GE_Elections

=Google Earth and Election Results= Return to scenarios


 * ====//**A civics teacher uses Google Earth to identify the Red and Blue states for a Federal election. The students spend most of their time looking at their own homes on Google Earth. He asks how he could keep more students on task, and how to make it more academically profitable?**//====

1) Studies on the use of new instructional materials show us that everyone needs time to experiment with new materials to get used to them, before using them in application. So let's add play time on Google Earth for all the students in your lesson. How about suggesting they go look at a site like their homes before you begin? What do you think students will learn about the connections between geography and political preferences?

(Prompt: Refine for refining lesson plan)

2) Let's look at the students’ results? As we compare the results what do we notice? Could you ask student's to use hypothetical thinking? For example, “What would cause the red states to become blue and visa versa?” Then ask students to "unpack their thinking" by describing how they arrived at an answer.

(Prompt for follow-up lesson using high order thinking)

3) Are there other sources students can use on the internet? Maybe we could give them options to use more than one source and maybe they could try another source outside of class and report back?

(Prompt for follow-up lesson with focus on evaluation of resources) ||

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Click [|here] to see the results

Recorder: Becky Hardie Group members: Peggy Szekeres Ted Mannino Pam Ellsesser Leslie Hagen

Topic B – Google Earth and Elections

Option 1 – we felt was valid if the students were all brand new. Also, kids could first find their house and relatives houses – make connections to geographics and state location to red vs. blue - it involves collaboration and authentic learning... oooh, PBL...

Option 2 – we liked option 2, and felt it could also be used as a follow up to option 1.

Option 3 – we didn’t like it felt, kids would just google it, plus its kind of a cop out, since the kids are going to do it outside of school.