Introduction

= //Google Earth Island Project// = The Island project is a 7th grade world geography social studies unit which incorporates technology to produce meaningful student outcomes. The island project shows the importance of giving students choice and freedom in learning. This project encompasses what students need to learn based on curriculum standards, technology standards, and, more importantly, what students need to learn based on life standards. This project grow over the past three years and it has flourished because of student creativity. This project allows students at varying ability levels the opportunity of choice, creativity, and sense of accomplishment. After meeting the project standards outlined in a rubric, students took their own initiative in enhancing their island – making it their own.

**Prior Knowledge:** Students have completed a unit on the five themes of geography (place, region, location, human-environmental interaction, and movement). Students have defined, described, and applied the five themes of geography to a specific state in the U.S.

**Essential Question:** By the end of the unit students will be able to answer the essential question, what factor (s) has the most significant impact on the development of a country’s culture, economy, and government?


 * Goals:**
 * 1) Students will grasp the basic elements of geography
 * 2) Students will describe how people interact with each other and their environment
 * 3) Students will be able to answer the essential question: what factor(s) has the most significant impact on the development of a country’s culture, economy, and government?
 * Objectives: **


 * 1) (1.1) Students will identify the exact and relative location of their Island and base their research according to the location.
 * 2) (3.1) Students will compare and contrast their island’s location to an existing area (ex: off the coast of Australia in order to research the project topics).
 * 3) (3.2) Students will research their region’s climate, physical features, culture, economy, and government.
 * 4) (1.2) Students will create their own Islands on GoogleEarth.
 * 5) (2.1) Students will identify and explain cultural universals that affect people.
 * 6) (2.2) Students will identify factors involved in the development of cities and population characteristics
 * 7) (2.3) Students will be able to examine how people have adapted to or changed their physical environment.
 * 8) (3.3) Students will use GoogleEarth to develop their islands and interpret (incorporate?) the themes of geography and cultural universals as they relate to their islands **. **