"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a contemporary hit song by Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot describing a shipwreck on Lake Superior in 1975, is used to illustrate how popular music can be used to teach geography to secondary students. Students analyze atlases, topographic maps, nautical charts, and weather maps. (RM)

Physical educators can teach students basic geography by hanging maps in the gymnasium and using them for physical education activities. The article describes what teachers need to create wall-size maps, how to choose maps, and how to fund and implement map projects. Suggestions for various map projects are included. (SM)

Describes a map-reading unit used in a seventh-grade geography course offered at Jefferson Junior High School in Champaign, Illinois. Suggests that this map study provides many opportunities to make connections among disciplines. Finds that students respond well to the practical format of the unit and to the challenge of working cooperatively. (KO)

Methods for using fiction and nonfiction to teach mapping and geographical skills are discussed. Three activities for use at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are presented. Additional books that can be used are described. (RM)

Trip maps and trip boards are described, as are suggested destinations for class trips. The maps are used as multipurpose tools that any teacher can tailor to the needs of his or her own community and environmental studies and to the skills of children of any age. (Author/KC)

To introduce primary grade children to the five themes in geography, a play about the United States is presented as a musical. The five themes are location, place, human environment interaction, region, and movement. The play is designed to help students understand the multicultural nature of U.S. history. Eleven states are located on a map and…

Lessons involve K-12 students in analyzing teacher-developed state and local thematic maps, identifying countries of the world with which their city has a linkage as indicated by local ethnic restaurants, discussing local companies involved in international trade, and learning about foreign-made products in their home and community. (RM)

Presents a role playing lesson on Meriweather Lewis and George Rogers Clark's exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Emphasizes integration of the five fundamental themes of geography: location, place, human environment interactions, movement, and regions. Suggests evaluation procedures, extension lessons, and materials and resources. Calls upon…

Asserts that writing a critical atlas review is often a requirement for cartography courses because it forces students to think analytically about cartographic presentation and theory. Presents a choropleth map review exercise that can be used as an alternative to the atlas review or as an independent instructional activity. (CFR)

Suggested activities for integrating language concepts and comprehension skills into elementary school geography instruction are presented. The activities focus on concept formation through semantic mapping and making analogies, and on comprehension through recalling, generalizing, interpreting, and making inferences. Semantic maps indicate spoke…

Described are activities to be used in five learning centers which build on children's interests in wild animals. Developed is an imaginary safari park with artwork depicting wild animals and tropical vegetation. Objectives, materials, and directions are included. (KC)

Recommends including geography in history instruction. Suggests that the theme of time is implicit in the five fundamental geographical themes of location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions. Observes that maps enable students to visualize historic events. Concludes that geography can help students connect past and present.…

This interdisciplinary packet of materials on mapping is intended for grades 7-12. The lessons are organized around themes: location, navigation, information, and exploration. Each lesson has an introductory text and two main activities. Students learn basic mapmaking and map-reading skills and see how maps help answer fundamental geographic…

Designed to be infused with existing social studies courses and programs of instruction, this concept-based, skills-oriented curriculum for teachers of students in grades 5-12 provides opportunities for students to develop basic map skills enabling them to mentally develop spatial relationships between diverse global environments and/or culture…

This guide, designed for use in upper elementary and junior high classrooms focuses on literary works by authors Cynthia Voigt, Elizabeth George Spear, Katherine Paterson, and Marguerite Henry, as a means of developing map skills and exploring the roads, towns, homes, landscapes, and eras of the authors. The geographic setting of each story is…