Have you ever discovered a website that you just cannot wait to share with others? This week’s free find is Google Lit Trips. Imagine for a moment that you are reading Robert McCloskey’s classic story Make Way for Ducklings to your class. You read about their journey and while the students get a sense for the area where the ducklings are traveling, it is not quite a concrete image. Insert Google Lit Trips’ Make Way for Ducklings and, suddenly, your students will be transported to the very same streets in Boston, MA as the ducklings. It’s a great way to bring literature to life!
What are Google Lit Trips?
Geared toward a variety of ages, Google Lit Trips can be found for everything from picture books to young adult novels. The trips are completely free and all that is needed is a free Google Earth download on your computer. Some of the trips are even student created which makes for a fantastic high school or middle school project idea. Interested in a trip not listed? You can suggest it and hope that it gets made.
For the middle and high school crowds, there’s Lit Trips for books like The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis and Night by Elie Wiesel. Even Macbeth and The Odyssey have found their way into becoming Google Lit Trips! You can check out all of the available titles here.
If you want to take the idea further, consider having your class create their own Google Earth Field Trip. They can map out the locations around their city, state, or country where they would like to visit and see the areas up close. Geography, literature, and technology instruction all in one lesson? That’s what Google Lit Trips help you provide.
Do you use Google Lit Trips in your lessons already? If so, share with us your favorite Lit Trips! New to the site? Share which books you would like to see mapped out!
Amy says
This looks wonderful…Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to try it out.
Jennifer says
Sounds like a great site, I am checking it out now.
Regina says
This is great! I just took an online course this summer integrating literature and technology into science. Now I have a resource for social studies!
Wendi Richert says
This is absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to explore and share with my new friends in a couple of weeks!
Brook Nelson says
This looks awesome! I will have to check it out!
Jessi Lowe says
I have seen this used and it is AWESOME! I like that it has a search by grade level, especially since I’m switching from 3rd to 1st this year! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maureen says
What a great idea!
Jennifer Votaw says
Thanks for sharing this. I am the tech coordinator for my building and I will be sharing this with the staff.
Cheryl says
This is so cool! Love it! I can’t wait to to use it with my class! 🙂
Jill says
This website sounds amazing! I love being able to help my students connect to literature. Thanks for sharing!
Jerome Burg says
Brandi,
I checked Twitter today to see if I could determine a reason for the unusual traffic levels for Google Lit Trips today and found a tweet to you blog. I wanted to thank you for your kind words. Thanks to people like you Google Lit Trips is set to reach the 1 millionth visitor sometime in the next 3-4 days!
Look for lots of new facets coming very soon!
Jerome Burg
founder, GoogleLitTrips.org
Brandi Jordan says
Hi Jerome!
It was a pleasure featuring the site! What a wonderful resource for teachers! Congratulations on your 1 millionth visitor to be! =)
~Brandi
Christy H says
WOW! This sounds like a wonderful resource! I can’t wait to try it out and share it with my class and co-workers!
Sharon says
Thanks for sharing. I will have to check it out.
Danielle says
What a great idea. I have already shared it with the teachers in the elementary school. All of our classrooms just got SmartBoards. What a great way to start using them!
Mary Feagley says
Looking forward to using this with my 9th graders! Does anyone know if it is easy to create a trip?
Amy says
Another great teaching tool. What an exciting way to bring books to life and incorporate technology!
Amy says
What a neat way to incorporate technology
Lori Archer says
Cool! Thanks for sharing this resource. We read that book in spring so this will be a great resource then.
Erine says
This sight is awesome for all grades! Wow! Can’t wait to use it with my students and share it with my fellow staff members!
Jolene Lanier says
I forgot all about this site! Thanks for the reminder. I used it with my 6th graders one year. It is awesome!
Megan says
Thanks for sharing Brandi, I can’t wait to check it out this year.