Map Mashup in Children's Literature

Inspired by the website on Google Lit Trips, I decided to create a Lit Trip of my own based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books for a 3rd or 4th grade language arts class. The placemarks on the map include brief summaries about the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, her family, and an overview of the book or books set at each location. I also found web sites created by the historical societies at each of these cities related to Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books, all of which provide historical background, and information about these locations in the present day. This mashup could serve as a resource for either an in class study of one of these books, or for students' independent reading. This is a technology tool that has the ability to connect literature, biography, history, and geography. Pretty cool, in my opinion. I'm always interested in ways to make literature more accessible to students. I also love tools and activities that make connections across the curriculum.

For older students (upper elementary and middle school), if given lessons in class about how to use Google Maps and create their own mashups, this technology could be used by students themselves to create book reports and other projects. When creating a book report about a book that has a variety of locations discussed or just a unique setting, Google Maps could be a useful tool. Students could also create their own maps in science and social studies to map out important historical events, geographical locations including cultural information, landforms, and geological sites around the world. For myself, I know that locating places I'm learning about or reading about on a map can definitely help increase my understanding, allowing me to explore distances from one location to another or even where a place is in relation to where I live. Map mashups are even more useful because of their ability to include links, photos, and other supplementary information right on the map. This makes this technology interactive and also keeps a variety of information all in one place. I would like to think that students could gain the same understanding through map mashups in the classroom, whether they are teacher or student created.

Here is my map based on the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder:


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