Some students were in my room this afternoon during lunch using my laptops. One student was using the USA Track & Field website to map out a route he would be running this weekend. Another student, Jose, was sitting next to him and looking to find his house.
"Jose," I said, "see if you can find your town in Mexico."
He got this look on his face, this, wonder struck look.
"Oh, yeah," he said, "I never thought about doing that."
So, he went to the general Google maps page and zoomed in on Texas.
"Now, where is the Rio Grande," he said.
He found the river, but was a little upset that it was so long.
I suggest he do a search for a town name he remembered. He googled Eagle Pass, TX and the excitement increased.
"Here's the church we used to go to."
"Here's the place where my mom's house used to be."
"Here's where we would go to the flea market."
"Here's where we would cross over."
"Here's where a border patrol agent shot a lady while she was crossing."
I asked how long it had been since he had visited - 6 years.
No lesson I could have created on reading maps or autobiography could have rivaled what took place this afternoon. A site I use all the time to get directions or find a new running store did more than that today. It helped me to connect with one of my students. It helped him visit home.
technorati tags:google, texas, usatf, lep, education, esol
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