Aerial imagery has a great capacity to engage and maintain student interest while providing a contextual setting to strengthen their ability to reason proportionally. Free, on-demand, high-resolution, large-scale aerial photography provides both a bird's eye view of the world and a new perspective on one's own community. This article presents an…

People nowadays communicate with each other in many ways. Beyond sending letters and postcards, Internet services such as e-mail, blogs, chatrooms, instant messaging, and video conferencing are used. It should be no surprise that children love to get mail too, and it is nice to know that the envelope-and-stamp variety has not lost its charm.…

Provides an understanding of thematic maps and how they might be used to teach hypothesis testing. (RS)

This article describes an outdoor activity known as orienteering, the practice of using a map and a compass to find points in a landscape. Downloadable materials, courtesy of The Roger Tory Peterson Institute, can be found on www.TeachingK-8.com. These materials include instructions for the activity and reproducible illustrations of seven basic…

This paper discusses four key concepts to help preschool and primary grade children develop the ability to read and understand maps. Examples of student activities to develop each of the concepts are provided. The essential concepts are representation, symbolization, perspective, and scale. Representation is vital. Children must perceive that a…

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…

An activity designed to increase map skills by having students map the location, distance, direction, scale, and time zones of the travelling done by athletic teams is described. (DE)

Presents hands-on activities to help teach elementary students map skills during Geography Awareness Week. The map skills are made fun by being incorporated into meaningful activities like learning about global resources, tracking the progress of sports teams, and conducting climate experiments in faraway places. (SM)

Relates how a blunder about the Arctic Ocean and the polar ice cap made by the author in his first year of teaching led to a successful learning experience. Lists five important discussion topics that social studies teachers should use to teach about this remote, but strategic, part of the world. (LS)

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…

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)

Advocates the use of infrared satellite maps for geography and social studies instruction above third grade. Teaching ideas with Landsat maps are listed and the costs and ordering sources of the maps provided. (SJL)

Orienteering--the game of following a map to find predetermined locations--can spark interest and develop skills in map making and map reading. This article gives background on orienteering; describes indoor and outdoor orienteering activities; offers suggestions for incorporating orienteering into science, math, and language arts; and provides a…

A simulation game designed to increase knowledge of basic place location is described. Preparation, materials, and variations of the game are included in the description. (DE)