Ever want to take a quick, deep-dive into a map found in students' textbooks? Ever want to use a web-based map to bring that static, print map to life? Maybe the map would be better with interactive or near real-time data. This article discusses the new Earth Science GeoInquiries! Earth Science GeoInquiries from Esri are instructional resources…

English 302: Writing about the Arts is a practicum course offered at the University of Windsor for upper-level English undergraduate students. The course asks students to write about a variety of art forms and requires engagement with multiple genres of writing as a way for students to effectively order their experiences, reconstruct meaning in…

Presents a lesson in which history, science, and mathematics combine to contribute to an understanding of one of the five fundamental themes of geography: location. Discusses the maps and navigational equipment available at the time of Christopher Columbus. Describes timekeeping, recording speed, and determining latitude and longitude during a…

Maps have been used as an illustrative device in children's books for a long time; however, they are an area of illustration that has been largely ignored by critics. Maps are most commonly used as frontispiece illustrations in adventure and fantasy books. They have also generally been aimed at the male reader when children's books were marketed…

Describes a project in which students created a wall-sized map of Vermont to celebrate the state bicentennial. Suggests that the minimum of instructions the students received and democratic discussion and voting made the project an experience in cooperative learning and communication. Explains that the project incorporated art, history, geography,…

Geographic information systems (GIS) consist of robust hardware, software, data, and a thinking operator. Together, they provide powerful tools for automated cartography and extensive analysis of information about places. Recent improvements in computer hardware and software allow the powers of GIS to move effectively and affordably into the…

A classification of remote sensing courses throughout the world, the world-wide need for sensing instruction, and alternative instructional methods for meeting those needs are discussed. Remote sensing involves aerial photointerpretation or the use of satellite and other non-photographic imagery; its focus is to interpret what is in the photograph…

Discusses the challenges of teaching high school geography in a way that enables students to develop an informed, spatial view of the world. Discusses the High School Geography Project and its effect on geography instruction. Suggests a map drawing exercise for students to demonstrate the importance of mental maps. (DK)

Discusses the five fundamental themes of geography. Describes the relationship between them and traditional geographic concepts. Merges themes and concepts to include location (position on Earth's surface), place (physical and human characteristics), relationships within places (human and environment), movement (humans interacting with the earth),…

Reports on the ability of preschool age children to interpret a black-and-white aerial photograph and to solve a simulated navigation problem on the photo. By placing the problem in a story context with personal reference points, the children were able to identify landscape features and solve simple problems. (MJP)

Gives driving directions for a circuitous route while asking the drivers to make observations, measurements, interpretations and to locate features. Includes an example for the LaSalle Quadrangle, Illinois, which takes about one hour to complete. (Author/MVL)

Maintains that region familiarity is an important prerequisite in the instructional use of cartograms. Cartograms are value-by-area maps that increase or decrease areas in order to illustrate various data (e.g. book reading in the western United States). Discusses necessary cognitive processes for the visualization of data. (MJP)

Describes a primary-level field geography program in which students explore the geography and archaeology of their rural community. Presents a set of mapping activities to help students understand cardinal directions and use locational skills. Concludes that the program has successfully involved students, parents, and community members in…

Reports on a study where pairs of students in the fifth and seventh grades generated and answered questions based on maps. Results indicated that students most often generated three types of questions: (1) symbol reading, (2) inferring latitude and longitude, and (3) interpreting scale. Analyzes these questions in regard to cognitive processes.…

Outlines a variety of activities using each of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences to teach map reading skills. The Multiple Intelligences are logical/mathematical, linguistic, musical, bodily/kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Includes multiple activities for teaching six key ideas and four skills. (MJP)