Describes six activities that encourage young children to look at a variety of objects from different points of view. The activities are designed to enhance children's understanding of geography relative to visualizing areas to be mapped. Organizes activities so that they move from the concrete to the abstract. (KO)

Focuses on a video pen pal program between seventh- and eighth-grade classes in North Carolina and Alabama. This exchange is structured around the objectives of developing an understanding of the fundamentals of geography, an analysis of information about the local area, and a recognition that geography differs from place to place. (KO)

Highlights ideas from urban geography that may be used to teach students about the interaction of people and space. Students will learn to better relate geography to their own lives if they understand how the concept of accessibility relates to competition for commercial land, and if they consider questions related to the use of urban space. (LS)

Describes how students in a geoscience course are introduced to geographic information systems (GIS), a computer-assisted system for the acquisition, storage, analysis, and display of geographic data, through a practical experience involving collecting data and inputting it into a GIS program called IDRISI. (MKR)

Presents topography activities. Includes a chart of topographic mapping symbols. (MKR)

Describes a sustainable planet index (SPI) to gauge the survivability of the earth ecologically and economically. Compares the SPI to the consumer price index and general business cycle theory from which it draws constructs. Suggests that the SPI exhibits properties of a sine wave and is useable in mathematical formulations, explanation, and…

Presents a landscape historian's perspective of California's Yosemite National Park in which is described the history behind the names and places of Yosemite amidst descriptions of the landscape and significant people. Includes accounts of military ventures, native cultures, gold rush confrontations, and relationships between Native Americans, the…

This teaching guide provides across-the-curriculum hands-on activities, reproducibles, and resources for elementary teachers and students. The material teaches about Columbus's journey with sensitivity and respect for different points of view, offering opportunities to teach basic skills and lessons on how to interpret history. (SM)

Although SAT and ACT test scores improved during 1992, the economy has not, resulting in lower teacher salary increases and increased numbers of teacher strikes. Children read relatively little, but literacy scores are in the top 10 among 32 nations recently surveyed. Women and minority administrators are making slow progress. (MLH)

Describes a series of 10 video programs and accompanying print materials that are designed to enhance citizenship education. Expresses the basic tenet that geographic learning is essential to the sound teaching and learning of history. Includes outcome goals, program content, structure, and a description of each of the 10 programs, emphasizing…

Describes a project in which students created a wall-sized map of Vermont to celebrate the state bicentennial. Suggests that the minimum of instructions the students received and democratic discussion and voting made the project an experience in cooperative learning and communication. Explains that the project incorporated art, history, geography,…

Describes a woodcut of the earliest map printed in a vernacular language, circa 1480. Discusses the location and representation of paradise, the winds, rivers, the world sea and islands, countries, and cities. Emphasizes the map as a world view of the late Middle Ages representing the popular culture of the time. (DK)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 23 computer software programs selected for their applicability to the fifth-grade curriculum outlined in California History Social Science Framework. Categorizes the recommended software programs by eight chronological units in the course. Includes the current price for each program and a list of sources for…

Presents a lesson using photographs and descriptive readings about roadside attractions that have been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Includes student objectives, teaching procedures, photographs, and primary source readings. (CFR)

Describes a secondary level lesson based on the Johnstown Flood in 1889. Includes maps, photographs, and readings designed as student resources. (CFR)