Educator’s Guide to European Country Google Earth Lesson

Overview: This lesson utilizes Google Earth as part of the study of the Five Themes of Geography as they apply to the European region of the world.

Grades and Subject Areas: 7- Social Studies

Objectives: ! Students will use the Five Themes of Geography to research information about a country in the European

Region. ! Students will use Google Earth to create placemarks for that European country.

I Can Statements: ! I can create a placemark in Google Earth that includes text and a picture. ! I can utilize information about the human and physical features of places and regions. ! I can understand and evaluate how humans and the physical environment interact.

Curriculum Connections: Alaska Content Standards: Geography: B. A student should be able to utilize, analyze, and explain information about the human and physical features of places and regions. A student who meets the content standard should: 1) know that places have distinctive geographic characteristics; 7) understand that a region is a distinct area defined by one or more cultural or physical features; C. A student should understand and be able to evaluate how humans and physical environments interact. A student who meets the content standard should: 1) understand how resources have been developed and used; 2) recognize and assess local, regional, and global patterns of resource use;

Created by Tricia Yocum – January 18, 2012

Technology: D. A student should be able to use technology to explore ideas, solve problems, and derive meaning. A student who meets the content standard should:

1) use technology to observe, analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions; 3) create new knowledge by evaluating, combining, or extending information using multiple technologies.

ISTE Student Standards: 3. Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media. c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:

a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology. b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

ISTE Teacher Standards: 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:

a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:

a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning

Technology Integration: Hardware and Software Needs Computer with high-speed Internet access (internal microphone and camera optional). Google Earth version 5.1x or above.

Tips and Tricks

Created by Tricia Yocum – January 18, 2012

• Explain that students will be using KML (Keyhole Markup Language) code to be “programmers” to create their placemarks. Although it might be “quicker” to have teachers give them the code on a sheet to copy and paste into their placemark, actually discussing and seeing what the code does is an important part of this lesson.

• Explain to students the difference between the image location URL and the page URL. Practice doing one or two of them together.

• Have students use the Firefox browser when completing worksheet activities, so that they will see the option “Copy image location”.

• Use movement in the lesson by having students sit in one location while watching you, then move to their computers to actually do it. This helps keep them focused, and also follows brain research which says that students do better if they get up and get moving.

• Show students how to copy and paste the code <p> instead of typing it in after each entry if appropriate. • Have students “ask myself, ask my neighbor, ask the teacher” when they have questions.

Resources:

Handouts or Downloads

! Euro Country GE Wksheet

Web resources

Google Earth Resources for Educators http://teachers.spart5.k12.sc.us/taylorte/googleearth/Resources.htm

Google Earth for Educators http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/

Creating a new placemark-Google Earth Help http://support.google.com/earth/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=148142

Lesson Plan

Prep Time: Approximately 3-60 minutes class periods for student research, completion of the worksheet, and creation of the first placemark in Google Earth. One to two additional class period(s) are needed if students are to create multiple placemarks.

Suggestion: Work with your ITT to do the planning and setup of your first project.

Prior to the Lesson: 1. Hand out the student worksheet via PowerSchool or upload it to teacher’s website so that students can

download it. 2. Have students complete the worksheet. 3. Review accessing and saving to the fileserver. 4. In PowerCourse, type an asterisk before the assignment title so that students can hand in their kmz file after

completion.

Created by Tricia Yocum – January 18, 2012

5. Review how students upload assignments to PowerCourse.

Time Needed for Lesson:

One class period for the overview of Google Earth and the creation of 1-2 placmarks.

Directions: Teacher will use the “I do, you do” method to introduce Google Earth 1. Teacher will review the “I Can Statements” for the day. 2. Teacher will review digital citizenship by explaining that photographers need to be credited for their

artwork, and sources of information need to be identified.

Quick Google Earth Intro

Open Google Earth- discuss how students have used it in the past, explain we’ll be adding placemarks with information in order to create a class tour of Europe by copying and pasting information from the worksheet into the Google Earth placemark using “KML” which stands for Keyhole Markup Language. They will be “computer programmers” telling Google Earth how to display information. I will use Japan as an example (although it’s not in Europe) so as not to limit student country selection. Show 3 sections in the Sidebar

1. Click triangle to make Search and Places contract. 2. Click triangle next to Layers to expand. 3. Click triangle next to Primary Database, click in box to uncheck everything. 4. Click triangle next to Places to expand. 5. Click triangle next to Search to expand. 6. Hold down the Control key and click on My Places.

7. Select Add Folder. 8. In the Name box type your first initial last name and country (i.e. TYocum-Japan). 9. Click OK. 10. Be sure the folder is still highlighted. 11. Type in the Capital and Country in the Search bar.

12. Click on the Placemark icon on the menu bar to add a placemark. 13. A pushpin will appear on the Google Earth Map. You can click and drag it to move if needed as long as

the description window is open. 14. A window will open. Change the Name from “Untitled Placemark” to the desired name by typing in the

name of the capital, country for the first waypoint (example: Tokyo, Japan). 15. Click OK. 16. Make sure that it shows up in your folder under My Places.

17. Under the Search bar, click on the x to get rid of the duplicate placemark. 18. Open the worksheet with your country information. 19. Highlight and copy (Command C) the following facts from your document:

Capital: Country Population: Official Languages: Website:

20. Click back on Google Earth. 21. Control click on the placemark (pushpin) and select Get Info.

Created by Tricia Yocum – January 18, 2012

22. Paste the information (Command V) into the Google Earth dialogue box. 23. Type : <p> after each item to create paragraph breaks. See below for example.

Capital: Tokyo <p> Country Population: 126,475,664<p> Official Language: Japanese <p> Websites: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html <p>

Adding an Image

(Google Earth version 5.x requires you to type in the image code) 1. Type the following <img src=” 2. Click back on your worksheet and highlight then copy (Command C) the image location for the image of

the flag. 3. Click back on Google Earth, 4. Control click on the placemark (pushpin) and select Get Info. 5. Paste (Command V) directly after the quotation mark. 6. Type “width=200> 7. Type <p> 8. Click back on your worksheet and highlight then copy (Command C) the political, cultural, geographical,

and economic facts about your country. 9. Type <p> 10. Type Websites: 11. Click back on your worksheet and highlight then copy (Command C) the URL for each the website you

used. 12. Type <p> after each website. 13. Click back on your worksheet and highlight then copy (Command C) your explanation about why you’d

want to live in that country and why you would not want to live there. 14. Type <p> 15. Type your name. 16. Click OK.

Repeat with additional cities, using the information about the historical and cultural relevance or importance of the locations you selected.

Saving Your File

1. Hold down the control key and click on the folder you created in Google Earth.

2. Select Save Place As 3. Save it to your desktop (be sure it’s .kmz) 4. Upload to PowerSchool or to the server (depending on your teacher’s directions).

Created by Tricia Yocum – January 18, 2012

Tip--Back Up My Places!!!

1. Click on File !Save!Save My Places

2. It’s also good to occasionally Save Place As and give it a name (i.e. My Places 1-18-12) so that any places you have created are put into a single kmz file for backup.

Country placemark will look something like this:

Extension/Challenge:

• Students can add additional KML code to bold topics. • Students can create additional placemarks for cultural, historical, and economically significant cities within

their country. • Students can add images, sound clips, and movies to their placemarks. Remind them to also cite the URL

for the picture. • Create a tour of the country. • Combine kmz files together to create a class tour.

European Country Google Earth Worksheet 1. Click on File !Save As.

a. Save this as your 1st initial last name-your country Worksheet on your folder on the server ex. (TYocum-Japan Worksheet).

2. Open Firefox. 3. Type in the following URL: 4. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

5. In the drop down menu, select your country

6. Read the information to fill out the table. A sample is done for you.

Country: Japan Capital :Tokyo Population: 126,475,664 Official Languages: Japanese Website: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html

Country: Capital: Population: Official Languages: Website: See directions below to get the image location for the flag, and then paste the image location for the flag in the table. A sample is done for you.

Flag image location https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/ja-lgflag.gif

1. Hold down the Control key and click on the image of the flag. 2. Select “Copy image location”.

Interesting Country Facts

1. Type 3-5 political, cultural, geographical, and economic facts about your country. 2. Copy and paste the URLs for websites you used. 3. Using the facts you recorded, explain why would you like to live there, and why you would

not like to live there. Example: Interesting facts about Japan: Tokyo is the current capital and also the home of the Imperial Palace. It is well known for it’s fish market and electronics industry. Kyoto, Japan was the imperial capital of Japan from 794 until 1868. It is well known for its many temples and castles. Nijo Castle and Ryoanji Temple are two of the most famous that survived World War II. Kyoto is also famous for its fabric and kimono making industries. Websites<p> http://asianhistory.about.com/od/japan/p/ProfileJapan.htm<p>

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html<p> Additional Resource: living with a host family in Seto, Japan for a year as an exchange student.<p> I would like to live in Japan because it is a leader in the electronics industry and because of the rich tradition of pottery making and the rich history and culture of the country. I think that it’s fascinating to visit the temples and Shinto shrines. I was very impressed by the politeness and honesty of the people. I was also considered tall for the very first time in my life! I wouldn’t like to live there because most women my age had arranged marriages and I believe in marrying for love.

Type interesting facts for other cities in the country below: Extension: Copy the image location for pictures of important cultural artifacts, historic locations, or important geographic features so you can add pictures to your placemarks.