WAVE buys three GPSes for sixth-grad-

Overlook students learned to use GPS along with topographic maps to hunt for a geocache around the school's grounds. Courtesy Photos

Overlook sixth graders will have a little help finding their ways due to a grant from the Westminster Ashburnham Values Education (WAVE).

Three Garmin E-Trex GPSes were purchased by the sixth grade teachers using the grant. These systems allow students to learn to navigate from point to point using current technology in conjunction with newly learned topographic map reading skills.

As part of sixth grade curriculum, Massachusetts' students are required to study topographic maps. Through this study students understand that the surface of the earth can be represented on topographic maps by using contour lines. Students learn that contour lines depict different terrain features such as hilltops, valleys, and ridgelines. They also depict elevation and relief.

Students applied their map reading skills and their GPS training over a few days time. Students cached items in the forest around Overlook and determined Uniform Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates - those marked on topographic maps and more user friendly than latitude and longitudinal coordinates. Students recorded their cache coordinates using their GPS.

Back in the classroom students wrote geocache reports for fellow students in different classes. The reports reflected not only the coordinates, but also the type of terrain, elevation, and relief of the land around the cache. Later, classes went on a geocache hunt in order to find the cached items. Students followed their GPS pointers and looked for the right fit of terrain in order to find caches using their topographic maps of the areas. Close to 100 percent of all caches were found. Combining GPS technology with topographic map reading skills provides students a real world experience. These skills are useful life long skills that students can use later in life.

WAVE is a committee made up of community residents from Westminster and Ashburnham. The committee provides grants to community educators in support of teaching children.