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Smarty Pins is a fun game that teaches (or assesses) geography and trivia. Go to: https://smartypins.withgoogle.com/
There are categories to choose from including March Madness, Arts and Culture, Science and Geography, Sports and Game, Entertainment, and History and Current Events.
Choose a category and begin the game! You start off with 1,000 miles. You can also get a bonus if you answer the question quickly. Basically, you are given a question and your job is to place a pin on the Google map for the correct answer to the question. When you answer a question incorrectly, the miles you are off on your answer is deducted from that 1,000 miles. Once you run out of miles, your game is over and you are shown how many questions you answered correctly.
Here are some ideas on using Smarty Pins in the classroom:
§ You can play as a whole class. Project the game and either individuals or teams can come up to the Smart Board and answer the questions.
§ You can use this game as a research practice game. Allow students “Google” the answer using an iPad, phone, or laptop. If they are in teams, one student can find the answer and another can find where the pin goes on Google Maps!
§ This can be a pairs project. Two students with one device. One is looking for the answer, the other places the pin. They can compete against other teams for the most questions answered correctly. However, each team will have different questions because they come up randomly.
Check out the VIDEO!
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