There's A Map On My Lap!

...or in this case, There's a Map on the Wall!

Every day before we officially begin my reading class, the students pull out their DOL book. This is a spiral bound book that has daily activities/questions to help students with various reading and language arts skills (spelling, punctuation, proofreading, sentence types, main idea, sequencing, etc.) I know the students eagerly anticipate completing these activities every day...or maybe not. (Not that it matters, because I like them and I think they are beneficial!)

Anyway, something that is neat about this particular DOL activity book, is that every week there is an overall theme. Past themes have included tree houses, pollution, major league baseball parks, and the Pony Express. About a week ago, the theme was canals - specifically the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal.

Important Side Note: I have a problem. I admit it. When there is ANY possible connection to social studies in my reading classes, I go into a lot more detail than I probably should with the kids. I can't help it. I love social studies.

So, as we were talking about the Panama Canal, I was trying to explain the "why" and the "where" facts of the canal. It was really difficult explaining to kids about the beneficial location of the canal without a map...However, since DOL is only supposed to take the first couple minutes of class, I couldn't really justify searching for a world map on the Internet, finding one that was detailed enough for the canal location, and then turning on the projector to show it on the ActivBoard (which is a really cool interactive white board!).

I was about to give up and just tell the kids to look it up sometime on their own (which, let's be honest, would never happen), when I noticed the "old school" maps hanging from the ceiling over on one of my classroom walls. I had never used them before, and in fact, had been told by other teachers I needed to get those pulled off the wall, because people never use them anymore. However, in my procrastinator ways, I had never requested them to be removed.

For once being a procrastinator paid off.

I know I shrieked with joy when I saw those maps - which probably freaked out the kids a little. I rushed over to the maps (there are three!), found the World Map, and excitedly pulled the little chain to unroll the map. I was finally able to show the students exactly where the Panama Canal was, why it was needed (to expedite travel and trade - and to be safer than going all the way around Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America...), and describe some of the political strife that occurred as a result of the canal being dug. Sigh, it was great!

If you knew me when I was a child, I dreamed of being a teacher since the first day of kindergarten. It's true. Now, I haven't always wanted to be a teacher so I could make a difference...I used to want to be a teacher so I could use red pens, correct homework, use overhead projectors and pens (they would discontinue those now that I am finally a teacher!), and have a reason to buy new school supplies every year!

Another thing I have always wanted to do is use a wall map. Yep. I always wanted to use the chain (or string, or piece of yarn) to pull down a colorful plastic map - either world or United States, I wasn't picky. I LOVED it when teachers would use the maps. They would point to them with their finger or some pointer device, in usually a dramatic way, and I loved it. I wanted to be them. I wanted to pull the string and have the map roll back up - well, at least that is what was supposed to happen when the string was pulled again!

However, I digress. The point is, I was able to fulfill a lifelong "teacher" dream of mine. It was amazing and I loved every second of it. I dramatically pointed to the map and made dramatic flourishes with my hand as I pointed to various routes ships would have taken. I got into the stories and facts, which got the kids excited, too. Sigh, it was a very fulfilling experience!

(I also was very excited to think that I could use the map in my other 3 classes later that day!) Woohoo!

Yes, technology is great. Yes, Google Maps could have pulled up a satellite picture of the canal that would have been amazing and breath-taking I am sure. Yes, I could have probably taken the students on a "virtual field trip" of the canal with just a few clicks of the mouse.

But sometimes the "old school" stuff is fine and that is fine with me.