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Teaching Geography in the Elementary and Middle School

Teaching Geography in the Elementary and Middle School. Why should we care? Isn’t that why we have GPSs? . Geography—what is it?.

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Teaching Geography in the Elementary and Middle School

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  1. Teaching Geography in the Elementary and Middle School Why should we care? Isn’t that why we have GPSs?

  2. Geography—what is it? • “An integrative discipline that brings together the physical and human dimensions of the world in the study of people, places, and environments. Its subject matter is the Earth’s surface and the processes that shape it, the relationships between people and environments, and the connections between people and places” (Geography Standards Project, 1994, p. 18).

  3. Geography—what is it? • Where students learn about the world and its people.

  4. What isn’t it? • The memorization of states and capitals. • Coloring pictures of people in sombreros taking a siesta.

  5. Why study Geography? • Existential Reason—to understand where we are (in the big picture). • Ethical Reason—to better understand the interdependency of life on the planet. • Intellectual Reason—it’s interesting. • Practical Reason—it helps us to solve real-world problems (like how not to get lost).

  6. The 5 Themes of Geography • Location—where are places on the Earth’s surface? Where are places in relation to other places? • Place—What characteristics define a place? • Relationships within places—How do people interact with and change their environment? • Movement—How and why do people travel and transport goods, information, and ideas? • Regions—What are the characteristics that define an area?

  7. Theme 1: Location • Addresses the basic question: where are we on the Earth’s surface? • Absolute v. Relative Location • Absolute: Lines of latitude and longitude, grid systems • Relative: In relation to other places, landmarks • Map reading skills

  8. Location • Where is Billings, Montana? (absolute v. relative location) • Why is Billings where it is? What is the significance of this location? 45˚ N, 108 ˚ W Elevation: 3,123 ft Yellowstone River Valley Yellowstone County

  9. Location • Finding places using Google Earth • Flying • Getting directions, taking a bird’s eye trip • Measuring distances

  10. Theme 2: Place • Addresses the basic question: what makes a place unique or different from another place? • Physical and human characteristics • Physical: not made by humans, i.e., rivers, lakes, mountains • Human: anything human-made, i.e., cities, dams, roads • Map reading skills • Identifying symbols, using the legend • Interpreting pictures (geography is not just about maps!)

  11. Place • What are the physical and human characteristics that define Billings? • What physical systems have shaped Billings?

  12. Place • Using street view to explore the world. • Billings, Paris, Sao Paolo, Tokyo, Pretoria

  13. Theme 3: Relationships within Places • Addresses the basic question: how do humans interact with the environment in which they live? • Adaptation: how humans have been changed by their environments. • How they build their houses, how they use the land and its resources, even what they do for fun • Modification: how humans have changed their environments. • Dams, diverting rivers, clearing trees/forests • Dependence: how people rely on the environment for survival • Impact: the positive and negative influence people have on the environment.

  14. Relationships within places • How do people in Billings use the land and its resources? • What would Billings look like without people? • In what ways is Billings dependent on other places? In what ways are other places dependent on Billings?

  15. Relationships within places • Visit interesting places around the world. • Palm Jumeirah, United Arab Emirates • World Heritage Sites

  16. Theme 4: Movement • Addresses the basic question: how do humans interact with environments across space? • Travel: how and why people travel • Migration • Forms of transportation • Communication: how and why people communicate • Movement of resources: how and why people get what they need (importing), how and why people send resources to others (exporting)

  17. Movement • How do people get around Billings? • How do goods, information, and ideas move in, out, and around Billings?

  18. Movement • “Visit” cities and explore transportation options.

  19. Theme 5: Region • Addresses the basic question: how do people define the areas of the Earth’s surface? • More general than place (theme 2) • The world can be divided into physical regions • Deserts, mountains, plains • Climate regions • Tropical, arctic, arid, etc. • Cultural regions • Language, religion, ethnicity, politics • Map reading skills

  20. Regions • What defines the region of which Billings is a part? How does Billings fit into the region? (Remember that regions can be defined culturally, in addition to their physical characteristics).

  21. Resources for teaching Geography • http://www.fieldtripearth.org/ • http://www.gearthblog.com/basics.html • http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/index.html • http://www.worldmapper.org/index.html • http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/ • http://zipskinny.com/

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