Arctic Exploration

Lesson Plan Number Two
I have always been fascinated by arctic exploration. What drew these guys (yes it was exclusively males, woman probably had more sense) to the farthest north or south to endure extreme cold and desolation just to stand on a nondescript point of the globe is somewhat of a mystery to me. But the literature of these adventures makes fine reading. Consider Scott, Shakelton, Amundsen, Cook, Mawson, Henson, Perry and many others.
Here are several suggestions for how this topic could be used in geospatial literacy lessons for high school students.

1. Students would read biographies and autobiographies of these explorers, or scholarly works of specific explorations. These books often cite latitude and longitude achieved by explorers as a way to tell the story and mark events of the explorations. Students will use Google earth, zoom in to a reasonable resolution of the south or north pole, locate the general area of an event, Place a push pin, edit the long and lat to the exact location of the event, add description to the pushpin, and click OK. Google maps will place this exactly where the event occurred. Students will create a path of push pins documenting the exploration and its major events. They can zoom down to a ground view and see exactly what it looks like.

This could also be modified for other explorations such as Marco Polo, the cruise of the HMS Beagle, or You decide.

Lesson Idea Number Two
The United States is currently engaged in two wars. Regardless of an individual's opinion of the them, it is a fact the US soldiers are fighting and dying in some very obscure places. Everyday in the news names and images of these places are presented in a limited scope. Students in middle school and up would use Google Earth to find these places and research why the indigenous people live there and what they do to earn a living there. "Earn a living" will have a totally different definition then we are used to here in the US. This will involve using the Internet to research facts about the people and the local customs, economies, religions, politics, but the inclusion of Google Earth will give a much better visual understanding of the region and will answer many questions about geography.