QR Challenge: Geography of Central America

Created using the ClassTools QR Treasure Hunt Generator

Teacher Notes

A. Prior to the lesson:

1. Arrange students into groups. Each group needs at least ONE person who has a mobile device.

2. If their phone camera doesn't automatically detect and decode QR codes, ask students to

• Download a QR reader (e.g. I-Nigma | NeoReader | Kaywa) onto their mobile devices
• Bring these devices into the lesson.

3. Print out the QR codes.

4. Cut them out and place them around your class / school.

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B. The lesson:

1. Give each group a clipboard and a piece of paper so they can write down the decoded questions and their answers to them.

2. Explain to the students that the codes are hidden around the school. Each team will get ONE point for each question they correctly decode and copy down onto their sheet, and a further TWO points if they can then provide the correct answer and write this down underneath the question.

3. Away they go! The winner is the first team to return with the most correct answers in the time available. This could be within a lesson, or during a lunchbreak, or even over several days!

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C. TIPS / OTHER IDEAS

4. A detailed case study in how to set up a successful QR Scavenger Hunt using this tool can be found here.

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Questions / Answers (teacher reference)

Question	Answer
1. Central America is located ________ of Mexico	South
2. It is made up of seven countries	_______,Guatemala, ______,El Salvador, _______, Costa Rica and _______
3. Together, Central America and Mexico form the ________ that connects North America and South America	Isthmus
4. Mountains run through the ________ of Central America, and lowlands are located along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts	center
5. Central America lies within the tropical climate zone and has a primarily tropical ____/____ climate. Its climates are also influenced by elevation, distance from the sea, and latitude	tropical wet/dry
6. Lake Nicaragua is the only ___________ lake in the world that has oceanic animal life6	freshwater
7. Civil wars and _______ _________ have negatively impacted the economy of Central America	natural disasters
8. Primary economic forces in Central America include tourism, agriculture, and ________	manufacturing
9. The ______ _______ was built through the narrowest part of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for shipping. The Panama Canal is a major economic force in Panama	Panama Canal
10. The first people to live in Central America were Native American groups. These groups included the Maya, the _______, the Nahuatl, and the Chibcha	Olmec
11. Spaniards arrived in Central America in the early 1500s. Later that century, the Spanish set up colonies in Central America. The British also set up a colony in ______ in the 1630s	Belize
12. In the 1820s, Central America gained independence from ______, became part of Mexico, and then gained independence again. Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica formed the United Provinces of Central America. In 1840, these provinces divided into five separate nations	Spain
13. Central America was strongly divided along class lines. The upper class was divided into two political groups: _______ and liberal	conservatives
14. European and American business interests set up plantations to grow cash crops in Central America. Cash crops include bananas, _______, and sugarcane	coffee
15. The United States opened the Panama Canal in 1914 to connect the ________ and ________ oceans for shipping. The United States transferred control of the canal to Panama in 1999	Atlantic Pacific

 

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