North East Region of Sunderholm Detailed Map from RPGMapshare
Trying to get your students more involved in creative writing? Understanding map concepts in social studies? How about just looking for something creative that involves collaboration and critical thinking?
As a classroom teacher, I did an activity that involved map creation at least a couple times a year. Whether it was a scenario for creating geographical and social structures for an imaginary community or giving students a nudge to start coming up with fictional story ideas–even making grid map reading challenges for classmates. Most students seem to enjoy working with maps when you’re not asking them to color explorer routes of the 1500’s or find the latitude and longitude of Buenos Aires.
First, some map making/fantasy map gallery digital resources. Although it seems like a lot of these are used for role-playing games (never did really get into those), they could have good application for the classroom.
Dungeons Unlimited: Maps and Mini-Grids
University of Texas Historical Maps Library
Some possible activities:
1. Starting with a map, create your own country. Divide political boundaries, assign and name cities, rivers, mountain ranges, and lakes. Note how the climate is different in some regions, and how that affects the people living there. Write a historical timeline for the country. Create and draw the currency used. Describe current leaders and popular customs. Design the most important national holiday and some traditions associated with it. The list goes on for possibilities with this activity.
2. (Great group activity) You and the people in your group have been stranded on an island. You’ve explored and now know enough to design a map of the island. Decide where the best area to build your shelter would be. Specialize your group and decide which tasks of survival will be assigned to which group members. Decide how you will protect your shelter from storms and wild animals. Note on the map where resources like food, fresh water, and trees are located. Create rules for the members of your group. Using the map and creativity, work out a plan to keep some sort of signal visible in hopes of being seen by a passing boat or airplane, and get rescued.
3. Design a map of an area. It could be a forest, a space station, a city or town, a house, or even a cave. As you begin to add details and name places or objects on your map, think about how a story could be placed in this setting. Create a story that takes place in the setting you have created.
These are just a few ideas, but maps can be a starting point for some really meaningful and fun projects in class. Of course, consider using digital mapping tools!
Sometimes I just pause to listen to the conversations in the lab. I get so caught up helping certain students or maintaining overall smooth operation of lessons, that I don’t stop to smell the roses. Yep, a lot of little cliches in this post. It’s rewarding to stop and be that little fly on the wall, to unobtrusively look over shoulders and listen to their conversations. Hearing student conversations is not always difficult. With headphones on, they don’t exactly converse quietly.
Thursday afternoon, I had computer club. Though the kids had begged to play Secret Builders and put off our iMovie project until the next meeting, I was reluctant to nod and concede. I had Family Tech night to plan for anyway, so it worked out. But I finished the few last minute preparations and took some time to just listen and observe to all the hubbub in the lab.
“You ate all my food!” one of the girls shouts.
“You’re the one who unlocked your house…” Someone replies.
“That’s it. I’m coming in and kicking y’all out!” Laughter ensues.
It’s amazing to watch the kids absorbed in the digital world of Secret Builders. Another student is hanging out in Mello Drama, where you might find Shakespeare walking around, ready for a quick, emoticon-filled chat. Two boys are discussing the finer points of one of the strategy games.
“Who just turned me into a frog?” is a question I hear a lot.
I notice one girl sitting particularly quiet. So, I naturally go and take a peek at what she is doing. 
Humanities centered, it’s no surprise that Secret Builders has a romantic era, fancy story book that members can fill up with their own tales. She is quietly typing away, about 300 words into a story she has titled, “The Fairy.” Another of the quiet ones is absorbed in a game of chess.
I’m glad that I paused and watched them immersed in a digital world, but most interacting with each other at the same time.
FYI…If you’re in need of screen protectors, NuShield is having a promotion right now.
NuShield is also launching its annual Promotion Program that gives you an extra 10% discount on your order. You will receive 10% OFF your order by writing NHP09 into the Customer Discount box on the NuShield cart page when placing your order. Without inserting this, you will not receive the discount and NuShield will not be able to credit the discount to you retroactively. This promotion ends January 31, 2010.
Too bad we already ordered ours…(and they’re on back order, too…rotten luck, I tell you…)
Capricious Westbrook, a sixth grade teacher at Downtown Elementary, has a classroom wiki going that I feel is a great example of what a wiki can do for a classroom.
What it has become is a central “off campus” hub for the teacher and her students to communicate, share resources, and basically extend the classroom to home. This is the power of a wiki, transforming a static, teacher controlled classroom website into a collaborative online community. When the students have access to add content, start discussions, and leave comments, there is more for them to invest in, and it seems to be fairly active with students who have internet access at home. It’s easy to tell by browsing the different pages and discussions that teacher and students stay connected outside of the classroom through the wiki and other online resources. For example, Mrs. Westbrook posts transcripts of Chatzy sessions where she answers questions about assignments and students give peer assistance. This is a great way to help students when they are working on the assignments at home. In this case, students were working on a thesis and were able to discuss how they went about brainstorming, citing sources, and coming up with their thesis statements.
It’s very motivating to see such an interactive classroom website. When the students are active online with their classmates and teacher, discussing school topics, the school day is extended for sure. Additionally, the students are participating in the maintenance of the wiki and are using many web 2.0 skills.
If you are familiar with the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship, then you might see how participating in a massive, multiplayer online game (MMO) could help students learn and practice the skills necessary to be a responsible digital citizen.
Digital etiquette (”netiquette”), digital communication, digital security…knowing how to be responsible in these areas is important when participating in an MMO. Plus, with the two that I am going to mention, it’s possible to get better at these skills while playing the game.
Unfortunately blocked for Tennessee schools, most likely because of the chat feature, Woogi World’s mission is:
In our safe and engaging virtual school at www.woogiworld.com, elementary-age children worldwide learn age-appropriate core educational content, essential 21st century skills, cyber safety and security, and responsible and ethical behavior that will yield academic success and the leaders of the future.
Another great online community is Secret Builders:
Not yet blocked for Tennessee schools, the vision of Secret Builders is:
Founded by a former teacher and developed by a core staff, the majority of who are parents themselves, our uncompromising vision for SecretBuilders is a positive, wholesome online outlet for children where they are actively engaged. Internet engagement is inevitable for this generation; turning into passive zombies is not. SecretBuilders will stimulate, educate and entertain through subtle immersion in cultural literacy.
Both games operate in similar fashion. Students choose or create a character that represents themselves, have a home or homepage within the community, and become citizens of the community. Both are academically focused, providing mini-games within that are core subject content focused. Both communities also provide opportunities to publish student writing. While the focus of Woogi World is more character-education driven, Secret Builders has more of a humanities drive. In the latter, students can interact with real-life science and humanities figures like Shakespeare and Albert Einstein, or can play games or go on quests with fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Lewis Carroll’s Alice. Both games are visually fantastic, engaging, and super safe for kids. For example, Secret Builders has a Citizen Patrol button, allowing players to quickly report any wrong-doing within the site, plus an online safety quiz, and a safe-chat feature.
My suggestions for using these games at school:
- Teach digital citizenship first. Make sure students understand netiquette, how to communicate, and internet safety rules. There are many resources available on these topics.
- Give an introduction to MMOs in general, and make sure students understand they are going to be the new kids in an already established digital community.
- Have students sign up with a teacher email. This way, you will be able to approve accounts and look up lost passwords. To avoid the whole “forgot my username/password” deal, provide pencils and slips of paper (preferably with spaces ready to fill in) for students to write down their account information.
- Create a Powerpoint, PDF, or even a handout that details some of the basic rules and gameplay directions so that you can review this with students; however, be sure they know how to locate the in-game FAQs or tutorials. Emphasize that if they want to figure out how to do something, they need to read the directions themselves.
Although I didn’t get far into Woogi World, their staff is very prompt with responding to inquiries, and I hope that perhaps my students will be able to use Woogi World in the future. One student decided to go ahead and get on it at home, with his grandma, and they came in to tell me that they really enjoyed playing it together. Secret Builders, likewise, is a good parent/child game. Also, this MMO has a feature called “One for All” which allows your students to help raise money for a good cause, or raise money for your school.
