This lesson plan describes the application of a photo essay technique for landscape interpretation in an interdisciplinary instructor-led international field course. This lesson is, in practice, a field-based exercise or learning activity that asks students to engage in three foundational approaches to place-based landscape reading:…

Models are an important tool for geography teaching, as they can be used to represent features of human and/ or physical systems. In addition, they enable the student to identify with the demonstrated reality, since they work with iconic images and symbols specific to each culture, used to represent the elements contained in the models (da Silva…

The U.S. Census is a geography teacher's toolbox. As a member of the Statistics in Schools (SIS) development team, Chris Bunin was tasked with exploring existing resources to develop lesson plans. Census.gov is a dynamic online reservoir filled with infographics and visualizations, articles and reports, and best practice instructional materials.…

The migration of people along transnational paths, combined with the increased connectedness of billions of people through global media networks, requires reinvestment in a twenty-first century, multidisciplinary conceptualization of geography education. The "colonizer's model of the world" that has for too long identified countries as…

In this article, a retired long-time geography teacher offers his perspective on what a geography teacher needs to keep in mind when teaching geography. The author notes that geography is a useful school subject because it helps young people make their way in the world by giving them some tools to become lifelong learners. The author encourages…

Latitude and longitude are foundational concepts for geography education, yet they are typically poorly understood by students and receive indifferent attention from instructors and publishers' materials. Social studies teachers can take advantage of increasingly ubiquitous geolocating devices such as Global Positions Systems (GPS) to provide…

This lesson plan is based on "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Characters in "The Hunger Games" form alliances both inside and outside the arena. Katniss and Gale form alliances within District 12. Katniss, Peeta, and the other tributes form alliances for a variety of reasons during the Games. An alliance means that "someone's got your back"…

Starting from the question "what is a story?" "Storytelling Across the Primary Curriculum" leads the reader through the theory and practise of storytelling as an educational method--a method taught by the author over the last ten years through Primary English teaching programmes. This practical book gives teachers the skills and confidence to use…

This article discusses how poetry can be used for teaching geography. The rational for using and writing poetry, its relationship to the National Standards for Geography, grade levels, pedagogical concerns associated with poetry writing, and subject integration are discussed. There are also classroom activities, sample discussion questions, lesson…

"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)

Describes "Harvest of Hope," a project for science and geography instruction in which students from an inner-city and a suburban school joined in a community service project. Explains that the students planned, planted, and harvested crops for the needy on school property. Includes handouts simulating international negotiations, trade…

Discusses the concept of writing across the curriculum and how it is used in a university level geography class. Suggests that writing as a resource for learning benefits students by encouraging critical thinking, the organization of bodies of information, and increased memory. Includes specific reading and writing assignments. (DK)

Presents two lesson plans integrating social studies, art, music, and literature to teach geographic themes using the concepts of human settlement and transportation. Explains that comparing two paintings of rural life illustrates the themes of relationships with places and movement. Suggests that comparing songs about great projects uses the same…

This book is based on the belief that children's literature and geography should be linked in elementary classrooms. The book has three major sections. The first section, "Using Literature to Teach the Five Themes of Geography," provides a brief overview of the five themes of geography (location, place, relationships within place,…

Considers those key concepts in geography that contribute to the teaching of history. Outlines strategies that teachers can use to combine and complement the two subjects. Discusses specific examples of these strategies focusing on the Erie Canal and Bunker Hill. Includes maps and illustrations. (MJP)