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E L E M E N T A R Y
Number E4
Social Studies and the Young Learner 19 (3), pp. P1–P4
©2007 National Council for the Social Studies
Grades 4–6
Online Interactive Mapping:
Using Google Earth
Eui-kyung Shin and Marsha Alibrandi
There is a growing treasure on the internet of free and detailed
images of the Earth’s surface. How can we use these images to
enhance student exploration and interpretation of the world
around them?
It is essential for teachers to make connections to the students’
immediate environment and to guide students in careful observation. Satellites can provide a current image of the area where
students live. Online services like Google Earth can combine
multiple satellite images with aerial photographs and other data
to provide an interesting, up-close “visual model” of one’s neighborhood.1 Examining such an image provides an opportunity for
students to ask and answer geographic questions, such as How is
my location connected to my community? How is the land in our
community used? Where are commercial areas? Why did people
build their shops in that area? Where are the residential areas?
What other uses for the land can be determined from examining
the image?2
Mapping with Elementary Students
Students experience place and space through their interaction
with the environment, during which they construct “mental maps”
of their world. Like the learning of language, the development
of mapping abilities proceeds in a predictable manner, is agerelated, and involves repetitious behavior. Their map skills will
improve if we provide more challenging situations in the classroom as they develop intellectually.
In their own lives, elementary students develop their spatial
understanding and spatial competency by expanding their ranges
of activity. With the use of satellite images and maps in the classroom, students make connections between their initial egocentric view of the world and views that encompass a greater area,
reveal distant locations, present a new perspective, or integrate
measurements into the image. By providing maps and relevant
on-screen images together, we can help students to integrate
their mental maps with these concrete images. For example, by
comparing area paper maps and on-screen images of the same
area, students can see how familiar places can be represented in
an abstract way using symbols, colors, labels, and numbers.
Online Mapping Activities
So how can we facilitate students’ interaction with spatial information? How might students become enthusiastically engaged,
and what types of geographic questions can be raised and discussed? These questions bring us to the two activities in this
How to Do It.
1) Students use Google Earth images to locate their school
starting from the center of a nearby big city. Through this activity, students use their immediate surroundings to examine the
patterns of spatial movement and the relationship of their school
with other places.
2) Students examine commercial and residential areas with
Google Earth images, comparing spatial patterns and recognizing
different characteristics of those two types of land use. This activity provides an opportunity for students to discuss zoning laws as
an interaction between geography and public policy.
Each of these on-screen activities is described with step-by-step
directions and includes relevant discussion questions.
Some students may be very adept at operating computers.
However, they will still benefit from watching their teachers demonstrate and discuss the activity before exploring new images
themselves. The teacher’s contribution is essential for students
to develop conceptual understanding of geographic terms, think
critically and creatively about the images they are seeing, and
learn how to communicate verbally about geographic information.3 We designed the activities for a fifth grade class, but teachers can modify them for use in different contexts.
A Model of the Earth
How can we explain Google Earth to elementary students?4
Google Earth combines several types of digital image and data
files, some of which are satellite images, some aerial and other
January/February 2007 P1
photos, and even drawn images (of buildings or other features)
that people can add using drawing tools. As well, every time
you “zoom in” to a Google Earth map, you are actually receiving
“streamed” image data to give you the best available image for
that particular location. So, Google Earth is more than a map,
more than an image, more than photos, and is constantly being
updated, so that what you see today may be different (and presumably, more accurate) tomorrow.
Just like we can study a map, we can use this geographic
model to learn about what is on the Earth’s surface and thus try
to solve real problems: from simple problems, like “How do I get
from point A to point B?” to more complex problems, like “How
might countries in the Middle East share freshwater resources in
a fair manner?”
A Trial Run
It is crucial that you run through these activities yourself before
presenting them to students—which is true of any lesson involving technology. Make sure that the classroom computer has the
memory and speed to quickly display the images that students
will be seeking (or that you will be projecting).
ACTIVITY 1
A Sense of Place: Where are We? What is Near Us?
The Learning Challenge
Your students have some kinds of daily routines, walking or riding
in a bus or car. While they are traveling around, they see shops,
restaurants, offices, factories and houses. Have they ever thought
about how these places would look from an aerial view? Maybe
not!
Your students may have been exposed to the map that represents the area of their routine routes. However, they might not
have thought about connecting their mental images of familiar
places to the information on the map. This activity will help your
students better understand their surroundings in spatial terms.
Discussion Questions
Before, during and after working with computers, teachers can
facilitate students’ investigation of spatial information by asking: Where is our school located? Is there a big city near to us?
Where is it located? (You can have a discussion about absolute
and relative locations.) Then ask: What are the places that you
travel to routinely? Where are they located? Are they clustered
together? Or are they spread out? (Discuss students’ own patterns
of movement during the week. Where do they go, and how do
they get there?)
Ask your students to trace their travel patterns on a map or
printed image from Google Earth. Where are their favorite restaurants located? Where are the transportation centers—bus, train, or
P2 Social Studies and the Young Learner
Also, check out the resolution (the degree of detail) that an
online mapping service provides of your local area. For example,
maps of rural areas, underdeveloped nations, and places of military significance may not show much up-close detail. Adjust any
classroom activity so that it matches what students are able to
see at the website.
Notes
1. The teaching of basic online activities such as panning, zooming, and comparing
satellite images with traditional maps was discussed in a previous elementary
How To Do It: Marsha Alibrandi, “Online Interactive Mapping: Basic Activities,”
Social Studies and the Young Learner 17, no. 3 (2005): P1-P8.
2. Geography Education Standards Project, Geography for Life: National Geography
Standards (Washington, DC: National Geographic Society, 1994).
3. See “Standards into Practice: Examples for the Early Grades” in NCSS,
Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (Washington,
DC: NCSS, 1994), 54-56.
4. See earth.google.com/earth.html and Frequently Asked Questions at earth.google.
com/faq.html for descriptions of how these images are created.
Eui-kyung Shin is an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching
and Learning at Northern Illinois University. Marsha Alibrandi is assistant professor of Geography and Social Studies Teacher Education at University in . She is author of GIS in the Classroom: Using Geographic Information Systems in Social Studies and Environmental Science, published by
Heinemann in 2003.
subway stations? Where are the malls or shopping centers? Where
are the banks? How about a golf course? (The teacher could select
many different places that are relevant to your part of the country.)
Are these facilities close to one another? Which ones are clustered
together? Which ones are separate or dispersed? Why?
You can discuss the spatial distribution patterns of those places.
The “why” question is the key. Provide an opportunity for your
students to think about why certain places are located closely
together or distributed far apart.
A Note on Access
Google Earth takes advantage of the 3D graphics capabilities
that is standard on most computers. If you are using Google
Earth on an older computer that does not have 3D graphics
capabilities, you may not be able to run the application. The
minimum requirements for running Google Earth are described at
earth.google.com/ faq.html.
Step-by-Step Directions
1. Go to the website earth.google.com and download Google
Earth. It should not take more than a few minutes if your computer can run the application.
2. Open the Google Earth program. Now, you have access to
images from all over the world. However, the image quality
may vary (see “A Trial Run,” above).
3. Type the name of your city or town and state in the “Fly To”
boxes (e.g., Los Angeles, CA). Google Earth will take you to an
image of your city or
town.
Tilt
4. Practice with the
directions (N, S, E, W),
“Zoom In,” “Zoom Out,”
and “Tilt” buttons.
5. Type the name of a
nearby large city in the
“Fly To” box, like you
did in step 3. Now it will
take you to that city. (If
you live in a large city,
choose a different city
that is nearby.)
6. Click the check box for “Roads.” You will see the U. S. highways and interstates superimposed on the image.
7. Using the mouse, follow the road from this large city back
to your home city or town. Using the “Zoom In” button, adjust
the size of your town on the screen so that you recognize individual streets. (You may need to consider resolution, depending on the size of the area that you and your students would
like to work on).
Zoom In/Zoom Out
Directions (N, S, E, W)
8. On your computer screen, the box for “Roads” is still
checked. Observe the map carefully and identify the locations
of your home and places you may routinely visit (e.g., school,
grocery store, library, video rental shop) by following the
roads.
9. Now, click on “Lodging”, “Major Retail” and “Golf Courses”
within the Layer section. Encourage students to explore different landmarks that now appear.
10. Examine the spatial distribution patterns of these places
using the satellite image. Discuss with your students why
some places are located close to each other (e.g., major retail
stores and lodging), while others are more dispersed (e.g., golf
courses). What factors would people consider before building in a certain place (such as accessibility to major roads,
natural resources, and population)? As you may observe, golf
courses are often located some distance from retail stores and
restaurants. This would be a good opportunity to discuss why
human constructions are located where they are.
ACTIVITY 2
Features of the Landscape: Commercial or
Residential?
The Learning Challenge
“Commercial” or “residential” are terms that we frequently use
when we meet a realtor to buy a house, consider where to open
a new business franchise, or set aside land for a park. Zoning laws
limit land use to certain categories such as residential, commercial,
industrial, agricultural, conservation, or historic preservation.
Many elementary students are more familiar with terms that
represent the physical characteristics of the Earth (mountains,
creeks) or their immediate man-made surroundings (streets,
buildings) than categories that summarize the human use of
the land. By going through this activity, your students would be
able to think more broadly about how humans use the land to
meet their needs.
Discussion Questions
The answers for each discussion question could be different
based on where your school is located. For example, a teacher
might give distinctively different answers for students in an urban
area, as opposed to a suburban area or rural area because the
land use patterns are different. That is all right; you just need
to make an adjustment based on your students’ geographic
surroundings. Choose discussion questions that are relevant to
your community.
Before, during, and after working with computers, teachers
can facilitate students’ investigation of spatial information by asking: What do the following terms mean: commercial, residential,
agricultural, conservation, historic and industrial? These terms
might be familiar to some students, but they may not be able to
give clear definitions.
Invite students to describe an area they know well. What is
located on the north side of your house (or apartment)? How
about south side, east side, and west side of your house? What are
some reasons that many houses are built in a cluster? What makes
January/February 2007 P3
Downtown Chicago with “Major Retail” selected
Chicago suburb.
a neighborhood? (You can also discuss the concept of “area,” and
“cluster” with these questions.) Then, ask students: When you go
to a major shopping area, what do you see? Would you like to live
right next to a big mall? Why or why not? What are some reasons
that one finds many shops built in the same block?
Discuss with your students what would be the attraction of
bringing many shops together. You may also want to discuss
competition and clustering among businesses. For example, businesses can often make more profit if they are located closely
together, even though the competition between the shops may
be greater.
What do the roads in commercial areas look like? How did they
look when you visited the shopping areas? What do the roads in
residential areas look like? Where do you find sidewalks? Do you
think there are any specific reasons why the roads are built the
way they are? What would they be?
What about an agricultural area? What are some important
geographical features that farmers need? How about industrial
areas? What are some of the conditions that should be met for
people to locate a factory in a particular area? Are roads important to farmers? Is it important to consider how far they are from
residential areas? Why, or why not?
Discuss the similarities and differences in elements that are
essential for different land use. For example, roads are needed for
almost every use of the land. Roads provide accessibility and allow
the transfer of goods and services. However, nearness of residential areas may not be as important to an agricultural establishment
as to an industry, since industries often need many workers.
When city planners decide which areas should be designated
for building houses and which areas should be designated for
building shops, what should they consider? What would be the
important factors to consider? Why do we plan for how to use
the land? What problems might occur if we do not make any
plans for land use?
In many cases, communities plan how to use their surrounding lands in a “zoning” process. You may want to discuss to what
degree your local government plans and regulates land use.
P4 Social Studies and the Young Learner
Step-by-Step Directions
1. Open the Google Earth program.
2. Type the name of your city or town and state in the “Fly To”
box. (e.g., Chicago, IL) Google Earth will take you to an image of
your city or town.
3. Using “Zoom In” and “Zoom Out” buttons, adjust the size of
your city or town on the screen so that you can perceive recognizable neighborhoods or land use areas. (You may need to play
with various resolutions, depending on the size of the area that
you and your students would like to work with).
4. Ask students if they can identify their houses and major shopping areas on the map (You can click on and view Roads in order
to provide some reference points for students).
5. Try to display an area that actually portrays commercial and
residential areas in one glimpse. Or, if this is not possible, first
examine a commercial area, then a residential area.
6. Print out the images and ask students to outline the areas that
share the same characteristics (see example below).
7. Check the box labeled “Major Retail.” Commercial areas will be
highlighted on the image.
8. Compare commercial, residential, agricultural, and industrial
areas in your state. What features of the landscape differ according
to the ways that the land is used? Why do these differences exist?
Why do we develop land in some areas and restrict development
in other areas? Why do we cluster some facilities together, like
stores in a mall or small manufacturing and repair shops in an
industrial park?