Using Primary Sources

Instructor: Jerry H. Yamashita, M.Ed.
Content Area/Level:
  • Digital Literacy
  • Social Studies
Lesson Title: Maps: From Analog to Digital (Part 1)
Objectives: 
  • Using primary sources, research the history of maps.
  • Connect historical maps to present-day maps.
  • Understand how maps change and how to view historical data.
Introduction: "Maps are much more than geographical representations of places. In addition to teaching geographic understanding, maps illustrate change over time. They can tell us about the people who made them, the times in which they lived, and what they knew and didn’t know. Maps can also make an argument. Maps have been used to claim new territory, to insult rivals and to attack competitors. Analyzing maps helps students discover new topics to explore further, and can support the development of critical thinking skills that they can apply to other representations of the world (Library of Congress, n.d.)." 
Picture
​Paolo Forlani / Public domain
Resources:
Activity 1:
  • Choose two maps from different sources but from the same time period. Compare and contrast the various elements such as level of detail, style, point of view, purpose, etc. 
  • Create a blog post detailing your findings and observations. Include embedded images of the maps referenced and cite all sources.
Activity 2:
  • Using the maps from Activity 1, find the same geographical area on a real-time map website. Compare and contrast as before.
  • Continue your previous blog post and embed the current map and detail your new findings. 
Activity 3:
  • Include 5 historical map websites/resources on your blog with a short description of each. You may include the links from the resources but they do not count toward your 5.

Using Google Earth & Google Maps

Instructor: Jerry H. Yamashita, M.Ed.
Content Area/Level:
  • Digital Literacy
  • Social Studies
Lesson Title: Maps: From Analog to Digital (Part 2)
Objectives: 
  • Understand how to use Google Earth to view and save important places.
  • Connect historical events to present-day maps.
  • Understand how to create and edit rich contextual elements within Google Earth.
Introduction: "The new creation tools in Google Earth allow you to easily create and share maps and stories about our world as an Earth project. You can create a project on any subject of your choosing, drawing placemarks, lines and shapes, adding rich contextual information to your places (text, links, images, videos, 3D views and Street View), and organizing your project into a narrative flow. You can share your project and collaborate with others. In presentation mode, viewers will fly from one place to the next following the narrative of your project, immersing them in the journey through Google Earth’s imagery and the custom content you provide (Google, 2020)."
Picture
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Resources:
Activity 1: 
  • Open Google Earth on your computer.
  • Click on the Projects Icon in the left-hand navigation.
  • If you’ve never created a Project before, you will click the Create button to create a new project. If you’ve created Earth projects before, then you’ll see a list of your projects and can click the New project button to create a new project. If you’re not already logged into your Google account, you’ll be prompted to do so.
  • In the Project Details panel, click the Edit button Edit Icon to the right of Untitled Project to edit the project’s title and description.
Activity 2: 
  • Using an assignment or project from another class, choose a topic (e.g., historical event, person of interest) and name your Google Earth project accordingly. Be sure to provide a brief description.
  • Identify 5 locations that are important to your topic and add them to your project.
  • Add titles, descriptions, and rich information (images, links, videos) to your places.
Activity 3:
  • Share your project with your instructor for review.
  • Create a blog post reflecting on the process, what you learned, and what you might change or do differently next time. How would you describe this activity to your classmate who was absent?

References

Google. (2020). Create a map or story in Google Earth web. Google.Com. https://www.google.com/earth/outreach/learn/create-a-map-or-story-in-google-earth-web/

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Teacher’s guide primary source set. Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/wdl/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf
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