Let's Map it!

John Marshall’s 8th grade U.S. History teacher, Lester Young II, and his students are locating and investigating battle sites from the French and Indian War using Google's My Maps.

A student's copy of her My Map created in Mr.Young's class

Mr. Young is one of eight teachers that are part of the JM 1:1 Initiative. As a member of this initiative, he applied and received a grant for 30 Chromebooks, creating a 1:1 environment for his students!!

Although we cannot go back in time, we can look at a map and pinpoint where these battles took place. Using the My Maps feature, students can locate the battle sites and add information. It also gives students a larger picture of the war, taking places in different areas in North America. 
Mr. Young's students had fun adding the location and changing icons or colors to represent who won the battles. They also added captions, pictures, and videos with a picture or video related to the battle. 

My Maps is already available to everyone with a Google account. The maps can be stored directly in your Google Drive and accessed and/or shared from Drive. 

Some ideas for using My Maps:

• Virtual field trips
• Summer vacation travels and activities
• Plan an actual or dream road trip
• Create a visual of battle sites
• Have students map the locations or travels of a character in a novel or story
• Document animal sighting or where earthquakes or other Natural Phenomena are occurring

Check out this article on 10 ways to Use Google Maps in the Classroom.

Test your skills play Smarty Pins, a trivia game using Google Maps! 

Want to learn how to try some of this with your class?  Contact your ETS Coach!