Getting to Know Downtown Kailua.....a little better

Parents: Tired of the challenge of finding fun and educational activities for your 6th grader? If so, come join the Hawai'i Geographic Alliance for a fun morning of community mapping!

What: Armed with instructions, a simple street/building map, GPS units, compasses, cameras, and some paper, the students (and their families) will explore, map, and describe the center of Kailua town around the shopping center.

Why: Mapping and describing their community will help the students learn and think about their town in new and exciting ways. For example, by paying specific attention to community landmarks, students gain a sense of community history and community planning during the activity.

In addition, by using GPS units and compasses, students acquire valuable navigational and mapping skills. If there is interest, we can take this a step further to integrate data gathered during this exercise into a GIS map!

Beginning with Clues!

PDF file of the lesson.
An aerial view of the GPS points

Lesson created by Melissa M. Iwamoto.


Pictures and samples created by student Jamie.


Hawai'i Geographic Alliance
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
2424 Maile Way, Saunders Hall 408
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822
Phone: (808) 956-7698
Fax: (808) 956-3512
E-mail: uhgeohga@hawaii.edu
Website: http://www.hawaii.edu/hga

Copyright © Hawaii Geographic Alliance. June, 2006. All Rights Reserved.