Every child is an explorer! Educators can help students bridge the summer gap with Maps101 to provide content, hints, and suggestions that focus on bridging one grade to the next to address the inevitable knowledge gap of summer. Virtual Field Trips, GeoInquiries and the Geography News Network give every student a chance to travel and to answer where they are going or where they have been based on their own interests.
Let’s help students, together.
“Education is all a matter of building bridges.” - Ralph Emerson
Enroll students in a summer program of Maps101
It’s where stories connect students and places as they seek to find their path.
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Summer is coming quickly! Here at Maps101, we celebrate the Summer of Where. Where are you going? Where have you been? (Both questions are meant literally and metaphorically.) And, students are headed to a new year. Summer, then, is when educators can help students bridge the summer gap. With that in mind, look to Maps101 to provide content, hints, and suggestions that focus on bridging one grade to the next to address the inevitable knowledge gap of summer.
FIELD TRIPS
Monarch Butterflies
The exclusive interactive Field Trips in Maps101 help students understand the world. The transformation of caterpillars into butterflies is fascinating to young learners and poets alike. This Field Trip on monarch butterflies is an excellent summer bridge activity for younger learners. Students will see a monarch egg and learn about caterpillars, their diet, the food chain, their life stages, and more.
All About Maps
The youngest students also benefit from Field Trips. And, importantly, Maps101 has a lot of maps. But students need to be able to read and understand maps to benefit from them. This Field Trip was written with K-2 students in mind to introduce them to the most basic elements of maps. Soon, they will be able to identify all types of places on a map . . . including bridges.
Fossils
Fossils are another topic of enduring interest to children and adults, alike. They also provide a bridge to our past. In many places in the U.S., students may be lucky enough to find a fossil. This Maps101 Field Trip explores what fossils are, where they are found, and common types of fossils. The text is accessible to a wide range of reading levels. We are sure your students will be intrigued and engaged.
GEOINQUIRES
Area of a Complex Figure
Students who are bridging one grade of math to another will do well to practice understanding how to determine the area of a complex figure. This activity uses a map to guide students on their way.
Distance and Midpoint
Students may very well wonder how to determine the midpoint between two places or along a particular span, including a bridge. This GeoInquiry focuses on siting a water tower shared by two towns to be midway between them.
Area and Perimeter at the Mall
GeoInquiries show again and again how to apply mathematical (and other) concepts to the world around students. In this case, students will determine the area and perimeter of a mall. They can also practice these same skills with other buildings, monuments, and yes, bridges.
Mississippi River Exploration
We cannot have a theme about bridges without mentioning rivers. And the mighty Mississippi is certainly important to the United States. This activity explores the early navigations of the Mississippi. It is leveled for upper elementary students, making it an excellent educational bridge for those students approaching higher levels of learning or those who need additional practice and support before entering a new grade.
Exploring Elevation with
Lewis and Clark
Bridges are elevated, and they connect landmasses divided by waterways. Lewis and Clark no doubt discovered many such places that would benefit from bridges while they explored the newly acquired land that allowed the United States to expand westward. This activity is meant for upper elementary students—some of whom after the summer may be headed to middle school. Other students over the summer will be entering the upper elementary grades for the first time.
With Maps101, you can engage students on either side of their unique bridge over the summer.
Megacities
Now let’s take a look at an advanced environmental science topic: urban sprawl. Many of America’s largest cities have famous bridges that help populations moving into and out of the urban environment. This activity is ideal for advancing students who need to be prepared, 21st-century citizens.
GEOGRAPHY NEWS NETWORK
A Texas Musical Fusion
A fusion of musical styles bridges the gaps between different genres. And Texan Bob Wills was an incredible musical innovator who did just that. However, many of your students may not have heard of him since he was first famous during the Great Depression. GNN articles, including this one, provide context, explanation, and often, primary source quotes, to enrich and engage your students. If able, try to play some songs from Bob Wills. And ask your students to name contemporary artists who bridge multiple genres.
Amelia Earhart’s Flight
This summer, we are looking at bridges and bridging, in all senses, as students cross from one grade to another. Maps101 is here to help you and your students cope with summer bridging issues. Earhart bridged the gender gap of her time. She became such a famous pilot that she is still known today, over 90 years after her fame began.
GNN Junior: Hibernation
GNN is not only for middle and high school students. Each month, we have a special edition of GNN for upper elementary students called GNN Junior. This article focuses on the behavior that some animals use to bridge one year to the next: hibernation. Students who are approaching upper elementary will benefit from reading more about animals that hibernate. So too, will students who are bridging into junior high—and thus themselves experiencing a new life cycle.
The Harlem Renaissance
A fusion of musical styles bridges the gaps between different genres. And Texan Bob Wills was an incredible musical innovator who did just that. However, many of your students may not have heard of him since he was first famous during the Great Depression. GNN articles, including this one, provide context, explanation, and often, primary source quotes, to enrich and engage your students. If able, try to play some songs from Bob Wills. And ask your students to name contemporary artists who bridge multiple genres.
The Trail of Tears
The journey known as the Trail of Tears was forced upon the Native Americans who embarked on it. Thus, this bridge from one place to another was horrific, not supportive. But it is an important event in U.S. history for students to know about. The map that accompanies this GNN article—Oh, did you not know that the articles INCLUDE relevant maps? Well, they do!—shows the routes that thousands of Native Americans took during their forced removal from desirable land.
Microplastic Pollution
One bridge all of us must cross is the bridge to a healthier Earth. If we do not cross this bridge, we will see climate change continue to increase and plastics continue to be piled into landfills or enter our water. Microplastics are a form of plastic pollution about which students should be aware. Each year, more than 8 million tons of plastic enters the world’s oceans. Have students learn more about where microplastics come from in this eye-opening GNN article.
#SUMMEROFWHERE INSPIRATIONAL POSTERS
Try Maps101 Today
Summer is coming quickly! Here at Maps101, we celebrate the Summer of Where. Where are you going? Where have you been? (Both questions are meant literally and metaphorically.) And, students are headed to a new year. Summer, then, is when educators can help students bridge the summer gap. With that in mind, look to Maps101 to provide content, hints, and suggestions that focus on bridging one grade to the next to address the inevitable knowledge gap of summer.