Group+E

Learning Activity 6-B-1

// Very Good, with good support. A good final copy that illustrates collaboration. CK .//
 * FINAL COPY**

Part A: 7/06: Tara, I have uploaded a SEA for the June 8 map. Go ahead and revise as you see appropriate. I will look at Parts B and C tomorrow morning. 7/09: Steve, I had completed an SEA for the June 8 map as well. I compared your SEA to my SEA, and I found that they were fairly similar, though yours had some more detail than my own. I think this version of the SEA is accurate and complete.

Part B 7/07: Tara, I took a look at several of the maps from December, 1944, beginning with the one from Dec. 15,just before the Battle of the Bulge, and then the next 3 days, as the battle's early ferocity was reaching its peak. The maps show the lack of accurate intelligence in the days leading up to the Battle of the Bulge. On the Dec. 15 map, there is a large gap in German forces in the middle of the front., with large concentrations of forces on the two ends. There are also many question marks next to German icons, indicating uncertainty about enemy positions. By the Dec. 18 map, the distribution of German forces is evenly distributed across the front, a much more accurate depiction of reality. The lack of accurate info before Dec. 18 is the main reason the Germans were able to advance as far as they did during the battle.

The info on these maps would be very useful in high school to illustrate the difficulties of accurate intelligence during wartime. The maps would also illustrate the need for a military to be able to respond quickly when its intelligence is shown to be in error. The maps would help students learn more than just the facts of a battle. They would come to appreciate "why" the battle developed as it did. // This is very true. The map can really show it from a stratigic point of view. CK .//

7/09: Steve, I viewed the additional maps which you have listed above. I agree with their usefulness in the classroom. I definitely believe that these maps provide students with insights and visuals that they wouldn't necessarily receive from a textbook. I think it provides an interesting perspective on how military intelligence was established and communicated in a time before modern technologies. What a great perspective to share with our students.

To use the maps effectively, students need to have prior knowledge of the basic details of the battles that the maps are depicting. The prior knowledge puts the info on the maps in context. Without the prior knowledge, the maps would be fairly meaningless and difficult to interpret.// Grant it, the maps would give students more insight than most texts, but the texts can give students the base they need to understand and learn from the maps. CK .//

7/09: Steve, I agree with the prior knowledge you have described above. Had I not done some research of my own, I am not sure the maps would have made sense to me. I do think that in order for the maps to have meaning and for students to gain perspective, they must first have some background knowledge as to the basics of the battles being depicted.// These maps could also be used as a way to help students learn to do research (to understand the maps). CK .//

I would use these maps in the classroom with a projector as part of an interactive lecture so that the entire class could work together to interpret them.// Good. CK .//

7/09: Steve, In addition to using the project, it might be interesting to have groups of students view different maps prior to the whole class interpretation. If all of the students had a similar prior knowledge, it would be interesting to see their interpretations as the whole class pieced each map together.// That could be quite interesting. CK .//

Part C 7/08: Tara, my suggestion for other subject areas where maps would prove useful is in math, particularly calculus. Students would be given a map showing two points of longitude and latitude. The assignment would be to calculate the distance between the two points. I'm not a math whiz, so I don't really know how to do it, but I know it can be done. You could also use the same formula, slightly revised, to determine the exact midpoint between the two points.

7/09: Steve, I am glad you tackled the math cross over. I know it can be done, but I am not skilled in interpreting maps through a mathematical lense. It would also be interesting to use maps in the Language Arts classroom. I think that after the class analyzed the maps they could write narratives as if they were the commander explaining what the next steps were for a particular battle. Additionally, I think these maps could be used in a foreign language classroom to help explain geography of a country. You might also be able to use these maps in a drafting class as well.

7/09: Tara, good idea about using them in such a creative way in language arts! And I had not even thought about drafting, but that sort of goes along with math, especially geometry.// These are good connections to other subject areas. It is surprizing how many subjects maps could be used with. CK .//

I am going out of town for the weekend. I am pleased with your input. If you don't have any other ideas, go ahead and mark this as the Final Draft. I will be out of reach of my computer for two days.