Trailing

As one of the culminating activities of this term's Inquiry Unit "Who Makes The Rules?", my and my co-planning partner's classes are heading into the heart of Adelaide for a tour of our state's Parliament House with our local member of Parliament being our guide. Two classes together makes for nearly sixty students which is too many for a tour all at once. So, we will be going in two groups an hour apart which leaves one group to pursue another activity - a walking trail that ties in with major points of interest nearby.

So, borrowing heavily from resources on the Adelaide Unplugged website, I put together a trail that looks at a number of significant buildings and momuments while checking out some of the intriguing outdoor art within that part of the Adelaide CBD. I'd like to share the Trail documents I've created but I've copied remixed quite a bit of content that can't really be posted online. However, if you are a teacher in Adelaide and are interested in seeing what I've concocted, drop me a virtual line.

I used Google Maps to create a map to guide our Trail and when Maria (my co-planning buddy) and I were working out the exact route, it was a great tool to use Street View to be really sure of what we wanted the students to take in. When we wanted to work out how to get back from the front of the South Australian Museum across to the Festival Centre, zooming right in to see the backs of buildings and possible pathways removes a lot of the guesswork. The only thing we can't be totally sure of is whether we can cover the whole Trail in the hour!

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Not every learning experience needs to be technology loaded, but using Google Maps does make sure that the hands on excursion involves a lot less guesswork.

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5 thoughts on “Trailing

  1. Ken Burgin

    Nice post – thanks! A way to relive it later would be to set up a flyover on Google Earth – have it run automatically swooping in from place to place.

    I saw this done when a teacher introduced himeself – where he was born, went to school, travlled etc and it grabbed everyone’s attention. Have done it myself too – it’s a great party trick…

    Keep up the good work –

    Ken

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  2. Hannah Grace

    It is good to take out guesswork when you are responsible for 30 students especially outside of a classroom. It is hard enough keeping it together in a classroom. I imagine the map was very handy. It allowed you to see the present condition of the area. Even if you look at a city’s website, the streets sometimes look nicer than they truly are. The pictures probably helped to make the best decision on what streets to choose. It is good that your students were able to go on a trail for about an hour. It is good when things are mixed up a little bit. Students need to see and be in different settings too. It is all part of the learning experience.

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  3. Danielle

    This is a really neat lesson. I like how you have incorporated technology into your classroom. Students love to use the computer and you have found an easy way to allow them too.

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