Mapping Tools

We are starting a project using mapping tools this week.    Our inquiry will be to see if different places around the world have the same natural resources and agricultural products as we have in North Carolina.   We have been learning all about maps this past week.   We learned about map keys, compass rose and grids.   We discussed latitude and longitude.   We looked at the seven continents and 4 oceans on the map.   We compared a model, map and globe.   We have also been learning about natural resources and agricultural products in the three regions of North Carolina so we thought we’d combine the maps with this and then compare places in Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand.

  • What natural resources and agricultural products do you have?
  • What is your favorite mapping tool to use?
  • How can you compare regions of the world using these maps? 
  • What other things could we show on maps?

Our World

Where is Monroe, North Carolina?

  •  Where is Rocky River Elementary in the World?    34° 59′ N / 80° 36′ W

It is in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.  There are over 800 students.   Over 40 classrooms.

We have been learning about latitude and longitude and maps from Our World Our Numbers.  This next week when we return to school we would like some help to understand how big your city is and how much different areas of the world recycles in our own mapping project.

Rocky River Elementary School is in Monroe, North Carolina.

Geography:
North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia, as well as the Atlantic Ocean along its eastern coast. Off the coast of North Carolina, out in the Atlantic Ocean, are a string of barrier islands, called the Outer Banks, the site of the Wright brothers first flights, the Kitty Hawk flying experiments.

North Carolina’s main geographic features are the coastal plains and the Appalachian Mountains. The sub ranges of the Appalachians located in North Carolina are the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Great Balsam Mountains, and the Black Mountains, which have the highest in the eastern United States, Mount Mitchell.

North Carolina is one of the fifty states in the USA.  California is all the way across the United States.  You can drive there in several days.  It’s between four and five hours to fly there.

The United States (50 States) joins Canada (10 provinces and 3 territories )  to make up what is known as North America.   Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west side and the Atlantic Ocean on the east side.

Flight Distance

Monroe to Middleham UK—3924.69 miles / 6316.18 km

Monroe to Sydney, Australia-  9486.7 miles / 15267.36 km

Monroe, NC to Victoria, Australia–9902.31 miles / 15936.23 km

Monroe to Los Angeles California   2146.63 miles / 3454.67 km  driving time  2442.18mi / 3930.3km

Monroe to British Columbia Canada and Mrs. Watson’s Class  2636.95 miles / 4243.76 km

Monroe to Palmerston North, New Zealand-     8343.44 miles / 13427.47 km

 

 

Connecting with 73 countries

This year we worked on being a part of a global world in our 2nd grade class room at Rocky River Elementary in Monroe, North Carolina.  We are 7 and 8 year olds that loved to explore and be curious about the world.

    • We blogged and Skyped with others around the world.
    • We made connections.
    • We had fun.
    • We learned about other people and places.
    • We collaborated.
    •  We communicated.
    • We were creative thinkers, problem solvers and users of web 2.0 tools.
    • We created Global notebooks to track our learning about the world.
    • We became more aware of maps and locations of countries around the globe.
    • We tracked visitors to our blog site.

We loved doing this each day and seeing how far away we were from goals we set.
 Our average this month is 30 with 23 in the past 24 hours.
We decided to try and draw the flags from the 73 countries that visited.
 With a piece of paper, ruler , pencil and crayons we created these flags to honor our visitors and to say THANK YOU for visiting.  We learned a lot from many of you about your country.