In my classroom I had a collection of globes displayed throughout the room. One of my favorite back-to-school activities was 'Classroom Detective' where students had to explore the room and get to know the space. The last question was always: How many globes does Mrs. Oas have? I remember hearing "Oh, there's another one!" or "That one has two globes on it!" or even "Don't forget the globe pen on her desk!" I think there were so many globes they often counted them multiple times.
Oh well.
The take away?
They knew I LOVED globes! This then lead into sharing my passion of traveling and learning about the world as much as I could!
My 2nd favorite activity is then teaching geography and some basic map skills with a 'Me on the Map' flipbook. I originally saw examples online but never felt inspired by what was out there... so I did what I often do... I CREATED my own!
I would cut and paste all the different layers of maps starting with the Earth and slowly working down to our school neighborhood. I assembled the books and copied all the maps they would need to cut and paste and we'd work a little each day to finish by the end of the week.
This is what a finished flipbook would look like:
We'd hang them around the room and at the end of the year I would put them into their 'Memory Books' to save as a keepsake.
As I've been creating products for TpT I just knew I needed to create a digital version of this flipbook so others could share my LOVE of geography too! I had to brainstorm the best way to make it accessible for each state, so it didn't require too much 'extra prep' on the teachers to get them ready.
What did I end up with?
50 INDIVIDUAL US STATE 'Me on the Map' FLIPBOOKS!
It's been a long week getting them published but they're ready to go!
I LOVE how the new digital version that's READY-TO-PRINT turned out and hope they'll be useful for others too!
Click here to find your state and download: Me on the Map Flipbooks
As I wrap this up here at home, sitting in our 'office' and staring at the hanging world map thinking, where will we travel next? I hope you all continue to explore the world around you and travel often!
Find your balance,
Shelby Oas
