by Chris Visco

Created on: March 31, 2008

Teaching latitude and longitude can, and should be fun! Unfortunately it seems that geographical skills are slowly being lost.

The first step is to get the students attention. Get a two pieces of blank typing paper. Put one small dot on one of the pages with a pen, wherever you want. Give the paper to one of the students in the class, and make sure they are somewhat hidden. I usually put a cardboard wall up next to them. Then take the other blank sheet of paper, and give it to another student somewhere else in the room, as far away as possible from the first student. Then you issue challenge. Tell the first student that they have two minutes to get the other student to put a dot on their blank piece of paper. The first student cannot hold up his paper. All they are allowed to do is talk to the second student. The second student cannot get up to look at the first students' paper, and is not allowed to speak. At the end of the two minutes, I will compare the two pages. If the dots are in the same place, both students receive a 100 on the next test. Well of course they never get it perfect. And then I tell them what they should have done. Use a ruler, which they all have in their notebook, and measure how many centimeters down from the top of the page, and how many centimeters in from the side. Voila! Perfect.

This of course introduces the concept of using two reference lines (equator and the prime meridian) to locate a location.

Ask the class how many of them have ever flown to Florida to visit DisneyWorld. Ask them how they would like it if the pilot landed in Chicago instead. Knowing precisely where you are, and where you are going matters. And latitude and longitude are the only ways to know this.

Next, break your class into groups, and give them each a handheld GPS. Tell them that you have hidden "treasures" around the school property. Give them the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the treasures, and see if they can find them. What you are actually doing is introducing the students to the exciting sport of geocaching.

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