Where in the World Are We? Loving the GeoGuessr Geography Game!

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What an honor it is to be guest blogging this week on Rachel Lynette's Minds in Bloom blog!

I'm always on the lookout for engaging and authentic learning activities to encourage students' interest in social studies and to help them understand its relevance in their lives. This time, though, it was my husband who introduced to me a fantastic opportunity for students to use technology, map skills, and their knowledge of regions, topography, language & other cultural elements to identify different world locations. GeoGuessr is a free, Web-based geography game that challenges players to identify real-life locations from around the world using Google Street View. 

Each game includes five different Street View locations. One image at a time, you can explore the locations and the surrounding areas. When you think you know a location, you place a red pin on the map by clicking once on the spot. (You can move your pin before submitting a final guess.)

Not the same image as above, but I wanted to show you the red pin.

Once you've submitted your guess, the true location will be revealed as well as how far away your guess was from it. You are awarded points based on the the proximity of your guess. You can play individually, or you can create a challenge and invite others to identify the same locations by sending them a unique link. You can also create a time limit on the challenges, and the screen will go dark once time is up.

One set of tools you can use to narrow down the location are the Google map tools. You can zoom in and out. You can view 360 degrees around you. You can even "travel" away from the original location by clicking the "forward" and "back" arrows. You can also "travel" to a specific spot in the distance by placing the white oval on the location and double-clicking. This helps if you see something in the distance that could provide a clue to your location.

Clues are provided in many ways, which requires the players to integrate knowledge from many different subject areas. It is also a wonderful way for players to connect prior knowledge and experiences. Here are some examples of the information that can be found in the images to help you identify where you're at:

• Topography
• Natural resources
• Road signs and road markers (For example: How are lanes divided?)
• Language on signs and buildings
• Conditions of the buildings, roadways, and bridges
• Types of vehicles
• Architecture
• Plant life
• Climate
• Culture (For example: What side of the road are people driving on? What are the ethnic backgrounds of the people in view? How are people dressed?)

The game can easily be used in a classroom either in a whole-class, small-group, or individual setting. Here's how I would model my thinking about how I analyzed the above image aloud to students:

Looking at this image, from my own knowledge and experiences, I recognized the wooden church architecture as something older (pioneer times? early 1900s?) than today's churches. What really caught my eye is the white sign on the middle left. I recognized that sign as a type of historical marker that I have seen in other parts of the United States. I did a 360 view of the site and saw large hills and many types of trees (evergreens and leafy trees) surrounding this area. I also zoomed in on cars that were in a parking lot across the street from the church. They looked similar those in the United States. I did not see any English-language signs in the image, but I did recognize American-style street sign shapes.  I took a guess that this site was somewhere in Tennessee based on these ideas (also because I had seen a very similar-style church on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains). The site was actually in West Virginia, so I wasn't too far off!

Not too shabby! At least I'm on the right continent.

There's a lot of critical thinking and attention to detail involved in this game. In the United States, for example, this would be fabulous opportunity to teach students about the subtle differences between us and other English-speaking countries, such as Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. Places may look alike, but there are slight cultural differences that help us tell where we would be. For example, What do they call certain places? (car park v. parking lot); Are distances given in kilometers or miles? How do spellings of words compare?

If used in the classroom, I suggest giving students some tips for how to play the game most effectively, including how to look for clues in the image. Allowing students to keep an atlas on hand would also provide them an additional reference tool they play. It's also important to let students know that the places in this game will only be where Street View is possible. That means that the game will only include locations where vehicles can be driven on established roads. For example, when I first started to play the game, several locations appeared, at first glance, as if they could be in the wilderness of Africa based on the geography. However, in considering this, I had to ask myself if Google Street View would be available in the location I had in mind, which it wouldn't. 

The number of Web-based geography games is on the rise. In addition to GeoGuessr, I have also come across a similar version of the game called Earth-Picker, which uses the same Street View technology but varies slightly in that your guesses are shown in comparison with all other players' guesses from around the world. Map Race is another similar geography game using Google maps. Instead of Street View, players determine North American or worldwide city locations based on aerial views. To help players identify the cities, multiple choice answers are given. Similar to GeoGuessr, you can also time your game. Map Race also offers the option to track your progress by creating a log in, although it's not required to play the game. GeoGuessr and Earth-Picker do not require or offer the option to log in as a specific player. However, Earth-Picker does allow you to enter your name in the rankings if you choose. 

Social Studies can sometimes be a difficult subject to get students excited about. However, students need to be educated about where they've come from as well as the world around them. Using challenging and engaging learning games such as GeoGuessr is one way to spice up Social Studies for students and get them to explore the world!

I am an upper elementary/middle school language arts and social studies teacher who most recently taught fifth grade. I took the scenic route to teaching with prior jobs in insurance, nonprofit workforce development, and children's book publishing.  However, teaching, training, and sharing were my favorite parts of all of those jobs. While I'm currently taking time away from classroom teaching to care for my young daughter, I can't quite get away from the classroom altogether. I'm aspiring to inspire while the baby is napping with my Aspire to Inspire blog, Teachers Pay Teachers store, and as a contributor to the Ohio Historical Society's on-line textbooks.

Must-Read Mentor Text: Mysteries of the Mummy Kids

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I was inspired to write about the mentor text for this week's Collaboration Cuties' link-up by an article I recently read about Inca mummy kids found frozen high in the Andes. The story of these children is one of many told in Kelly Milner Halls' Mysteries of the Mummy Kids. This book is particularly special to me because before I became a teacher, I worked on it as an editorial assistant at its original publisher, Darby Creek Publishing. My job was to do photo research and secure rights to many of the images used in the book. For days and weeks, I was "wrapped" up in images of mummies from around the world! My students were pretty excited when I shared that I had been a part of this book project, and I think that made it all the more interesting to them.

This nonfiction book focuses on child mummies from throughout history that have been discovered around the world. The book is organized by continent and mummy, which makes it easy to read in small sections. The author begins with an explanation of why she wrote the book, which was inspired by a postcard she received with a photo of a mummy from Mesa Verde National Park. She then explains the natural and man-made processes of mummification.  Despite its subject matter, the author is careful not to sensationalize or exploit the mummies, but rather she thoughtfully and respectfully explains how they came to be in their conditions within historical, cultural, and geographic contexts. The images in the book help young readers to visualize so much about what is being described in the book, from locations to the mummies themselves. The photographs are somber, yet fascinating. The illustrations and diagrams are appealing and easy-to-follow. At the end of the book, the author includes several references for readers to use to learn more, including "Mummy Miscellany," which lists museums around the country where readers can see preserved mummies and a list of suggested titles for further reading; a bibliography; a glossary; and an index. The book is appropriate for upper elementary to middle school students based on the reading level and the content.

When I became a teacher, I was able to use this book in my fifth-grade social studies classes in a number of ways. When studying the Inca Indians, I read aloud the section of the book pertaining to child mummies discovered in the Andes mountains (referred to in the article link in the first paragraph). These children were thought to have been sacrificed to their gods by the Incas. The author describes how these children were chosen, how they lived in preparation for their sacrifice, and how they ultimately passed away and became mummified.

As part of our study of American Indians, students completed a graphic organizer for each Indian group with information about their location & geography; religious beliefs; government; food sources; inventions; and other cultural elements. As I read aloud from Mysteries of the Mummy Kids, I asked students to jot down any information that fit into the categories of their organizers.

Sample graphic organizer used for note-taking about American Indian groups

Based on the facts presented in the book, they were able to add details to many of the categories on their organizers. Through the stories of these children, students were able to get a picture of not only the lives of the chosen children, but also the daily lives of the everyday Inca, including what they ate, their government structure, arts & crafts, and the roles of men and women. It was rewarding and fun to watch students connect what they read about in their traditional textbooks with the information in this trade book. 

In addition to the note-taking practice, I allowed time for students to ask questions, too, in light of such extreme cultural practices. We also discussed how the context of time and culture shaped the perspectives that the Inca children probably had at the time of their sacrifices, and we compared those to what the students, who were about the same age, thought.

The Maiden of Llullaillaco was about 14 years old and was found with
two other children--a 6-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy--on the peak of Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina.

In addition to the mummies of South America, Milner Halls also writes about the well-known mummies of Egypt, as well as those found in Europe, Asia, and North America. All have their own circumstances surrounding their mummification, and each could be discussed at length in terms of their historical, cultural, and geographic contexts. I actually referred to and shared the story of the Caucasian mummies discovered in the Taklamakan Desert along the Silk Road in China during our discussion of European explorers. Of the many different child mummy discoveries, I personally found the stories of the bog mummies from Europe the most interesting.

Many mummies, many mysteries

I did end up reading the entire book to my homeroom class as a read-aloud instead of a traditional novel. I found it a bit challenging because it required more attention and thinking from the students to process what I was reading to them, especially with new vocabulary and the explanation of processes. If the book is read aloud, it's important to spend time showing students images and reading in small sections so that meaningful discussions can be held about the content. 

Detailed diagram of a false cabeza ("head") mummy bundle shows readers what was included in these burial masses.

In addition to the social studies elements of this book (geography, history, and culture), Mysteries of the Mummy Kids also includes a strong science content as well, with scientist interviews and descriptions of the mummification process. This book is also a great choice for reluctant readers with its interesting subject matter, vivid images, and organization into small, but content-rich sections.

I'm a big fan of using cross-curricular trade books to teach social studies, and I highly recommend Mysteries of the Mummy Kids as one of these!