Friday Reflection
Today, I very much enjoyed the class presentations (and donuts... and pizza .. and the string cheese this week was a great addition - two thumbs up), and I thought it was helpful in showing me different ideas to implement GPS across different subjects. This experience allowed me to open my mind a bit to the different possibilities of using GIS and GPS in my own classroom. I think my students would enjoy the "art" behind creating and reading maps. They could also benefit from knowing more about the immediate surroundings of the school.
I think it's really beneficial for students to be aware of the issues in their own communities. I can imagine that this experience will provide more skills than simply using a GPS device. Thank you!
I think it's really beneficial for students to be aware of the issues in their own communities. I can imagine that this experience will provide more skills than simply using a GPS device. Thank you!
cMap Project
The Earth’s surface is constantly changing. Some changes happen very slowly over long periods of time, such as weathering, erosion, and uplift. All around us, we see the visible effects of the building up and breaking down of the Earth’s surface.
In this project, students will use GPS to mark waypoints of evidence of weathering, erosion, and deposition during a nature hike on Sunrise Point Trail, which is located just south of Granite Elementary. Students will hide clues with erosion questions in order to find the next location of a different clue. The correct answers to the questions will ultimately lead students to Granite Park.
In this project, students will use GPS to mark waypoints of evidence of weathering, erosion, and deposition during a nature hike on Sunrise Point Trail, which is located just south of Granite Elementary. Students will hide clues with erosion questions in order to find the next location of a different clue. The correct answers to the questions will ultimately lead students to Granite Park.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/rtf.png)
weathering_and_erosion.doc | |
File Size: | 53 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Thursday River Water Quality - Field Experience Map
Today, our class conducted field research along the Little Cottonwood Creek. We performed tests to find the dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, temperature, and nitrate levels of the water. What was most entertaining was finding the different invertebrates that live in the water. I will never walk in a river again!
I thought this was a valuable experience for conducting research and community mapping. Creating the ARCGIS map is quite easy and would be fun to do with my fifth grade students. I do think the content is above the heads of my fifth graders, but I can adapt the content to fit the core curriculum. In science, the closest standard I could align this experience to is adaptations in environments. I would like to see if this is possible to do with my students.
I thought this was a valuable experience for conducting research and community mapping. Creating the ARCGIS map is quite easy and would be fun to do with my fifth grade students. I do think the content is above the heads of my fifth graders, but I can adapt the content to fit the core curriculum. In science, the closest standard I could align this experience to is adaptations in environments. I would like to see if this is possible to do with my students.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/xls.png)
river_2014_.csv | |
File Size: | 1 kb |
File Type: | csv |
Wednesday Reflection
Today, we were divided into groups to do field research on the trees outside of Canyons School District. We took data on height, circumference, tree name, and condition of the tree. It was great to see how simple it was to overlap layers in the ArcGIS website. I really enjoyed this activity and hopefully will be able to find some age-appropriate projects to do this with my students.
This afternoon, Tiffany Kinder from the USU Water Quality Extension, came to speak with us about water quality in watersheds. She discussed treatment plants and the harmful effects of pollutants. Tiffany also covered the different tests we will use to assess the river we'll be looking at tomorrow. Right now, the only ways I can see this will fit the fifth grade core will be in adaptations, life cycle, and perhaps areas in math. I'm hoping that this activity is something I'll be able to use with my own kiddos.
Complaint: This is day number two that it's been uncomfortable ... so..freezing..cold.. dahhhhhhhhh!
This afternoon, Tiffany Kinder from the USU Water Quality Extension, came to speak with us about water quality in watersheds. She discussed treatment plants and the harmful effects of pollutants. Tiffany also covered the different tests we will use to assess the river we'll be looking at tomorrow. Right now, the only ways I can see this will fit the fifth grade core will be in adaptations, life cycle, and perhaps areas in math. I'm hoping that this activity is something I'll be able to use with my own kiddos.
Complaint: This is day number two that it's been uncomfortable ... so..freezing..cold.. dahhhhhhhhh!
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Tuesday Reflection
Today our class had three guest speakers who held GIS jobs in different positions. These men had experience with district and city GIS mapping. I was most interested by the district transportation bus routes. It's fascinating to see the different layers and the analysis you gain from looking at a map.
I also enjoyed using my GPS to create my own route (as featured below!). I think fifth graders would have some fun attempting to make some geometric shape routes. I'm unsure how else I would use this tracking device, although I'm wanting to incorporate it in my cMaps projects.
For my cMap project, I will let kids experience community mapping by creating a treasure hunt for our neighboring classroom. I'm eager to jot down my ideas and see if it will work!
I also enjoyed using my GPS to create my own route (as featured below!). I think fifth graders would have some fun attempting to make some geometric shape routes. I'm unsure how else I would use this tracking device, although I'm wanting to incorporate it in my cMaps projects.
For my cMap project, I will let kids experience community mapping by creating a treasure hunt for our neighboring classroom. I'm eager to jot down my ideas and see if it will work!
Monday Reflection
Today was the first day of Community Mapping. I thought that the teachers did a nice job balancing independent time, interactive activities, and group work. I'm still not completely comfortable using my GPS tracker, so I hope that will improve over the next few days. I see a lot of potential using GPS and GIS in my fifth grade core curriculum. Today, I saw lesson plans that showed map data of active and inactive volcanoes, earthquake activity, natural disasters, population increases, culture changes, and erosion over time. I've already used Google Maps to have my kids pinpoint American Revolution battle sites, but I can now see potential in using it to chart distances in early exploration, civil war demographics, and Oregon Trail/Gold Rush routes.