In 2020, the structure of counties in Norway changed. We got bigger and fewer counties. The Learning goal of this lesson, is that the students can work with and get to know the new counties.
This lesson has four steps, and instruction videos that explain for the student’s what they are expected to do.
Plan:
First, students will watch an EdPuzzle video that explains the reason behind the change, and what the new counties are. There are questions in the video to make sure the students understand the content and pay attention.
Step two: depending on the size of the class, students work alone or in groups in a google spreadsheet about one of the 11 new counties (11 groups in total). There is one spreadsheet for each county, and I have created a template that the students have to fill out.
Step three: I have made a google slide presentation, where each slide has the name of one county each. The students have to copy the information from their sheet to the slide. The whole class will present the presentation together, and the students will teach each other about the counties they know have become “experts” on.
Step four: nearpod exercises where the students can practice what they have learned.
Reflections: This is a highly relevant and interesting topic for most students, because this has been one of the biggest political topics in Norway for a long time, and it affects all students. The EdPuzzle video allows students to work and investigate at their own pace. I believe It will be easier for the students to work in the spreadsheet than on a slide, and the “copy and paste” maneuver is a valuable skill to practice for elementary school students. The last nearpod exercise allows the students to work and process new information with interactive tools.
I wanted to work in MyMaps and Google Earth, instead of Google Slide, but could not really come up with a very easy solution for how to make that work. MyMaps had a limit of 10 layers, and I think it would be too many students in one map, if they didn't have one specific layer to stick to. Google Earth can make 11 layers, but does not have the collaborative opportunities MyMaps has.
Revision: I would make one gmail account all students could use to log in to Google Earth, and make a layer for each county there.