Many junior and senior high school students think that up and down are related to the directions north and south. Ways to correct this directional misconception of students are discussed. (RM)

Vernacular regions are part of the broader field of place awareness. Gives directions for a unit which selects three popular sports and asks students to construct vernacular sports regions. This involves students in collecting, processing, and evaluating work in a more behaviorally oriented geography than is usual. (CS)

Satisfactory completion of this self-contained map exercise will demonstrate student ability to use symbols, legends, scale, orientation, index, and grid in map reading and map use to give directions for way-finding. The exercise should take one class period to complete. (RM)

A step-by-step strategy for teaching secondary geography students about the concept of elevation using topographic maps is described. Students view slides of everyday examples of variations in elevation, produce a simple contour map using a layered model of a mountain, and analyze topographic maps of their own and other areas. (RM)

Suggests ways to improve secondary school students' locational knowledge. Argues for teaching strategies that emphasize the value of locational information. Discusses the importance of memory in the development of locational skills. Suggests that issue-oriented instruction can promote the development of such skills. (SG)

Maintains that teacher education courses in geography must be improved before teachers can realistically be expected to help elementary and secondary students understand geographic concepts. Provides three examples of exams given to prospective elementary school teachers in Vermont in 1907 and suggests that the exams can serve as guidelines for…

Presents a world climate simulation game in which students demonstrate knowledge of the Koppen System of Climate Classification, ability to read and interpret a climograph, and ability to locate places by means of longitude and latitude coordinates in an effort to locate a ring of spies who have planted a bomb in an unidentified city. Clues and…

Provides instructions for helping students construct a three-dimensional model of a constellation. Aluminum foil spheres with various diameters are used to represent stars with various apparent magnitudes. The positions of the stars in the model are determined from constellation maps and by converting actual star distances into millimeters. (PR)

Discusses the advantages of lecturing directly from the pages of the school atlas (a compendium of maps) in order to integrate it into introductory world regional geography courses. The approach includes a self-study atlas exercise and classroom lectures based on the school atlas. (Author)

The World Basic Place Vocabulary Test was designed to provide feedback on place vocabulary capabilities of 13-year-old students in various parts of the world. The results from 12,500 students in 13 countries indicate that this knowledge store is not very great. European students outperformed those in North America. (RM)

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,…

These learning activities involve secondary geography students in making a turf map, using map grids, solving problems dealing with map scale, and making a map scale. Complete teacher instructions are provided. (RM)

Students must develop skills in map reading, map interpretation, and mapping in order to use maps and globes effectively. Presents a compilation of basic map skills and concepts, along with techniques and "tips" for teaching map skills to grades six through eleven. (CS)

Presents a classroom exercise for an introductory physical geography course on the college level which explores some aspects of vegetation mapping and the relationship between climate and vegetation type. (Author/DB)

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…