Last March, the second graders released four travel bugs out into the world. A travel bug is a trackable item that moves from place to place through the sport of geocaching. At the end of this month, Shorecrest 2nd graders will release four more bugs.
Creating the Bugs:
Many people attach their trackable tags to items such as key chains, stuffed toys, or other small objects. Shorecrest travel bugs are special because everyone in the class has a chance to contribute to its creation. Using my class SmartBoard and the drawing program Early Learning Toolkit, each child in the class drew one part of the bug, adding on to what was drawn before them. Next, each class voted on a name for their bug as well as wrote the goal for their bugs.
Travel Bug Names & Goals:
Curly Q. (Ms. Graham's Class) would like to see Mount Rushmore.
Sparky (Miss Hartz's Class) would like to reach Hawaii.
Mrs. Swirly Whirl (Ms. Cameron's Class) would like to visit the Sears Tower.
Firefoot (Mrs. O'Mullane's Class) would like to stop in New York to see the Statue of Liberty and then visit the Grand Canyon.
Tracking the Travel Bugs
As travel bugs are retrieved from and dropped off in caches, their movements are logged on the Geocaching.com website. I have set my account to send me email notifications anytime a bug is moved. This allows me to give the classes weekly updates. The students will then use Google Earth to record each bug's travels. In addition, I have a large map in my classroom where the students will place pins when the bugs are moved.
Teaching geography through travel bugs couldn't be more fun!
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