Activity 1:

We live on planet Earth. If we were to travel out into space, and loo back at it, what would it look like? A giant marble, probably not. What would we be able to see and identify on the Earth? for our globe project, you and your partner will need a number of materials: balloons (rounder the better), yarn, newspaper, ripped onto strips, water , flour, and Elmer's glue. Mix the water, flour and a 'dab' of Elmer's glue (not to thick not to thin). This will be your paper meche. Dip each strip of newspaper into the mixture, remove any excess paper meche, and lay them on your balloon until it is completely covered. Make sure that the strips are smoth, and that the globe is not too wet. As the globe dries, identify and color the seven continents on a blank word map that will be proportionate in size to the balloon. When the balloon is dry paint it blue. The blue will be the four oceans. Draw, in pencil, the equator. Use it as a guide when you cut out, and glue your continents in their appropriate locations on the globe. Label the four oceans. When you have finished, use yarn and glue, accordingly, to represent the equator, prine meridian, and international date line (and maybe even the tropics). You can also use the same methods, besides the paper meche, to create your own world map.

Activity 2:

For this activity, you will have needed to have made a paper mache globe. What shape is the Earth, or a globe? Be careful, it's not a circle. It's actually a sphere. If we cut one of your globes in half along the equator, what do we have, a half of sphere. We call this a hemisphere. Let's do the same with another globe, and cut along the prime meridian and international date line. You can also cut, and represent the hemispheres on a worls map. Use your cardinal directions and identify the northern, southern, eastern and western hemispheres. Start with New York. What hemispheres is New York in? Do the same for other locations on the globe.

Activity 3:

A globe is a three dimensional representation of the Earth. Now, let's switch gears, and work on a one dimensional view, a world map. this project will require a computer and the AppleWorks program, but you will be able to use similar programs to complete the same task. First, create from slide in AppleWorks drawing. Locate the globes in the Library, and arrange them in the correct order on the four slides. After creating a black background on each slide, label the continents and oceans on each slide. Now, draw the equator, the prime meridian, and international date line on each slide. Remember the prime meridian and international date line will not appear on every slide. Next, identify and label the four hemispheres. Finally, you are ready to run your slide show.

Activity 4:

There are a number of different ways that you can do this project, and they're all up to you. First step is choosing a median: using the AppleWorks slides as we did in Activity 3, or on a world map. Our objective is going to be tracing different water routes on our globes or maps. You may want to choose European explorers of North America, or you may want to identify products we import and trace possible routes to our country, specifically New York City. In any case, you will want to create a color-coded legend for your map or globe. Beware there are short-cuts such as the Panama and Suez Canals. you may want to use them.

Activity 5:

We have talked a lot about maps and cardinal and intermediate directions, but we have yet to approach ow all this affects how we live down here on planet Earth. The lines of longitude and latitude are imaginary lines. the Earths axis is far from imaginary. the tilt from the axis and the revolutions of the Earth determine day and night, and the four seasons. Use the internet, and visit a Solar System Simulator at http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ Your viewpoint and targetshould be set at Earth as viewed from the Sun. Click run Simulator. What does the Earth look like on this date? What hemispheres, continents can you identify? Alter the date and time. Be aware of the fact that the simulator is set for GMT, Greenwich Mean Time (England). New York City is five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. Try different months, being conscious of what season it is. How does the tilt of the axis during different seasonsalter your view of Earth, and the amount of sunlight the Earth recives? How is sunlight regulated by time, season, and the tilt of the axis? Compare and contrast your views. Explore views of other planets and vantage points, as well.