After these thoughts I was looking through my lesson plans on what I needed to teach. We are learning about maps. Directions. I began to think of my summer trips planned. I thought about REAL WORLD applications. When I plan a trip I think about HOW to get there. WHERE it is. How much MONEY I will need. Then I began to GOOGLE.
I found a link to:
Under the "Primary School" button, I downloaded a basic "plan" on how to use their site to take my kids from Miller Elementary virtually into other countries. Although I read their "plan" I am embellishing as I go along this journey.
We are currently reading a book called The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. It is the second book in a series. In the book the children get on a ship and travel to Portugal. After reading the book to my classroom and talking about the need for maps and directions, my kids were given the task of pretending they were in caveman times. We then pretended that we wanted our friend to come to the pond to play with us, but when we got to the friend's cave our friend was asleep. Our friend's mom said to leave directions written in the dirt. Since neither of us can write or read - we were tasked with drawing pictures to make a map for our friend to follow.
Next - we flashed forward to now. We thought about how we get around today. Some thought about how their mom's typed in an address on their phone and the directions would come up. Some thought about how their dads "just knew where to go." I then told them about the Google website. They formed their own groups (some decided to work on their own) and they had to pick one of the places on the site to "visit." They explored and told me the name of their place.
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| The Great Barrier Reef |
Next, we talked about HOW to get there. We walked through getting to the Grand Canyon. We could fly OR drive. We talked about how it would be cheeper to fly if it was just one person going BUT if 3 people were going - driving cost less. Driving was only 24 dollars less and one child pointed out that 15 hours in a car wasn't worth 24 dollars. He wanted to pay the extra money to spend a longer time in the Grand Canyon.
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| Kyoto, Japan |
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| Prague |
So - I sent them on their task of HOW to get to their destination. Some tried putting in directions like we did for the Grand Canyon. Since ALL of their places are not in North America - no one could drive to their destination directly. One group found the site http://www.distancefromto.net/ It is a GREAT link that will tell the distance from anywhere TO anywhere! The group began to share with others. For this part of the project they have to find the distance TO their destination, the cost for one person to go and for a family of 5 to go. They are looking for the cheapest, most logical way to get there. Some are going into great detail figuring exactly how much gas from their house to the airport and then adding plane tickets and things. Others are just counting the plane tickets. But - the idea is the same. They are using math, logic, and their ipads to begin to plan their journey. They are 100% engaged!
Next - where will they STAY? Hotel? Tent? How much more money will they need for a place to sleep. How will they get around? City bus? Taxi? Walking? Rent a car? They are pricing each of these things. We are planning for a 5 day trip.
When asked about what they thought of the project I got these responses:
- "I liked getting to explore a different place on my ipad!"
- "I liked working with my friends."
- "I liked planning a trip so that I know how much money I need to save to go to Japan!"
- "I think I might want to be a travel agent when I grow up! Looking up trips is fun!"
Although we have just begun our trip and diving into maps and directions, my kids look forward to working on this project. More to come on these exciting adventures across the sea!
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