The geography unit is designed for use in upper elementary grades. The unit objective is to help the student learn facts about the landscapes of the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, and Central Africa, and acquire generic ideas which he can apply to the analysis and comparison of other landscapes. The unit is an attempt to apply…

This university level course in economic geography emphasizes the need for control of the spatial allocation of our resources, and strives for heightened student awareness of the world as a complex. It may thus be considered an introduction to geocybernetics, the study of man/machine relationships in the control of spatial organization. A systems…

Provides a discussion of the structure and procedures of a classroom exercise using scenes from "The Grapes of Wrath," to illustrate different environmental philosophies. After viewing scenes from the film, students prepare presentations examining the Dust Bowl from one of four philosophical positions: environmental causation,…

Argues that geography often is relegated to a negligible role in social studies curricula and that geography instruction suffers from a lack of standards and educational research. Recommends establishing intensive cooperative programs developing a thorough knowledge base for geography teachers and encouraging instructional research. (MJP)

Reviews two software programs, "PhoneDisc Business95" and "BusinessMAP LTF," that offer user-friendly, low-cost, and quick methods of identifying and mapping patterns of the names of U.S. businesses. This software can be used to help students understand how populations see and define themselves regionally and visualize the demographic spread of…

Maintains that the content, skills, and perspectives specified for preservice teacher education in the National Geography Standards are essential for dissemination of the Standards to classrooms across the nation. Presents a model curriculum based on this approach. (CFR)

Presents a project making an introductory class in cultural geography more relevant. Describes how students select and evaluate three articles about geography and write about them. Suggests that students are better able to appreciate and retain a geographical perspective in a comparative world context by applying concepts of their choice to real…

Delineates the nature of applied geography, asserting that geography links the natural and social sciences. Underscores geography's role in data analysis and problem solving on a global scale. Traces the discipline's history. Maps geography's status in higher education institutions. Discusses new technologies used by geographers. Summarizes career…

Contends that the National Geographic Society's Geography Education Program continues to work on improving geography instruction and learning. Outlines future activities of the National Geographic Society including urban outreach and technology training. (CFR)

This research tested the hypothesis that students' erroneous mental models about groundwater will change towards more valid concepts if they are taught on the basis of a mental model-building strategy that focuses on the clarification of students' misconceptions. To examine the hypothesis a quasi-experimental research design was chosen. The…

In the 1980s, the National Geographic Society launched a multi-million dollar campaign to improve teachers' knowledge of geography through the establishment of geographic alliances--networks of geography professors, teacher educators, and elementary and secondary teachers. To coordinate reform efforts in geographic education, the Society provides…

This lesson plan is designed for grade levels 2-12 to show how children's literature may be used to teach geography and reading at the same time. The focus of the lesson is on trees, and how humans interact with their environment. The information for teachers includes: grade level, purpose, time needed, theme, description, materials needed,…

This guide identifies sources of information useful to libraries in meeting their users' needs on topics pertaining to Texas: books about the state's history, culture, and geography, and state agencies, and other bodies which provide information on specific topics. Included are books, both nonfiction and reference, telephone numbers, and…

Two lesson plans designed to teach the geographic theme of movement to third grade students are presented in this document. The first lesson involves the study of a can of fruit cocktail, and explores the ways in which the production of the fruit cocktail and its transportation connects the students' town to other towns. The second lesson involves…

A geographer and a developmental psychologist collaborated on an investigation of the development of children's ability to comprehend, produce, and use graphic representations of space. Such representations are called "geo-graphics" in this paper. The researchers held that children's mastery of maps is dependent on their developing…