Google Maps

Before exploring Google Maps further, I had only associated Google Maps with looking up directions. I did not know the extent of Google Maps' functions.  I really like how you can switch from map view to satellite view.  I also like the option to turn on photos and view photos taken from different parts of the selected map area.  For instance, I zoomed in on Qingdao, China, turned on the satellite view and photos, and was then able to view pictures from various areas of the city.  My husband and I hope to move overseas to teach, and I can imagine Google Maps being very helpful as we strive to familiarize ourselves with whatever city we move to, both before and after we arrive.

I really like the idea of using Google Maps in the classroom.  I reviewed the high school English Language Arts lesson plan titled "Historical Novel."  In this lesson plan, the teacher instructed the students to use Google Maps to create a map and plot the journey taken in the novel My Brother Sam is Dead by adding comments to the map describing the different steps in their journey and the major events at each location.  I like this idea of using Google Maps to help students better appreciate the topography and journey distances in novels as well as using it as a visual organizational tool for them to track the characters' progress through the novel.

Google Maps would also be very useful to help students create mental images for the settings described in novels.  For instance, a rural student may not appreciate a description of the city as a "concrete jungle," but Google Maps would help them to zoom in on New York City and see the seemingly chaotic, crowded maze of buildings and roads.  In the same way, if a class is reading a novel set in a foreign country, they could use Google Maps to gain a better understanding of the location.

I look forward to using Google Maps more in the future and implementing its use in literature portions of my curricular units.