Tenth grade social studies: Using Google docs to make integrated proposal

The assignment for Mr. Eversman's class was simple: make a case for why a certain place would make a good spot for an English settlement in the colonies, circa 1620 or so.

Student objectives were:

1. Apply knowledge of colonial settlements to the new project
2. Navigate a map to determine topographical advantages
3. Research native peoples and trade economies

The project is written up as a scenario. The king of a foreign land has gained permission from England to build a settlement in one of the 13 colonies.  They will pose as a research team, presenting a proposal to the king as to which location would be the best choice.

They are to consider:

• Climate of the area
• Local native tribes 
• Trade economy
• Agriculture, fishing, and hunting opportunities
• Access to both fresh water and an ocean passage
• Natural resources

Jamestown, circa 1609

To put this all together, they used Google Maps or Google Earth to find places they found suitable. There was a lot of discussion and debate in the teams as to which places would make great spots. Once they had an idea, one group member worked with the map, and the other(s) worked on researching the other considerations.

Everything is written up on a shared Google document. One person in each group opens one document, and then shares it with the others in the group as well as Mr. Eversman. From there, multiple editors are able to work on the different components.

For the map, students used the screenshot feature (command+shift+4) to get a snapshot of the area of their settlement from the Google Map, and then dragged that photo from the desktop straight on their document, all the while another partner was writing the descriptive paragraph to accompany it. Some students used the Insert->Draw feature of their docs to bring the picture in, and then add arrows and words to mark parts of the area they chose.

As the work progresses, they will be make a complete sketch of the town they are building. Some use different online tools to do this digitally. Others do a paper and colored pencil sketch. Either way, the image is also added to the document.

The resulting project will be a combination of artistic representation, maps, and several written segments, all written and created by multiple editors.

At grading time, Mr. Eversman is able to open each of the projects from his computer or iPad, and leave comments connected to the rubric criteria. Students may improve the project based on this feedback.  He can then, at his leisure, add them to a shared folder and allow each student to take a look at the work their peers have done, or they could be published on a blog to share with the world!