A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively
engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.
You may save this Learning Activity to your hard drive as an .html file by
selecting “File”,then “Save As” from your browser’s
pull down menu. The file name extension must be .html.
Phase:
Before/Engage, During/Explore/Explain
Activity:
Introduce the following vocabulary words prior to watching the video: latitude, longitude, degree. Have students listen for the definition while watching the video for a class discussion of the definitions after the video. After the conclusion of the video, relate the definitions to the concept of determining the location of various cities. Review the process for determining latitude and longitude and give examples such as (32°N, 86°W), (38°N, 77°W) to model determining the location of well-known cities. Allow students to determine a city's coordinates and then share the coordinates with a partner in a game-type fashion. Show students how to self-check by typing coordinates into Google. Remind students when checking the coordinates in Google that the city displayed in Google will be exact based on the degrees, which might be a little different from what they predicted. Reference the video's explanation of minutes and seconds and how those concepts determine the exact location.
Assessment Strategies:
Have the students create a coordinate scavenger hunt of at least five locations they would like to visit for an upcoming family vacation.
Advanced Preparation:
Internet browser, predetermined latitude/longitude coordinates