in their classroom.  It was great to see the high school students helping the younger students and assisting them in their learning, whether by buddy reading or pumpkin carving.  The parental support was amazing and there were frequently parents volunteering in the school.  So although this is a small school, it did not by any factor mean that the students were getting less of an education than a bigger center.  The teachers volunteered their time to extra-curricular activities, whether during or after school to provide students with as many opportunities as possible.  The students in the band program were able to take trips out of province, and many older students were involved in an exchange program. Not only do the teachers care about the education of these children, but so do the parents.  With so much support, there are many educational opportunities for these children.

From my experiences, I do not feel that city schools are better than rural schools.  They both have benefits and in some sense, they both have negative affects attributed to them.  I definitely feel that rural schools are a great tool and they should not all be shut down so the students can attend bigger centers in the closest city. I do feel that over the next few years we will see many more rural centers close, and I guess I will always wonder if it is a mistake to overpopulate the city schools.

-it is a free site

-it is a to-do list for things you want others to do

-you create a monkey for the task you want that person to do

-the person receives e-mail reminders about the specific task until the deadline

-Monkey On Your Back also sends you an e-mail, to remind you of the deadline you set for someone else

All in all, I have found this tool to be very rewarding.  It takes away that personal nagging aspect of trying to get someone to do something for you.  Although getting a monkey for many days could  be annoying, I still think it is somewhat humorous.  Chances are you will get the task done faster and on time because of these daily reminders.

Table Manners Around the World

During my internship, I used three means of communication.  All of these ways were successful.  First, I used student agendas.  I (or the kids) would write reminders for the week, when the spelling test was, etc.  In the front of the agenda there was a pocket, where the parents would leave notes for me if needed, and money for various events.  This worked well.  I also sent home a newsletter at the beginning of every month with a calendar on one side which had events noted and a note for the parents on the other (what we did last month, what we are doing this month, etc.).  This seemed to work as well.  Finally, I had a classroom blog.  I feel this was the most successful, because even grandparents were on the site.  I would upload pictures or videos everyday and blog about what happened in the classroom during the day.  The parents loved this, as it provided an opportunity for them to place comments and they could see visuals of their students in the classroom. I am just wondering if there are any other brilliant ideas out there that have worked for others.  I want to grow in my knowledge in all areas of teaching, and would love to hear from you.