In the process of planning some of my opening lessons for the above unit when I remembered this really cool map that Jim blogged about a while ago.

The map is of the United States, colored by the distance to the nearest McDonalds. The brightest parts of the map are locations that are right next to a McDonalds outlet -the colour gets darker as you get further away from the nearest outlet.

An excellent introduction into the unit by firstly getting students to think about what it shows and then asking students why Mcdonalds has grown. It also links nicely into franchising as a method of growth which is covered slightly later.

One map, several uses.

Jim’s original blog can be found here.

All the best