Three Cups of Tea and Google Earth or Google Maps

[Debbie Fucoloro]

Hello,

I teach 6th grade world culture and geography and would like to track Greg Mortenson's travels using either Google Earth or Maps as we read Three Cups of Tea. Has anyone had experience doing this? I want to make sure the project runs smoothly. Thanks!

[Lucy Gray]

Hi Debbie -

What a great idea! I heard Greg speak recently, and he is really inspiring. Can you clarify what kind of advice you are seeking? Are you looking for help with Google Earth or with managing the project within your classroom? If you provide more specifics about what you are envisioning, maybe people can jump in and offer suggestions.

[Debbie Fucoloro]

Hi Lucy,

I teach 6th grade World Cultures and Geography, and I am working with the 6th grade Reading/English teacher. I want to use Google Earth or Maps to help make Three Cups of Tea--The Young Readers Edition come alive. In preparation of reading the book, we began the school year studying North Africa and Southwest Asia--including Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, so the students have been introduced to the history of the region. We will begin studying the government, geography, economy, and culture of each country this week.

I was thinking that the kids could follow Greg's travels by putting a marking on Google Earth/Maps for each of his stops. The map link could be put up on our wiki so the students could access it anytime. Does this make sense?

Thanks for your encouragement, Lucy!

[Keisa Williams]

Debbie,
This is a GREAT idea. I have not tackled my own Google Lit Trip yet, but this story lends itself to using Google Earth. I am a K-5 Librarian and plan to use "Listen to the Wind" So far, I have gathered a few videos that I plan to use with my students. They may be helpful to you as you introduce your students to the story.
-Keisa

[Debbie Fucoloro]

Keisa,

Thanks for the links! I remember seeing "Person of the Week" but I didn't even think of sharing it with the students. Great idea! The Sketches of the World video will be helpful, too.

Thanks, again!

[Alecia Berman-Dry]

Hi there, Debbie. I have done this! And I'm doing it again this year with a group of students reading the book. We will start this project in late Nov/December. I wonder if you're interested in doing this as a collaborative assignment? Maybe we could even have a Skype book group? What do you think?

[Holly Patenaude]

Hi,

Our whole school read the book, and I created a Google Earth "trip." However, when I have shared it with others, the points are not visible. I am trying to work out the kinks, and figure out how to get the points to be seen on other's computers. I would be happy to share what I have with you. It is a KMZ file, and I had all the placemarkers, but unfortunately, the one's I created don't show up, but it does highlight some of the places. It is a work in progress . . .

[Leeanne Champion]

Hi Holly,
Thank you for sharing your "trip." Would you mind pointing me in the best direction on Google Earth where I can learn how to create a trip (e.g. how to attach/create the links to wiki, etc. I'm new to all of this! Thanks :)

[Kristin Marie Smith]

Debbie -

I just saw your post since joining this Ning ... we just finished reading Three Cups with our 8th graders and I did a Google Earth thing with my resource room kids. We started at Bozeman, Montana, flew to our school, then onto Pakistan and to K2... the kids were absolutely incensed that Korphe was not found on Google Earth.

It was great to give the kids an idea of the physical distance between our countries and the distances between our cultures as well.

[Holly Patenaude]

I found Korphe on another map and used the coordinates to make a pinpoint for it. Unfortunately, when I save it, I cannot get the pinpoints to come up on other's computers, but would love to share it!

[Kristin Marie Smith]

The fact that Korphe was so small it did not register on Google Earth was shocking to the kids and they reflected this in their response paragraphs from the activity ... one student remarked that a few people "from a village too small to even be on Google Earth" cared more for education than the whole United States does!

I think it made quite an impression on the kids ... the trip was especially impressionable for my kids (spec ed) as many of them usually do not go beyond the borders of the small town they live in!

I had the same problem with getting the points to come up on other computers other than the laptop assigned to me, but I saved it to my jump and was able to access it when connected to the machine with the projector on it ....

[Leeanne Champion]

Hi Holly,
I, too, tried to locate the coordinates for Korphe. Where did you eventually locate these? Thanks for sharing!

[Or-Tal Kiriati]

Great idea :)
got me thinking about what else can be done with this book...