Selected Lessons/Activities for Geospatial Analysis Rebecca Gentry

Geospatial Analysis Lessons –presented in order done during the school year GPS Scavenger Hunt Buttonology Map Analysis Haiti Superfund Site Analysis Temperature Patterns on campus

GPS Scavenger Hunt Instructions: In groups of 3, you will be traveling around the high school, using the GPS units to identify certain “landmarks”. There are 10 landmarks listed, though you will be only assigned to find 2 spots. The landmarks/areas around the school and their latitude and longitude coordinates are listed below. Using the GPS unit, locate 2 of the locations (I will tell your group which 2 you need to find.) Mark the point on the map and give a brief description of where you are located. This is a timed activity. The team that returns after having found their assigned points with the lowest time will be declared the winner. You will be disqualified if you enter the school. Point 1: N, WPoint 2: N, W Point 3: N, WPoint 4: N, W Point 5: N, WPoint 6: N, W Point 7: N, WPoint 8: N, W Point 9: N, WPoint 10: N, W combinations for group assignments: 1,102,43,75,96,8 Mark your location with a large X. Write a detailed description of your locations here:

Buttonology: This lesson is designed to help you learn about the functions of the buttons on the toolbar for Arc. Knowing the basic functions of the toolbar can save you time and frustration when working on an Arc project. draw/sketch the button icon on each button on the toolbar. write the name of the button. The name of the button will appear when you hold the cursor over that specific button for a few seconds. write a brief description of what happens when you click the button (or what window appears.) (NOTE: you can always close the pop-up window by clicking on the “x” in the upper right hand corner of the window.) SketchButton NameDescription

Map Analysis: Look at the map you have been given. Write a few sentences about what you can learn from this map. Not a general statements about their being different colors but SPECIFICS and trends/patterns you see. Work independently and then you will be paired with the other student who has the same map number. Together, write a thorough analysis.

Map 1

Investigating the Haiti Earthquakes, January 2010Investigating the Haiti Earthquakes, January 2010 Summary This lesson invites you to investigate the devastating earthquakes in January 2010 and compare them to past earthquakes using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as the investigative tool. You will have the opportunity to examine fault lines, population, ocean floors, plate boundaries, volcanoes, and other data to get a complete sense of some of the physical and cultural geography of the Caribbean Sea region. GIS Level This lesson is intended for secondary and university students at an intermediate level of GIS understanding and skills. The lesson is not written in step-by-step format, and assumes an intermediate level of understanding of how to symbolize, conduct queries, and run some geoprocessing functions within ArcMap. GIS Skills Engaged GIS skills in this lesson include the use of ArcGIS Desktop software to query, buffer, create layouts, summarize, graph, and perform other functions on vector data.

T EMPERATURE P ATTERNS AT H ERNDON H IGH S CHOOL CHANGES TO BE MADE FOR : 1. GIVE DIFFERENT GROUPS DIFFERENT MATERIALS TO LOOK AT SO THEY ARE NOT ALL DUPLICATING THE SAME DATA. 2. DO PROJECT AT THE BEGINNING OF 4 TH QUARTER SO IT IS NOT SO COLD OUTSIDE. 3. GIVE EACH MEMBER OF THE GROUP AN ASSIGNMENT/SPECIFIC TASK AND GRADE THEM INDIVIDUALLY ON THAT TASK SO THAT NON- WORKING GROUPS MEMBERS ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING. Temperature varies from surface to surface. Every material absorbs heat from the sun differently. In this activity you will compare the changes in temperature between different surfaces of your school campus. Purpose: To investigate the differential heating on the Herndon High School campus. Collect temperature data and draw conclusions for how/why different areas/surfaces heat differently. In the end, you will make a presentation to a variety of interested parties (administrative staff, faculty members, community members, etc.) Deliverables per group of students: A protocol for taking temperatures; written analysis for each map (this should be no more than a paragraph or two); and a 5-6 slide PowerPoint presentation including 3 maps showing the data you collected (graduated color, graduated symbol, interpolated data points/contour-isotherm).

Superfund Site Midterm Project This project is divided into several components. Part 1: Gathering information (1-1 ½ class periods) Background Information/Knowledge Acquisition Part 2: Using GIS to answer questions (2 class periods) Based on the information you have learned about Superfund sites, how sites become listed on the NPL, what hazardous waste is and what/who is at risk from hazardous waste, you are now going to investigate a specific Proposed NPL Site. You will be assigned a specific Proposed NPL Site to investigate. You will need to use the Workflow and the information you learned completing the Flowing Railroad Site activity to produce the following deliverables: Basemap of the area Site map that identifies who/what is at risk Information you may want to use to answer questions about your site: NPL Narrative; HRS Documentation Record (these can be found at the following website: ) Part 3: Writing a report (done on own time) 2-4 pages Double-spaced, 12 point font, standard margins Part 4: Presenting Results (1 class period: done on January 19 and January 20) The Superfund Site Presentation will be evaluated based on the following: Completed on time Able to work with group members 3-5 minute presentation Able to answer class posed questions Stayed on task and focused during other presentations

SITE 2

SITE 10