Students Can Achieve Higher Levels of Critical Thinking with Spreadsheets
Students creating and working with spreadsheets will gain increased organizational skills and knowledge that will benefit them throughout their academic and professional careers, particularly in understanding databases. Students who show interest and/or talent, can be shown MS Office Access tutorial and encouraged to develop some applications.
Spreadsheet activities challenge students to advance their thinking skills and encourage them to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information and data. It encourages and promotes scientific inquiry and analysis. These higher ordered thinking skills are exactly what students need for the 21st century and beyond.
Spreadsheets and databases are a fun, interactive computer activities that will grab and challenge your students to conquer and acheive greater levels of thinking and problem solving in all aspects of their life.
Spreadsheets and databases are used throughout all industries to organize information. A spreadsheet is not a database, and it is certainly not a relational database. For examples of relational databases, programming and analysis using them, see my programming samples tab. Originally this website was created for a Technology Education class I attended for future teachers in 2008. At that time, the professor and less than technically savvy students who were to become teachers looked at spreadsheets as databases. As I am smart, I wrote my tab regarding what the Prof called "Databases" (which was actually a spreadsheet) as a database. I am not in the position to argue or debate a PhD professor, who, by the way, was a brilliant and fabulous teacher, who probably knew the difference between the two, but decided to give baby steps to the, then, barely technologically literate future teachers in a classroom. I listen to the professor; do as told + 250%; get an A...I am a smart lady. It has come to my attention that people are actually reading my website and commenting on the topics provided, therefore, I am trying to update this old website, used to illuminate future potential Elementary principals interested in hiring a geek who would like to be a teacher, and elevate the academic and technological literacy of your average American student.
World Geography - End of Chapter Review - Spreadsheet Project
Geography Review - Project to be given at the end of World Geography chapter as a wrap up and re-enforcement / re-learning review about the continents, longitude, latitude, equator, prime meridian, and physical location geography with insight and discussion into population and human geography while reinforcing how to read a map and graphs, use maps and geographical information, online and in books, on maps and globes.
The Lesson
Within a one hour class period, students will be able to read and analyze a map and associated graph to determine various countries land area, population, capital, longitude, latitude in groups of four with 85% accuracy.
The Plan
Within a one hour class period, students will be assigned into groups of four. The attached 3 page map will be taped onto a large off white construction paper with a grid, a heading and the list of project team member names. Extra points for neatness, creativity and additional information added. Each team member will be given 5 of the 20 countries on the spreadsheet (psuedo database) and will find and fill in:
There will be a sample completed project on the whiteboard (with some but not all answers.)
The following day, the students will be given the black and white world globe and asked to label the longitude and latitude, prime meridian and equator, and to color and label the continents of the world, and make a key.
Suitable for hanging in hallway or classroom, impressing parents, principals, and other teachers, and students.
The following day, they can use these maps to measure the distance from Howell, NJ to each country capital.
The following day, they can highlight the time zones of the world.
The following day, they can highlight the bodies of water and mountain ranges.
This weeklong geography review project meets and exceeds the NJ CCCS for the fourth grade in Social Studies Standard 6.6 A1 through A6.
SWBAT identify major countries, continents, bodies of water and muntain ranges of the world. ((66A5)
Locate the time zones, latitude, longitude and the global grid (66A6)
Describe and demonstrate different ways to measure distance (miles, kilometers, time) (66A2)
Estimate distances between two places on a map using a scale of miles (66A3)
Following, students can sort data by continent and add major cities and industries, products, imports, exports.
This can be turned into a monthlong project and we could use and build the spreadsheet and/or create an actual database as a class.
Mrs. Bs 4th Grade World Geograhy Spreadsheet
Page 1 of World Map & Graph
Page 2 of World Map & Graph
Page 3 of World Map & Graph
World Globe in Black & White
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