Google Mapping Activity

My idea for this activity was to have students use the custom mapping tool to plan a day trip in Paris.  I would provide students with specific guidelines for what they had to include in their day trip and they would then have to find places and a mode of transportation to and from these places.  The guidelines for students might look something like this:

-Start the day in hotel or hostel.
-Find breakfast.
-Find a nearby park to eat breakfast.
-Find an afternoon excursion.
-Find a place to eat lunch.
-Find an activity to do after lunch.
-Find a place to eat dinner.
-Find a site that has a wonderful nighttime view.
-End the day in the same hotel or hostel.

In addition to students finding the aforementioned places, they would also have to show the method of travel they would take be it walking, bus, or metro.  What I would really like to do with this assignment would be to add actual walking, bus, or metro directions showing accurate paths and distances.  For some reason, I had a really hard time getting this feature to work.  It seems as if there are two different versions of this tool, Classic Google Maps and some updated version.  The updated version (which I was working with) didn't seem very well supported.  All the support tools reverted to Classic Google Maps.  Nonetheless, I was still able to add descriptions that detailed how I would get about, which would still prove a valid learning experience.

What's great about this lesson is that it could be extended in multiple ways.  First, students could write descriptions in French to practice grammar and composition.  Second, students could detail the prices of meals and excursions in order to understand prices and budgeting abroad.  Or, students could provide historical information about a particular place to gain a new historical perspective.  Overall, fun tool with lots of possibilities.  I only wish the help and tutorials provides extended to every version.

*Please note I only created the first half of this activity to provide an example of what students would be expected to create.