HH+Maps

Traveling the Novel: Connecting Global Perspectives, Technology and the Text Using //The Kite Runner// by Khaled Hosseini
(Scottie Smith and Melissa Wert) “Traveling the Novel” uses Google Earth to explore Khaled Hosseini’s novel //The Kite Runner//. The simulation combines satellite maps, videos and photographs with the text. Students immerse themselves in the journey of Amir, the novel’s main character, as he travels from Afghanistan to Pakistan, to California, ultimately returning to Kabul, where Amir atones for the sins of his youth. Because landscape functions as a character in Hosseini’s novel, exploring the terrain allows students to envision the political and personal conflicts of the story.

Students are provided a Google Earth [|2009 Kite Runner Starting Points map] which is divided into six folders: Your World, where students locate and mark their own homes and school; Region Overview, which provides a geographic context for the beginning of the story; and Parts 1 – 4, which map significant landmarks from the four main sections of the book (Kabul, California, Pakistan, and Afghanistan). The place markers in these folders serve as starting points for each student’s individual journey through the text. Students are also given a [|Kite Runner Google Earth Itinerary] which directs them to “Travel To” the specific locations already pinpointed on the map. At these sites, they follow instructions on the itinerary telling students to quote from the text, to add images, to view videos, or to reflect on the situations connected to the location. Other steps on the Itinerary require students to “Locate” certain places by using the search feature of Google Earth (for actual sites, such as the San Jose flea market) or their own imagination (for Amir’s house in Kabul, for example). At each location, they must add their own place marker containing quotations from the text, relevant images or videos, or reflections on the importance of that site, as directed in the student Itinerary.

//Teacher Resources//: We have prepared a 2009 Teacher Kite Runner map which we populated with many of the placemarkers listed in the Itinerary - if you are interested in obtaining a copy, please email either one of us ( girgus@harpethhall.org or mwert@harpethhall.org ). However, creating one's own map from the Starting Points template is a good way to learn how to use Google Earth and to develop a personal appreciation for the journey!

Mushing through Google Earth
(Ann Riegle and Melissa Wert) Harpeth Hall 5th graders read //Black Star, Bright Dawn// by Scott O’Dell during an Iditarod cross-curricular unit. Students are assigned a real-life musher to track as the actual Iditarod race progresses. Using a Google Earth map containing all of the race checkpoints, students complete 3-5 journal entries written from their musher’s perspective at specific checkpoints. Students also keep a log of their musher's daily progress at the Anchorage checkpoint, providing a summary of the race when their musher finishes. Following the race through Google Earth gives the students a sense of space, geography and terrain that enhances the creative writing process. The [|2009 Iditarod map] (Southern route) serves as the starting point for each student; basic instructions on how to open, add information, and save their maps are [|here]. The [|2010 Iditarod map] (Northern route) is ready for next year's race to begin!

Mrs. Choppin's 8th grade trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico
(Marees Choppin and Melissa Wert) Each spring after HH graduation, Mrs. Choppin takes a group of recently-graduated 8th grade Spanish students on a 10-day trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico to live with a Mexican family, study at a Spanish language immersion school, and visit interesting sites in the region. The [|attached map] provides the viewer with a tour of where the girls will be going! If you would like to take the virtual tour, open the file, go to Tools > Play Tour. You may visit any individual site by clicking on its name in the list of places.