My unit incorporates a topic that students in my class are extremely interested in, then NFL, and a social studies essential standard. Using technology, students are expected to "find absolute and relative locations of places within the local community and region." The first lesson in the unit specifically focuses on relative location and how students can describe locations using relative location terms. The lesson plan can be found here. Combined with a writing craft lesson, students work to research an NFL team and write a team biography using all of the information they've collected.
The technological tool that I chose to use for this lesson was Google Maps. Throughout the lesson, students will be expected to work with their iPads to gather information which will inform their writing. This activity is aligned with the North Carolina Essential Standard for Technology 3.TT.1.1, which asks students to "use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information(e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.)."
First, the teacher will model how to search for locations on Google Maps. Google Maps is a web-based mapping service that was originally develop by Google. It offers several views of the world and a particular location—including satellite imagery, street maps, 360° views of locations, and more! Most often, Google Maps is used for navigating or viewing a location in the real world. Because the lesson is based on the NFL, the locations that students will be researching are NFL stadiums throughout the nation. For whole group instruction purposes, the teacher will be working with the Carolina Panthers football team and the students will have the opportunity to select their NFL team out of a helmet.
The teacher will pull Google Maps up on the SMARTBoard, which will give the teacher an opportunity to show students the features of Google Maps and how they can use them to their advantage. - Step 1: The teacher will show the students how to get to Google Maps by typing in "www.google.com/maps"
- Step 2: The teacher will instruct the students to search for their NFL team's stadium by typing it into the search bar
- Step 3: The teacher will model how to describe the relative location of a place based on what surrounds it.
At this point in the lesson, the teacher will be able to provide examples of the features of Google Maps. For example, the teacher will show the students how to view locations in Maps View and Earth View. Additionally, the teacher can model how to zoom in and out of a map in order to find more details or look at the map on a broader scale. In another lesson included in the unit, students return to Google Maps to determine the coordinates of their NFL team's stadium which is another great feature of this tool.
- Step 4: The teacher will show students how to find directions from their stadium to High Point, North Carolina, which displays another feature that Google Maps provides.
Once students have completed this section of the lesson and collected the information necessary for writing, they will have the opportunity to use their iPads to visit a kid-friendly website that provides interesting history and facts about the NFL teams.
I use Google Maps in my daily life all the time, so bringing it into a geography lesson was extremely interesting and showed me that I could use relevant tools to make meaningful connections for students. It is important to make these kinds of connections for students because these kinds of tools have become essential to us as individuals in society. When doing this with students, I felt as though they understood how relevant Google Maps can be to their future.
References
[NFL Football]. Retrieved September 15, 2016 from http://www.prweb.com/prfiles/2012/06/30/9978546/football.png
