This article explores how middle school students envision their communities through an in-depth community mapping project. The research explores the extent of students' sense of their community while prompting them to define what community means and whether it is valued by students. The project also seeks to understand students' sense of belonging…

Students used a compass trail to show how they could perform service to their school. When students performed service learning, they completed a real task that was needed for a grateful audience conjoined with academic content in the lesson. Students worked on the school grounds and used content from their regular curriculum while looking for…

In this classroom activity secondary students determine conditions present at the onset of the Civil War to understand some of the basic reasons why the Union and Confederacy employed certain strategies designed to win the war. Students are assigned the role of a general and they work in groups to analyze graphs and maps and develop military…

Map skills should be a basic part of the elementary curriculum. Activities are described for teaching location, direction, scale and distance, symbols, and about globes. (RM)

Suggests using school planetariums to teach the use and interpretation of coordinate systems (maps, graphs). Also suggests that using music to correspond to specific points to be located stimulates student motivation. Provides a comprehensive list of sources of music. (KC)

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)

"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)

Disappointed by his students' familiarity with United States rivers, lakes, and states, the author questions educational theories that don't include memorization of factual knowledge. (DB)

A way for teachers to counter duality in traditional patterns of thinking, especially in social studies classrooms, is to plan a lesson involving conflicting sources. In this article, the author discusses a mapping lesson for high school and college students, which helps students understand dualities. From this lesson, the student recognizes the…

Describes the importance of children developing proper mapping skills to help them understand their life space as they mature. Explains topological, projective, and Euclidean concepts in relation to how children should be taught about space concepts used in mapping. Focuses on integrating topological experiences into pre-school, primary grades…

States that childrens' spatial conceptualization of maps progresses from topological to projective to Euclidean. Provides guidelines for conducting map activities with young children which take account of these and related factors. Recommends block play with verbalization for very young children, followed by mapping of familiar environments. (JDH)

The article, an annotated bibliography of materials, aids the teacher in identifying map-skills for all academic levels in the elementary school. Most entries are dated in the 60's. (Author/RM)

Describes an innovative program involving sixth grade students in all aspects of archaeology, including an archaeological dig. Individual units on weather, geology, the metric system, and map reading are pursued. Specific archaeological techniques such as compiling site and field records, cataloging, and surveying are studied. (RM)

Presents a hands-on activity for bridging the gap between the exposure to three-dimensional topography and contour mapping. This activity describes the use of a volcano-making activity and offers laboratory sheets that can be duplicated for student use. Argues that students learn the concept of contour mapping better in a guided fashion that holds…

Visually impaired students need specially designed relief maps to learn map reading and to achieve geographic literacy. The development of geographic instructional materials, including relief maps and audio-tutorial cassette tapes, for low-vision students in grades 5-10 is described. (AM)