Described as the region of the 21st century, the Asian Pacific area is an important subject of geographic research. Thirty-four papers focusing on the Asian Pacific countries are contained in this document. Divided into four sections, the presentations cover the following topics: (1) Geography Teaching IN Asia Pacific Countries; (2) Teaching ABOUT…

A study examined teachers' actual use of media and pictures in their teaching of geography in the secondary schools of five countries (a previous study focused on representations). About 180 teachers from Australia, Greece, Japan, Sweden, and the United States responded to a questionnaire concerning how often they used various types of media or…

This unit is intended to dispel misconceptions students may have about Africa and its people, and to help students to develop a greater appreciation of that land and its people. The unit focuses upon the physical aspects of Africa and the customs, religion, and attitudes of its people. Ten lessons are included: (1) The continent of Africa; (2) The…

The usefulness of geography knowledge in a child's education is philosophically analyzed from two perspectives: (1) what geography knowledge should U.S. schools be teaching?; and (2) is there agreement about what types of geographical knowledge U.S. schools should teach? Only geographical knowledge that will be useful in life should be taught to…

This curriculum module, one of seven in the "Infusion Project," offers information and lessons on drug use prevention for integration into an existing seventh-grade middle school geography curriculum. The module, based on a type of interactive learning called infusion learning, contains 13 lessons each providing objectives, a list of…

As part of a project that investigated the teaching and learning of specific subject matters, three studies of geographic literacy were conducted. The purpose of the first study was to gauge the demand for geographic knowledge placed on adults in U.S. society by coding and analyzing geographic knowledge in The New York Times. To begin to assess…

Designed to help elementary school students to learn basic skills and knowledge of certain geographic concepts, this unit has 20 lessons. Each lesson has objectives, activities, and materials for map-related tasks, with samples of tests and worksheets immediately following. The lessons include constructing a classroom map, using directions to…

One of a series of general interest publications on science topics, this booklet provides those interested in the composition of sea water with a non-technical introduction to the subject. Focusing on the saltiness of the sea, separate sections examine the origins of the sea, sources of the salts, why the sea is not fresh, the complexity of sea…

The educational history of resource conservation as an academic discipline is discussed. Also examined is whether conservation should be taught as a static or dynamic concept. The first conservation text was written in 1910. Since then, geographers have stressed several approaches to resource conservation including the inventory and analysis of…

Equable climates with mild winters and summers are more likely to maintain snow or ice cover in high latitudes than extreme climates having colder winters and hotter summers. A simplified version of the Milankovitch cycles can be used to develop a model instructors can use in their classes to illustrate the orbital variations producing either…

Elementary school students learn about the continents and the oceans by completing a variety of activities, games, and puzzles. Students learn to spell the names of the oceans and continents; recognize the locations, sizes, and shapes of the continents; and use directions on maps by completing a pretest, word searches, mazes, crossword puzzles,…

Precipitation data for Macomb (Illinois) for the period 1912-1981 were the bases for developing classroom exercises that offered college students experience in collecting such data. After students collected the data, they reduced them to manageable proportions, and then examined average long-term relations which may have emerged among yearly,…

Intended for geography students who are enrolled in, or who have completed, an introductory course in remote sensing; for geography researchers; and for professors; this publication focuses specifically on those general issues regarding the organization and presentation of land use information derived from aerial imagery. Many of the ideas…

Intended for geography professors, researchers, and undergraduate students, this publication focuses on the important issues surrounding the urbanization of agricultural land, the assessment of the relative effectiveness of policy responses, and an assessment of opportunities for change in approaches toward farmland preservation. Emphasis is on…

The lack of U.S. students' knowledge of history and geography has been portrayed on television and in the newspapers as a national problem. California's public schools are taking significant steps to ensure that all students have a well developed understanding of their society and the world. This guide for parents answers some of the most commonly…