Maps has been one of my favorite Google Apps to use in fourth and fifth grade. Students conduct research on a topic, create placemarks, and add descriptions, images, and sometimes links. The collaboration feature allows the class to quickly create a visual guide to any topic, for example the agricultural products of Oregon. The work environment is media-rich, collaborative, and fast. The mapping skills are very transferable to other subjects.
View Map Of Oregon in a larger map
In the following map, each student designed a fruit salad from a list of ingredients and then mapped the distance to the place of origin of each fruit.
View Fruit Salad in a larger map
Richard Kassissieh is Assistant Head of School for Academics and Strategic Initiatives at
Thanks for the reminder that Google Maps can be so useful. Your post reminds me of a cool Google Earth project from Middlebury {http://geography.middlebury.edu/applications/Food_Mapping/} that we used last year. It brought about many ‘oooooh’ and ‘ah ha’ moments for our 5th graders…
Thanks so much, Jason. I will share this with the fifth grade team. I think the students will be excited to see a college doing the same work that they have been doing.
Wow! Trip planning meets global trade. Very cool introduction to Google Maps. Do the students record the map to illustrate a virtual salad being created?
cheers,
Paul
Can you do that in Maps, or only in Earth? I like how the homeroom teacher and students figured out the custom map icons on their own.