Off to Nicaragua!

Off to Nicaragua!

If you are always looking for ways to incorporate the National Standards for Teaching Foreign Languages (Communication, Cultures, Communities, Comparisons, and Connections) in your classroom, even during your summer vacations, here is a simple and engaging activity to help students or your kids gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures. I learned this activity at a seminar I attended at the Northeast Conference for the Teaching of Foreign Languages. It was presented by Megan Packett, a K–5 Spanish teacher.

The purpose of this exercise is to use Google Maps to explore a Spanish-speaking country through maps and pictures.

Step 1: Open up your Internet Explorer.

Step 2: In the URL box enter http://www.google.com/.

Step 3: Click on Maps in the upper right corner.

Step 4: Type the name of a country. For example, type Nicaragua in the “Search Maps” box.

Step 5: Click on “Satellite” in the upper right corner of the map; this will change the view of your map to satellite images of Nicaragua.

Step 6: In the “Search Maps,” box type Managua, Nicaragua.

Step 7: To the right of your map, there is a tool bar with pictures and above it a link that reads “Explore this Area.” Click on this link.

Step 8: Now pictures of places in Managua, Nicaragua will appear all over the map. If you click a picture, it will enlarge it so you can see. Click on as many pictures as you want to see!

Now repeat the search for other cities in Nicaragua, exploring as many cities and pictures as you can to see what the country looks like. Other Nicaraguan cities you can explore are Leon, Masaya, and San Juan del Sur.

Step 9: In the URL box, type “Nicaragua + CIA World Factbook.” Students will learn facts and statistics of Nicaragua’s geography, people, government, economy, and more.

To finish the lesson and to reinforce the student’s knowledge about the studied country, you can prepare in advance a fill-in-the-blank exercise, which they can complete after reading about Nicaragua in the CIA World Factbook. For example:

1. Nicaragua’s Population____________
2. Nicaragua’s GDP_________________
3. Nicaragua’s illiteracy rate__________

Another option is for students to compare their own country with Nicaragua in terms of geography and economy, for instance.

I hope you have fun with this activity. Enjoy your break!