Pirates find hidden treasure using coordinates

The Pirates in Mr. Matt Loyet’s sixth grade social studies class participated in a treasure hunt today. Using specific coordinates and satellite mode on Apple Maps, they went outside and looked for gold coins Loyet had hidden around Holman Middle School. 

“We’re doing a geography unit to start the year off right now and we’re learning about latitude and longitude,” he said. “I just thought this was a good way to have them use what they learned.”

The idea for this activity came to him after a discussion in class with his students. 

“They inspired it because they said we should hide all my candy from the other classes and write down the coordinates of where we hid it,” Loyet said. “Well, the candy would’ve melted outside, so I’m using gold coins instead.”

Paying close attention to landmarks and parking lots, the students searched around the field, courtyard and tennis courts for the hidden treasures. Each coin found earned their group a DOJO point. Two of the coins had another coordinate and that prize was worth eight Pirate Prides and four raffle tickets for each one they found.

Ethan Banta ran fast to a location close to the tennis courts and excitedly held a coin he found high into the air.

“He gave us this paper, and there were coordinates for all the coins and we typed them in and had to figure out where the coin was,” Banta said. “Some were worth Pirate Prides which is the school’s currency so I guess what we found really was worth something.”

This was an exciting way for his students to study for their first test and encourage some friendly competition. 

“It's good to know the basics of this stuff because in real life, it’s not just for treasure hunting; it could be used for rescues and emergencies,” he said. “I was in a situation one time when my car broke down and the tow truck driver asked me for my coordinates, and I didn’t even know how to look them up.”

Banta said the activity was a great lesson.

“I found a coin so it was fun,” he said. “It would’ve been even better if I found two, but Chase beat me to the second one.”

Gallery: https://pattonvillesd.smugmug.com/2021-2022/HO-GPS-Scavenger-Hunt/

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