Google LitTripsEvelyn Wassel, Ed.D.

STEP2013June 2013

What Are the 4 Basic Components

of a Story? Character Conflict Plot Setting

Where Does a Story Take Place?

Bookmapping Can Help: Students recognize or create connections

between different areas Lowest level – plot location to integrate

geograpg and literature Analyze setting Connect

Actions Behaviors Culture of characters in different places Where the story unfolds

Bookmapping Can Help:

Create active learning environment Students

ID locations Do research to find locations of settings not

overtly mentioned

You Are Already Doing…

Character maps Comparison maps Vocabulary maps Sequence maps Semantic maps

Have you considered using actual maps????

HOTS Visualize connections and relative

relationships TRANSFER OF LEARNING Increase collaboration (for teachers too!) Integrate technology

Learning with technology Not learning technology

Google LitTrips http://www.googlelittrips.org/ A collection of Google Earth (KML/KMZ) files that

follow a piece of literature.  Elementary, middle, and high school classes.   Combines 21st century literacy skills with 17th,

18th, 19th, and 20th century literature.  Places students in the middle of a story and with

Google Earth they are able to follow a character (or characters) virtually through a tale.

Google LitTrips Integration The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Students create bookmap Track data of recent hurricanes

Technology Geography Literature Meteorology

How to Tutorials take you step-by-step through the process of adding

placemarks and embedding multimedia information. Home page Getting Started watch the demonstration

videos that show you how to use this resource. As you plan a lit trip, think about information that will help your

students envision places they have never seen. Linkto references that will give them a better understanding of the

story's real-world historical, cultural, and geographical context. Embed just about anything you find online, from song lyrics to

broadcast-news clips. Lit Trip Tips to provide more detailed instruction about

everything, from formatting placemark descriptions to adding route paths. Home page Downloads etc. Lit Trip Tips

Explore Explore a Google LitTrip from the site and

be prepared to share out with a partner. What did you like? Describe the features embedded in the file. How can you use this in your field?

Your Turn!!! Create a LitTrip!!!