What did Tripp students do on December 9? “We traveled around North America in less than 10 steps,” said an anonymous student.

National Geographic released a traveling map of North America to share with several Maine towns. Tripp Middle School was one of the eight school districts in Maine selected to receive it. The map was 26 feet by 35 feet, with an area of 910 square feet.

Each group of seventh graders at Tripp enjoyed two different activities on longitude and latitude. The instructor, Ms. Susan Lahti of Maine Geographic Alliance, helped the students learn more about North America. “I learned facts about the locations of different places, such as Alaska being the 49th state, different peninsulas around North America, and different names and locations of bodies of water.” – Matthew Child.

Our first activity was a race to locate different areas around the map. “I learned and got to experience latitude and longitude in a fun way, it’s different, because you were actually walking on the globe. It was an interactive learning experience.” – Taylor Ouellette. Walking on the map showed how the lines of latitude stayed the same distance apart, while lines of longitude got closer together. Members of our class were split into groups of four. Each player got a card and a cone.Their task was to find the absolute location.

The second activity was a simple game of “Simon Says.” With all the students on the map we were told different directions such as, Simon says stand on the largest island in North America.” Within four questions, we had crowned a winner.

At the end of our 40 minute adventure across North America, we’d learned more than expected. Hands-on activities can really improve student learning and we’re all excited about the mystery map that will be revealed next year.

Special thanks to Mrs. Renee Davis, Ms. Judith Reed, and Mr. Mark Thibodeau , our geography teachers at Tripp, for making this possible.