"Education is a social process; education is growth;
education is not a preparation for life but is life itself." -- John Dewey
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Welcome from Terry Smith, Your Project Coordinator:
Greetings to all teams! I'll be coordinating the information flow and activities of the Landmark Games. We'll have two levels of play again this year: Landmark Primary (Group A and Group B) and Landmark Challenge. School teams may choose to participate in one of these levels. The games will be carried out separately, but on the same timeline.
Landmark Primary Game:
Primary Clues must have at least (1) one coordinate (latitude or longitude); (2) at least 1 relevant associated date; and (3) a hemisphere-related clue.
If subject matter such as math or history is used to give clues, it should fall within the reasonable knowledge area of kids ages 9 - 11. Clues should be fact-based as much as possible. Finally, the Landmark must exist or have existed at one time in history on planet Earth.
Landmark Challenge Game:
This is the Pro game. Challenge Clues are open-ended as in our past Landmark projects. Our advanced players should keep in mind that the game is more rewarding and fun when others have enough information to make some progress. Remember that students from around the world are reading your clues. This means that some "local" clues might be impossible to figure out. Please think globally.
EXAMPLE CLUES:
Here are the Clues from one of last year's top scoring teams in the Primary Group - Mrs. Lowe's grade 4 in Australia. All nine of her class clues were sent to the project coordinator. The clues were then posted, 3 at a time, over a 3-week period. See the dates below under Playing the Game.
week 1:
1. This landmark was an internment camp during World War I.
2. Several naturally occurring salt lakes can be found at this landmark.
3. This landmark has more than 13 shipwrecks in the surrounding area.
week 2:
4. More than 500,000 people visit this landmark each year.
5. This landmark is located 18 kilometres off the coast.
6. This landmark is 11 kilometres long.
week3:
7. This landmark was named in 1696.
8. You can find this landmark between 100 and 125 degrees east longitude.
9. This landmark is in the southern hemisphere.
Answer: Rottnest Island
Project Timeline
Phase I: Joining and Sending Clues
1. Teachers register free with Kidlink - Registration Page Link.
2. Next, send the following Landmark Project information to smithterryk@gmail.com between Feb 1 and Feb 16.
The deadline for joining is is February 16, 2013. I will confirm that I have received your info by email.
<> Choose your level: Primary or Challenge
<> School name, address, phone, skype, twitter, blog, web.
<> Email address for playing the game
<> Contact person name and email
<> Number of students, age/grade level
3. Send your nine clues and your answer to smithterryk@gmail.com before February 16, 2013.
Communicate with Other Kidlink Teachers:
Kidlink has a Forum space for teachers to send an introduction of your team and school. This is an ideal way to meet other teachers and extend your personal learning network with professionals around the world.
Phase II - Playing the Game - Feb 20 to March 11, 2013
On the following Mondays, a set of 3 clues from each team will be posted at the project site under Landmark Clues. You will need to look in either the Primary Clues (Group A or B) or the Challenge Clues.
Monday Feb 18
Monday Feb 25
Monday Mar 4
During Phase II, students study the clues, and develop yes/no questions that will lead to the unknown landmarks of other teams in their playing level. ONE yes/no question may be asked by teams during each of the three weeks. A total of 3 yes/no questions can be asked of each site,but only one emailed question per week.
Please see Tips for Landmark in Your Classroom if you would like ideas for implementing this game.
Questions must be constructed to be answered with Yes or No. These questions are to be sent DIRECTLY TO THE TEAM'S EMAIL ADDRESS which you will find in either the Primary Players or Challenger Players link.
Reply with a yes or no when receiving a question from another team. It is very helpful if you will send the original question back with your reply to help teams organize and track all of the project information. Be sure to identify yourself when you reply. And feel free to exchange other information and conversation as you interact in this project.
Teams are not allowed to Guess the Landmarks during the project, but only to ask the Yes or No questions. See below for guesses.
Phase III - Make Your Guesses - Mar 11 to Mar 15, 2013
The project coordinator will email a list of all players in the individual groups an Answer Sheet. Each team will add their guesses to the answer sheet and send back to the project coordinator. This answer sheet must be received by midnight March 15th US Central Time.
The game is officially over midnight March 15, 2013. I will post the top 5 scores of the Primary and Challenge levels, and the Landmark answers on March 18.
Work together in your social groups and enjoy this adventure. It's the real thing, not a practice, not a test, but a real world challenge. Good luck to all of our teams around the world!
Regards,
Terry Smith
Moderator of Landmark 2012
Professor of Education
Western Illinois University
Macomb, Illinois
Skype: smithclass
Twitter: smithtk
Mr. Smith's Teacher Education Web/Wiki/Blog