Inspired by Williams Sonoma Pork of the Month Club (who doesn’t love a new pork product every month?), I bring you Tool of the Month Club. The idea behind these posts is to showcase new online tools or apps with ways to support the curriculum. I’ve decided to start with December because I have no patience and can’t wait until January to share the new Google Tour Builder. For years, Google Earth has been my favorite lab activity and now the Tour Builder is even easier to use. The beauty of any great tool is the ability to be cross-curricular and support multiple grade levels. The following resource was created to support the 4th grade Social Studies TEK: (3)  History. The student understands the importance of the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas, and the annexation of Texas to the United States. Click here for a printable version of the Texas Revolution project which also includes links to video tutorials. Since 4th grade also focuses on writing, Google Tour Builder is perfect for place-based storytelling. Students can design a story/path around a pigeon or crow that flies to different locations around the world bringing messages to different characters. For math, multi-step word problems can be written and solved based on distances between area schools or cities.  Check out the video below for a great overview.