Invite your class to try these related Internet-based activities, suitable for middle- and upper-graders. Before you begin, distribute the reproducible page below. Then direct students to the interactive hunt at www.scholastic.com/cyberhuntkids
 
CYBERHUNT ANSWER GUIDE
1. Libya. 136 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Antarctica. -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Chile. The salt lakes, snow, underground, the fog and dew.
4. Kauai, Hawaii. 460.
5. Nepal, India. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
6. Pacific. The Philippines.
7. Europe. Asia.
8. Peru. The Nile, in Egypt.
 
CYBERHUNT ACTIVITIES
Extreme Souvenirs
www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_world/
Have students plan their own trips to points far around the world, research their destinations in depth, then come up with a list of five or 10 native flora and fauna that they might bring home from their trip. Encourage them to be as fantastical as they wish in deciding what to bring back with them. For example, a trip to Alaska might produce a polar bear, an iceberg, or a willow grouse, the state bird. Let students find photographs of each item on their lists in magazines or on Web sites, and distribute shopping bags for them to hold their mementos. Then give each student a chance to rifle through their bags and share what they've brought back from their “trip.”
 
Geography Wheel of Fortune
www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/
 Reinforce geography and listening skills by inviting students to play this easy, Wheel of Fortune-style puzzle game. Begin by asking students, working in two teams, to visit this site and compile geography-related vocabulary words and phrases. Then give each team a chance to write out simple clues, such as “this six-letter word is a geographical term for treeless, flat area.” Students on the opposing team take turns guessing letters to complete the word or phrase, and can guess the correct answer during their turn. If a student guesses a letter correctly, he or she gets another turn. If he or she gets the entire word or phrase, that team gets a point.
 
Feats of Engineering
 www.engineeringsights.org
 Since the beginning of time, humans have engineered solutions to the challenges of geography. The Hoover Dam, Europe's Channel Tunnel, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Panama Canal are fine examples of this. Give your students a chance to learn about some of the most famous examples of structures built to overcome a variety of geographic features. Invite students to click on the interactive U.S. map or visit www.teachingtools.com/Slinky/feats.html to learn about specific engineering achievements. Then have them make models of their favorites.
 
Weather Watch
www.weather.com/activities/travel/vacationplanner/?from=travfl
Have students plan their own trips to locations around the world, then come up with a list of 10 items that they will bring to their chosen cities. Have them start by checking out the weather conditions in a number of countries, then choose a destination and a travel date. Next, ask students to brainstorm what they would need for their trips and why, based on their research. For example, would they need a bathing suit for an August trip to Australia? Why or why not? (No, because during the month of August, it is actually winter in Australia!)
 
Waving the Flag
 www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags
 Invite each student to find the flag from the country that he or she has just “visited,” print out a black and white image from the “Colouring Book” section, and color it accordingly. When students have finished their flags, display them all around a world map. Use push pins and colored string to link each flag to the appropriate country. Students could also use their flags as geography report covers. 
 
MORE EARTH LINKS
Geography Online for Kids
www.kids.gov/k_geography.htm
 A collection of links to geography games, maps, trivia questions, and more.
 
Kathi Mitchell's Geography Page
www.kathimitchell.com/geog.htm
 An enormous resource for geography, mapping, and educational kids' links.
 
Web Geography
www.unc.edu/~jmaxim/web_geography_for_kids.htm
Links to color landform maps, printable outline maps, stats, games, and more.
 
Go to Kids' page

Gail Skroback Hennessey teaches 6th grade social studies at Harpursville Central Middle School, in Harpursville, New York. For more information and activity ideas, visit her Web site at www.gailhennessey.com  CyberHunt © 2003 Scholastic Inc.
 
CYBERHUNT SAFETY: All the sites contained in the CyberHunt have been reviewed by our staff. At press time, all links are safe and consist of educational material. However, we are unable to control transfers of URLs after publication. We strongly urge teachers to review all sites before sharing them with students.

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