Monday, February 8, 2016

Explore the World in One Class Period


Today was such a cool lesson & I had a blast with my class...we traveled the world in 70 minutes. We didn't use any money, or have to wait in airport lines...we jumped from Mexico City to Madrid to Buenos Aires and never had to change an outfit. 

Yes, we used Google Earth! So I told the kids last week that we would be going around the world, and I think they thought "Oh, Mrs. Baxter is crazy as usual!" haha! So here's just a quick lesson plan but feel free to use Google Earth in anyway you would want:

1. The very first thing I did was explain WHAT Google Earth was. I wanted to avoid all the questions of how did they do that? What type of camera did they use? Blah blah blah (those details aren't important)!!!

We talked about it being a satellite and the use of Google Earth Cars (Yes, they exist)! 

2. I started in OUR hometown with Google Earth. I wanted the kids to see how accurate it was and how it looked in an aerial view. We placed the little "orange person" on some popular streets so they could see street view. The kids found it so nifty and were blown away! I heard comments like "They were in our town!" and "What is this black magic?" 

It was quite comical! 

3. Have the kids create a list of popular places they want to visit that speak Spanish. Have them take turns because they will be screaming things aloud. haha! 

When looking at the cities especially like Mexico City and Madrid...have them write down when they see Spanish words. 

You can do a "familiar/unfamiliar" side of words and places they see. My kids saw farmacia and made the assumption that there were lots of pharmacies in Mexico City (actually Mexico in general). Which, they were VERY right! :) 

Another activity I liked doing is typing in a city, bringing it up, and having them GUESS what place we were in. 

I would name 3 options and they would eliminate one and then guess between the two! 

4. Lastly, if you have ANY foreign exchange or any students from another country...have them look up their home city. We did this with our student from Colombia and we actually got to see where he went to school. It was so powerful and such an eye-opening experience for the kids. 

5. At the very end (or for a bellringer the next day if you are teaching upper level) you can have them write a mini summary of their experience (what they saw, how they felt, were their predictions correct, what things did they learn, which places are their favorite, etc.) 

If you are teaching level 1, they could write it in English and add in Spanish keywords. 

Hope you enjoy this activity!!! Put all kinds of feedback below :) 

God Bless,
Brittany B.  

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