- add placemarks and create chapter summaries
- use image and video links to assist in visualization of the setting, geography, and vocabulary
- use website links to provide supplemental information about the setting
- view maps of specific locations to observe terrain, buildings, and landforms
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Rationale
You may be asking yourself how Google Earth can be used to enhance literature-based projects. A Lit trip is a term to describe an activity that uses Google Earth to enhance literature. Google Earth is one tool to aid in the creation a digital and dynmic book reports. Google Earth provides a digital representation of the Earth and Sky, and allows users to zoom in on specific locations based on latitude and longitude or physical address. It is loaded with other features to enhance comprehension of the story. Using Google Earth students can:
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Using other tools for your Google Lit Trip journey
There are other features in Google Earth that can be used to enhance your Lit Trip. For example, you can view a location in Google Maps, and by switching your settings to street view, you can take a virtual walk down a street (not all streets are available).
In this video, you will see how to switch to Google Maps, and view an example of how this tool was used in the story Peak.
Adding Placemarks for a Google Lit Trip
First find the tab titled Places in the sidebar. On the toolbar located at the top of the screen select add and then new folder. I usually name the folder the title of the book, and then add a brief description.
On the tool bar (directly above the preview screen of the Earth), there is a pushpin icon. Select it, and a placemark icon will be centered in the viewer inside a flashing yellow square. Position the placemark to the desired location. A placemark dialog box will appear to set the properties for this placemark. The following are tabs found in the dialog box to assist you in creating the properties for the placemark.
- Name the placemark- for a Lit Trip, I chose the title of each chapter
- Description- content explanation or chapter summary (HTML text is optional)
- Style and Color- Chose a color, size, and opacity for the placemark icon
- Altitude- choose the height of the placemark on the terrain
- Icon – alternate icon choices
Resources
**Denote personal favorite
Google Earth 101 for Educators
Welcome to Google Lit Trips
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