A few years back I came up with a fun activity for my students to engage with. Think of it like a hook or a brain break.
One day I was needing something to last maybe 8ish minutes instead of cleaning up and lining up early. I logged on to Google Earth, keeping my screen secret, and typed in some random location. I can't even remember now what topic we had been discussing. I zoomed in so that it would be hard to tell exactly where we were and then projected my screen on our SmartBoard. I told the students the first person to correctly guess where we were would get a treat. Then I started giving out hints. Just simple hints that wouldn't give too much away. This was probably one of the most engaging, off the top of my head, lessons I had ever given.
After that, I started to use Google Earth fairly regularly in my classroom as a quick tool to connect the real world to what we are learning in our classroom.
Let me give you another example.....
Let's say you are discussing the impact that the transcontinental railroad had on America. How many of your students have actually been to the Golden Spike National Historic Site? I know I haven't! A great way to show the actual place where the two railroads connected would be to view it on a virtual field trip!
How do I get there????
Easy! Go to Google Earth. Then type in where you want to go by clicking the hand lens. For the transcontinental railroad example, you will want to travel to Promontory, Utah.
I refined my search a bit by typing in Golden Spike after it found Promontory, UT. The above image is the historical place with information.
If I wanted my students to guess where we were, I could zoom in and start giving hints. To Zoom in, drop your little person into a photosphere or onto a road. These are blue lines and dots on Google Earth.
Some good hints could be "this has to do with transportation", "Union Pacific", or " "Theodore Judah". Of course, you can always be more specific if you need to be. Then just let the guesses roll in. One thing to note is that photospheres are uploaded by users. So it is always a good idea to view the content before your students do. Just to be on the safe side! I once dropped into a photosphere on a beach and got a full view of bathing suits galore, which would have quickly derailed my 3rd-grade classroom.
And voila! A simple, engaging, quick, lesson for your students that shows them beyond the four walls of your classroom and beyond your own community.
Bonus idea! Use ChatGPT to create three questions that students can answer as an exit ticket based off your Google Earth field trip.
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