Google Maps

As an early childhood educator, it took a few minutes for me to snap out of preschool mode (especially since I had just worked on Dr.Seuss lesson plans a few minutes before!) to plan a lesson for older children using Google Maps. Once i got out of the preschool mindset, I started to think about what could have been helpful to me when I was in upper elementary/middle school. I was always interested in Michigan history, so I thought a map related lesson on historical Michigan landmarks. Here is a quick summary of a lesson

For a long term project, students could be given the task of doing a research project on a selected landmark as a small group of 2 or 4 students. The teacher would set up a google map and add pins to locations of approved Michigan historical landmarks for students to choose from. The teacher could add a sample of interesting facts to the pin as well as suggested websites for students to use. This type of resource could cut down on the time it takes to choose and approve topics for the project, and it could be used year after year.

View Michigan Historical Landmarks in a larger map