Using Google Maps to Extend Book Comprehension
I just started "book club" reading with my students. I have been wanting to try this for a while as a way to mix the students of different reading levels (experience?). I was also looking for a way to extend some of my second graders thinking. For this, the first week of our book club, I assigned the books. I wanted students to choose their own, but I also wanted to make sure the students were comfortable with their reading materials. So, for now, I made groups of like-leveled (experienced) students. The second graders finished their book much faster than the others. Their book was a fable called The Mouse Deer and the Crocodiles . When my students finished reading and their plenary activity, I asked them to use Google Earth to find a place on the world where they thought the story took place. One student asked how. So I asked him where the story happened, and the group tried to find clues in the book. I had them list all their ideas and one was a jungle. That broug...