GeoGame
Date: 12 Sep 94 17:35 pst
From: erogers@bonita.cerf.fred.org
Subject: GEOGAME '94!!!
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The Global SchoolNet Foundation presents GEOGAME
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GEOGAME CALL FOR PARTICIPATION - FALL '94
Project Name: GEOGAME: Geography Game
This excellent project was developed by Tom Clauset,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was described in an
article, "Keys to Successful Networking" in the May,
1990 issue of the Computing Teacher Magazine.
Purpose: Learn geography terms, learn how to read and interpret
maps, increase awareness of geographical and cultural
diversity
Subjects: Geography, social studies, writing
Grade level: Middle-Upper Elementary; open to all grade levels
Summary: Each participating class completes a questionnaire
about their own location, including information about
latitude, typical weather, land formations, nearest
river, time zone, points of interest, for whom/what
famous, direction from capital, and population.
The coordinator collects responses from all the
participating sites, scrambles the information, and
returns the data to participants as puzzles for the
classes to solve.
Students, with help from maps, atlases, and other
reference materials, match the description of each
location (based on the questionnaire) with the name of
the corresponding city.
At the conclusion of the project, the coordinator will
email the correct answers. The "winning" classes are
those with the most correct solutions to the game.
This has been a perennial favorite project, one which
will excite your students and lead you into the
exciting world of online communications.
Comments: "In all the years, I've taught, this is the
best map activity I've seen. The kids loved it." (3rd
grade teacher)
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GEOGAME REGISTRATION - September 1 to October 7, 1994
(Oct. 7, 1994 Deadline for registration)
To register please complete and return the following
information to
geogame@bonita.cerf.fred.org
NOTE: Because registration is handled automatically each data field
MUST begin with "#n:" where n is the appropriate field number
(e.g. "Your name #1: Jane Doe").
Your name #1:
Your Email Address #2:
Your school #3
Your district #4
Street Address1 #5:
Street Address2 #6:
City/State/Zip #7:
Country #8:
Phone number at school #9
Grade level and assignment #10:
Subject(s) #11:
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GEOGAME TIMELINE - FALL '94
This time line is a summary; dates are for the Fall project.
Complete details are in the next section
October 7: Deadline for registration
Begin researching the answers to the GeoGame questions
about your local community as soon as you have registered.
Have your students compose your answers according to
the format described below.
October 10-21: Send your answer file as a message to:
geogame@bonita.cerf.fred.org
October 30: We will assemble all responses and mail them to all
participants.
October 31: Download the game files we send. Print them out and
distribute them to your students. Discuss with them
strategies they might use to match locations with
descriptions.
November 1-18: Return your answers which match the locations
with the descriptions using the template provided.
A response will be returned to the class within three days.
November 27: We will email the results of the game to all who are
registered, "winners" will be announced.
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GEOGAME STRATEGY & PROCEDURE
==============================
1. FILLING OUT THE DESCRIPTION FOR YOUR CITY
Start with a whole-class discussion of the game and go over the
identifying characteristics of the 10 description items. Discuss
latitudes, time zones, land forms, points of interest, tourist
attractions, state capitals, and nearby rivers as needed.
Divide your class into groups of two or three and give them each
a question. Have them do a little research in the library or with
local maps to find the answer to their question. Come back
together in a whole-class discussion and elicit the answers to
each group's question. Have a student in the class act as a
'secretary' to compile the answers.
Type up the 10 answers using the Answer Template format and EMail
them to the Project Coordinator (geogame@acme.fred.org) by the
deadline date.
GEOGRAPHY GAME QUESTIONNAIRE - Please answer all questions.
Our project management system is AUTOMATED. You MUST write the answer to
each question on the line BELOW the question, following the "##n:" marker
(where "n" is the number of the question you are answering).
1. City or Town your school is in?
##1:
2. State or Province?
##2:
3. Country?
##3:
4. What is the latitude of your city?
##4:
5. In which time zone are you located?
##5:
6. What is the population of your city?
##6:
7. What is winter like in your area? (Include temperatures,
precipitation, and any other pertinent information.)
##7:
8. What kind of clothes do you wear in winter?
##8:
9. What are the prominent land forms in your area?
##9:
10. What is the closest large river and how far is this river?
##10:
11. In what direction is your city from the state capital?
##11:
12. What are the points of interest or tourist attractions in your
area? (Use specific names rather than generalities as museums.
List no more than four places.)
##12:
##13:
##14:
##15:
16. For whom or for what is your city famous?
(Name no more than four things.)
##16:
##17:
##18:
##19:
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2. PLAYING THE GAME
About a week after the deadline, we will email a file containing
20 to 25 descriptions and the city names.
While you are waiting, gather a few materials for the class so
that students can break up into small groups to begin the process
of matching locations up with descriptions. (Large United States
map showing time zones & latitudes, set of encyclopedias for
individual state maps and maps of other countries, AAA road maps,
Rand McNally Road Atlas, Almanac, etc.)
When you receive the GeoGame file from us, duplicate enough
copies of the city/state locations to give one to each child in
your class. Print out the descriptions, divide your class up
into 4 or 5 groups and give each group an equal number of the
descriptions.
You might want to set aside two or three 20-30 minute "Research
Periods" for the groups to try to match up their descriptions
with the city/state locations.
Or, you may want to set up a reference corner in the library or
your classroom where students can go work on the project during
their free time.
One teacher set up a bulletin board with a large map. Students
located the cities and marked them with map tacks. Then they
matched the descriptions with the cities on the map.
When your students have done the best job they can on the match
ups, type the letter of the City/State on the list after the number
of the clue on the template provided with the game. Email it
by the deadline date listed in the timeline.
3. WHO WINS THE GAME?
After the final deadline, we will email the results. The
"winning" classrooms will be the ones which matched all of
the locations with their correct descriptions.
4. PROPOSED FUTURE DATES
Registration (Dates may vary when the game is announced):
Winter '94 Geogame - Nov. 28 - Jan. 13, 1995
Spring '94 Geogame - March 1 - 31, 1995
Registration is being accepted for only the current game
until the registration deadline of October 7, 1994.
erogers@bonita.cerf.fred.org ---------------- 32.39.28N, 117.01.45W
Erica Rogers Global SchoolNet Foundation
Executive Assistant & Project Coordinator P.O. Box 243
Voice (619)475-4852 FAX (619)472-0735 Bonita, CA 91908-0243
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