 Project: Geography gameGrade Level: Grades 3-8
Project Level:
 Curriculum Area(s): Geography, Science
Features we use:
 conference permissions (more information) SummaryEntice your students into practicing their geography skills in a real-life context by turning it into a game. You can keep the game within your classroom, or expand it globally.
The object of this game is to figure out the each city you have chosen based on clues. The person who gets the most number correct wins!
Teacher guidelinesIf you are in touch with other teachers around the world, ask them to submit the details of their cities based on the questions below, and have students guess their locations. The other teachers can do the same thing for their own classes, and all the information can be submitted in individual documents in a conference that everyone has access to.
Younger students may have difficulty with the latitudes, and may need extra assistance here.
InstructionsSTEP 1: Create the FirstClass environment.
1 Create a Geography Game conference in a location where students can access it, like a classroom conference. Within this conference, create two subconferences called Answers and Submissions.
2 For the Geography Game conference, give yourself Controller permissions and your students Contributor permissions.
3 For the Answers subconference, give yourself Controller permissions, and All Users Disallowed.
4 For the Submissions subconference, give yourself Controller permissions and your students Write-only access.
 Note Click here for guidance with permissions.
STEP 2: Choose your cities.
1 Create a document in the Answers subconference called Answers. Within it, list a number of cities. You can choose them based on what you are studying, or pick them at random.
2 For each location, answer the following questions:
a What is the latitude of the city?
b In which time zone is it located?
c Describe the winter season in the area. Include temperatures, precipitation, and seasonal dress.
d List any prominent land forms in the area and name the closest river. How far is the city from this river?
e Name the points of interest or tourist attractions in the area.
f What is the population of the city?
g From the state capital, in what direction(s) is the city located?
h For whom or for what is the city famous?
3 Add any other questions you like, but remember not to make the answer too obvious.
STEP 3: Create a Questions document.
Within the Geography Game conference, create a Questions document:
• preface each city with "WHO AM I?"
• list the clues under each, and separate each city with a horizontal line.
STEP 4: Set a deadline and post it in the classroom calendar.
You can post the details in a new group calendar within the Geography game conference, or within an existing classroom calendar.
1 Create a Rules document in the Geography game conference listing details such as the deadline, the resources students can (or cannot) use, and the prize(s).
2 Review the rules with students, and tell them to submit their answers to the Submissions conference.
You might want to start with a whole-class discussion of the game and go over the identifying characteristics of the description items. Discuss latitudes, time zones, land forms, points of interest, tourist attractions, state capitals, and nearby rivers as needed.
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