Diane Ripollone led a mapping activity in her 10th-grade earth science class. After reading a book about coal mining, students used tabletop maps and MapMaker Interactive to learn about natural resources in different states around the country. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Discovering Geological Resources through Maps
July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays. What’s not to love about sunny weather, backyard barbecues, parades, national spirit and—of course—fireworks?! FIREWORKS! While fireworks have long been a hallmark of Independence Day celebrations in the United States—the first was in Philadelphia in 1777—the explosive concoction is much older than our nation! The first fireworks probably originated in China nearly 2,000 years ago. … Continue reading Fireworks! Fun, Facts and lots of Photos for the Fourth
ENVIRONMENT Dense clusters of old-growth forests exist in patches of the Amazon basin, Southeast Asia, and the Arctic taiga. Slivers of Europe are still luxuriant with trees, too, and very old ones at that. But they’re dwindling. (Atlas Obscura) What does Europe’s land cover look like? Use our map layer to find out. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources, including today’s … Continue reading Where Are Europe’s Fairytale Forests?
Kaitlyn Purvis designed a third-grade unit that helped students make personal connections to the lives of Canada’s early settlers and indigenous people. Students explored their own heritage and mapped the resulting data, learning how their classmates’ families came to Canada. After researching what life was like for both settlers and indigenous people, students created puppet videos to share what they learned. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Chronicling Ancestral Stories with Puppets
UNITED STATES Heads up, cities: Economic growth does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with economic and racial inclusion. (CityLab) Use this tool to measure the inclusivity in your own city, and check out today’s MapMaker Interactive map for a look at the term’s broad categories. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas A new study from the … Continue reading How Inclusive is Your City?
