Provided by: Google Earth |Published on: April 27, 2021
Interactive Media Grades 6-8, 9-12
Synopsis
This interactive time-lapse map lets students explore changes to land, water, or ice in 18 different locations around the world using Google Earth satellite imagery.
Images date back to 1984 and include changes in glaciers, lakes, forests, coastlines, rivers, urban areas, and industrial sites.
Students will explore changes in Alaska, Las Vegas, California, Brazil, Australia, Chile, Germany, China, India, Peru, Bolivia, Dubai, Alberta, Madagascar, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Myanmar.
Subjects: Biology, Earth and Space Sciences, Geography
Authors: Google Earth
Region: Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America, South and Central America, USA - Northeast, USA - West, United States, Oceania, New Jersey, California, Nevada, Alaska
Seeing the changes to the Earth from satellite imagery is a powerful way to introduce students to a number related topics.
The progression of images can be paused and clicked through at the student's pace.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the terms deforestation, mining, expansion, meandering, urban, infrastructure, and glacier.
Using wireless Internet or a slower connection may take longer for the images to load.
Differentiation
Students can use this resource as a whole-class activity, in groups, or individually.
Cross-curricular connections could be made with social studies, economics, and history classes when considering our current and historical use of land for agricultural purposes, natural resources, trade routes, or cities.
Ecology courses could use this resource to identify areas where wild populations may have been fragmented or isolated and connect it to biodiversity loss using this resource, this video on humans and biodiversity.