| See the KID-CREATED category for additional tutorials and projects that invite students to create original puzzles, presentations, events, and more. |
If your upper elementary or middle school students have enjoyed any of these Google Earth virtual scavenger hunts, it might be interesting to have them try to create their own as part of a unit of study or an independent project to share with others.
GETTING STARTED
Virtual scavenger hunts are interactive. In other words, the viewer is not just taking the journey but is also looking for something- a location or a piece of information. Google Earth scavenger hunts take many forms, but understanding what a finished project might look like will help your students. So, before proposing this kind of project to students, definitely have them complete one of these scavenger hunts so that they understand the concept.
| NOTE: Projects can only be created on a computer using a fully-supported browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. However, once saved in Google Drive, they can be shared on tablets and mobile devices. |
A MORE COMPLEX PROJECT
The video tutorial below walks students through the steps I use when I create my virtual scavenger hunts. You can also use it to learn how to create one yourself! The tutorial includes guidance in integrating a story or theme and adding a title slide and other informative elements. If you have trouble viewing this video, you can also find it HERE.
VIDEO TUTORIAL ~ CREATING A GOOGLE EARTH SCAVENGER HUNT or MYSTERY
To create the puzzle sheet, students simply need to keep track of their clues, and then type up a fill-in-the-blank or fill-in-the-box document similar to this sample or the one shown below. The boxes are made by inserting tables.
There are many ways students can use the clues as elements in a simple puzzle at the end. This tool can be very helpful in creating puzzles, but students will have to determine how the letters and/or numbers in the clues will enter into the final puzzle. A cryptogram is one of the easier puzzles to create for a final task. The complexity of the final task is going to vary from class to class and student to student!
OTHER PROJECT IDEAS
Students might like to explore other Google Earth project ideas. You can find inspiration HERE and HERE.
RELATED RESOURCES
Creating With Google Earth: 10 Ideas to Try (Ditch That Textbook)
10 Google Earth Activities for Students That Bring the Wow Factor to Your Lessons
THANK YOU!!!! Sending you a “virtual hug” from me!! I can not wait to share this with my students! I want them to create a “scavenger hunt” for our state, filled with information, data, and as many interesting things as I can. THIS is sooo helpful!!!
Yay! Glad to hear that the tutorial will be useful for your project! Thank you for all you have done giving feedback. Looking forward to mentioning you and your class in November when I share about the “new and improved” Grinch Holiday Heist in my email and in the FB group! Keep us posted about how it goes with your students’ state projects!