Google Earth Community: Genocide Through the 20th Century

In my 8th grade English class we read The Diary of Anne Frank while they're studying the Holocaust in history class. Many of my students do not even know what the Holocaust was or what happened before stepping into my classroom. Yet, I do not believe they understand the impact of genocide by only studying one. I think that they need to see first-hand that genocide spawns from hate and prejudice and that it is very cyclical. I try to help them realize that they can make a difference by helping end hate and predjudice within themselves. As Ghandi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

This year I've decided to take my genocide project even further after seeing what Google Earth and the Holocaust Museum put together for the crisis in Darfur. Attached to this post is a guide to genocide in the 20th centry. Each stop gives the students directions to follow and specific websites and information to gather. I plan on developing a worksheet to go along with this guide, but I have yet to create it. (It will be made shortly and I will upload it if you're interested.)

This guide takes the child to:

1. National Holocaust Museum (because we visit it on our 8th grade field trip to D.C. each year
2. Armenian Genocide in Turkey - 1915 - 1918
***This part of the journey tells the student to watch an 8 minute ABC News video on the Armenian Genocide website. (All websites in this quest will load right in google earth at the bottom)
3. Ukraine Famine - 1932 - 1933
***This part of the journey again tells the student to watch an 8 minute video on the Ukraine Famine. This video MAY NOT work in some school district where youtube is blocked. I am currently looking for an alternate website that has the video uploaded onto it.
4. The Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre (also known as The Rape of Nanking) - December 1937 - February 1938
***This part of the journey tells the student to go to the Nanjing 1937 website and read 4 survivors testimonies. They will have to summarize the testimonies and answer questions on their worksheets (once it's developed)
5. Nazi Holocaust - 1938 - 1945
***This part of the journey again has the students watching one specific survivor's testimony (video broken down into 3 minute sections) and answering questions
6. Cambodian Genocide - 1975 - 1979
***Students here have to read a news article and obtain information from it.
7. Rwandan Genocide - 1994
***I remind the students that most of them were born when this genocide began (they're so young!) Here they must fill in a timeline (I try to use many different types of graphic organizers, so the students do not get bored)
8. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 1992 - 1995
***Here students go on a photo journey entitled "Remember Sarajevo" and have to answer questions about the photographs
9. Crisis in Darfur - 2003 - Present
***Since Google Earth has SO MANY different resources and information right embedded in the site, I decided not to use any external websites for this last part of their journey, but it is the largest/longest part since this genocide is still currently happening. They have to complete the following in Google Earth:
a. Go to Habila Camp, Western Darfur and read refugee testimonials
b. Watch the 10-minute video of former United States Marine Brian Steidle and answer questions
c. Watch the vidoe "Lives Destroyed - A Refugee's Story" and "Lives Destroyed - The Village of Furawiya and experience what it would be like to have their entire town/village destroyed.
d. Learn/Visit Camp Gerida, the largest refugee camp in Darfur (housing over 137,000 displaced people)
e. Learn about the United Nations World Food Program and what it's doing in Darfur.
10. Back Home - Shillington, Pennsylvania
***The final part of their journey takes them back home to Shillington, Pennsylvania and gives them information on what they can do to help others around the world. Some of the websites give FREE ways to help, while they'll need parental/guardian help for some of the other sites.

If you DO take this Google Earth journey and find information that is incorrect or typos or anything that would help me improve or make my Google Earth Journey better, please, please post. I appreciate any and all help proofreading/editing this before I use it in my classroom!

Thank you in advance for checking this journey out. I hope it helps open your eyes to what happened throughout the 20th century and still continues to today.

- Becka

Post Extras