On the class website I found a link to a website called "Mapping Our World". This is a great geography activity for studying different types of maps. This website uses three different lessons to introduce different types of maps to students. The website for this activity is: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/mapping_our_world/mapping_our_world/l/home/index.htm
Lesson 1: In this lesson, students see different views of the globe (Asia, Europe/Africa, Australasia, and North America). Students can tilt the globe to see how many continents can be seen from different angles for each view of the world. The students can also flatten the globes to see the different maps.
Lesson 2: Students learn the difference between the Mercator and Peters maps. This activity allows students to hear positive and negative aspects of both maps. Students even get to vote on which map they think is most accurate! This lesson also provides map statistics. Students can merge different maps to compare the sizes of continents using different map views. Students listen to characters from around the world who want to travel to different countries, then they choose which map would work best for each person.
Lesson 3: Students place country flags on maps using different views of the world. They can also compare land sizes (how many times will some countries fit into others) based on the Mercator and Peters projections. It also has an activity for students to look at a number of different maps and pirates ask five yes or no questions about each map. After all five questions have been answers, another pirate who is on the plank uses the students' answers to determine the type of map. If all five questions are answered correctly, the pirate is fine. However, if any question is answered wrong, then the pirate must "walk the plank".
This is definitely a great educational website. I would highly recommend this activity to any elementary geography teacher!
No comments:
Post a Comment