I love Google My Maps to create interactive activities for students to explore with! A common question I run into when teachers want to start incorporating these virtual field trips is “How long do they take students to complete?”
Let’s Consider..
The length of time for the activity depends on a few factors:
- How old are your students?
- How familiar are they with technology? Have they ever done an interactive Google My Map before?
- Which language is the resource in? How will the language used affect their time to complete the resource?
In my experience, younger students will take a little longer to navigate the map. If your students are not in a 1:1 situation, or are brand new to these virtual field trips, it will also take them a little longer for their first one!
The language of the map, readings, and videos will also affect how long your students take! If they’re novice students interacting with a Spanish field trip, it will take them longer to read and comprehend the map. You know your students’ levels better than anyone, so take some time to glance at the markers on the map for yourself and see how your students will do!
So, how long?
In general, when I use map activities like this one in my classes, I do my usual start of class routine (roughly 8 minutes), then the map activity. I usually include a “sponge” or fast finisher activity just in case for my speediest students, but that is my lesson plan for a 45-50 minute class period with my high school Spanish 1s. When I taught middle school I found that the fast finisher was rarely needed!
Need a Fast Finisher Idea?
If you need something simple for fast finisher for your students, consider any of these options:
- Play Geoguessr
- If you’re completing a holiday map, consider watching an additional YouTube video on the topic. Dreaming Spanish is a great resource!
- A game from Rockalingua
- Choose from games at Spanish-games.net
- Printable Color by Conjugation sheets
Watch the Video with a Demo Lesson!
In this YouTube video, I share how I fit one of the virtual field trips into my lesson plan! Hopefully this helps give you a quick overview for how you could fit any of the virtual field trips into your plans.