This report describes a practicum designed to integrate the five themes of geography into classrooms for elementary-school students through preservice teachers using experiential teaching techniques. The preservice teachers were provided with appropriate concepts and vocabulary through active experiences that they then used in their elementary…

This unit introduces students to the historical tradition of a non-Western nation seen within the comparative concept of feudalism. This is done partly through a look at Tokugawa Japan and partly through a comparative examination of the concept of feudalism. Although the unit deals mainly with a specific time span in Japanese history, it also…

This guide seeks to provide a closer look at the diversity found within central Texas and the borderlands and offers a good general background to understanding some of the challenges facing the region. The book is divided into two parts with articles and lesson plans written by several authors. Part 1, "Views and Viewpoints," includes:…

This paper describes a simulation in which students pretend to follow a favorite baseball team on the road and travel to major league baseball cities in North America. Students use the encyclopedia to answer questions about each city they "visit" and then report on what they have learned by designing a postcard to send back to the class.…

The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) prepared this document to assist educators who wish to strengthen the geography component of pre-service teacher preparation. It includes NCGE standards for the role of geography in pre-service preparation. The paper's recommendations address geography as a pre-service preparation component for…

This activity book for teachers contains lessons designed to motivate students to master world geography. Questions on geographic concepts are formulated as mysteries for students to solve. The materials are written with seventh-grade students in mind, but could be adapted for use with other grade levels. Some of the lessons are more challenging…

One of a series of general interest publications on science topics, the booklet provides those interested in elevations and distances with a nontechnical introduction to the subject. The entire document consists of statistical charts depicting the nation's 50 largest cities, extreme and mean elevations, elevations of named summits over 14,000 feet…

In an attempt to determine the nature and extent of the changes which are occurring in physical geography textbooks at the introductory college level, a number of American texts published between 1960 and 1983 were subjected to a detailed analysis. Books were divided into an early group (publication dates: 1960-70) and late group (publication…

Intended for use with grades six through nine, "Global Geography" is a series of ten 15-minute video programs that help students think their way through important issues and increase their understanding of world geography. The programs fit easily into normal classroom schedules and support the content of most existing course sequences.…

In creating a continuous-integrated-sequential curriculum for grades 5-8, educators must raise and answer a series of questions to guide them in their decision-making. This paper raises and answers questions pertinent to the creation of a curriculum in cultural geography. Among the topics addressed are teaching methods, learning processes,…

In the face of widespread geographic ignorance, the article applauds the improved status of geography in the schools, describing it as the science best able to meet the challenge of ensuring that students' mental maps of the world are filled in with great and accurate detail. The field is defined through a multiple definition as both a physical…

The aim of this paper is to offer possible explanations for the declining interest in regional geography. One of the major contributing factors is employment potential. Employment is perceived as being relatively limited for persons defining their interests as "regional" within geography. Students, therefore, do not enroll in regional geography…

This ERIC Trends Issues paper highlights the complementary qualities of geography and history and recommends the infusion of geography core themes into high school U.S. history courses. Part 1, "Rationale for Teaching Geography in American History," features information about: (1) overcoming the neglect of geography instruction; (2)…

Geography helps one understand the physical and cultural characteristics of the world. Geographic education provides the values, knowledge, concepts, and skills to better understand ourselves, our relationship to the earth, and our interdependence with other peoples of the world. There is a great need to increase the quantity and quality of…

The intent of this paper is to provide geography educators and researchers with insights into creating a "geography of the future." Among the insights of major interest to geographers (including students, teachers, researchers, and other professional geographers) are that altered states of consciousness (such as often brought on by hallucinogens)…