Geography (an integrative discipline that brings together the physical and human dimensions of the world in the study of people/places/environments.
can tap into curiosity, discovery, novelty, risk-taking, trial and error, pretense
a way of thinking and acting
integrative curriculum
teaches content
skills
thinking processes
most open and accepting of integration with the content and processes of other disciplines
Geo Literacy
integrates study of reading, writing, & geography grades 3-7
research says significant gains in reading comprehension
Geo Math
generated learning materials for K-8 integrated Geography and math
improved math learning
click to edit
Five Themes
Location
Place
Relationships within places
Movement
Regions
position of earth's surface
characteristics
humans and environments
humans interacting on Earth
how they form/change
absolute
relative
specific position on Earth's surface
uses latitude/longitude
uses street address
locate a place respective to other landmarks
direction or distance from one place to another
Physical
human
rivers, lakes, mountains, wildlife, soil, precipitation, beaches
changes that people have made to the environment
helps understand how students are connected with and dependent on other regions and other people in the world
positive and negative effects of people's relationships within places
an area on Earth's surface whose characteristics make it different from other areas
unifying characteristics
physical/political/cultural
land/climate/characteristics of people.
strategies
younger students make maps from blocks and informal block play
when suitable identify the specific skills involved in reading and making maps
locating places
reading cardinal directions
mediate directions
recognizing and expressing relative location
interpreting map symbols
understanding map scale
knowing that the globe is the most accurate representation of Earth's surface
use pictorial maps
use the small-world approach using neighborhood and community models
make story maps
use mental maps
use commercial maps
use computer-based maps
teach map symbols
legends
keys
Geographic factors
adequate water supply
soils
climate
mineral deposits
topography
accessibility
economic factors
political factors
cultural factors
Thinking Geographically
know where something is
how its location influences its characteristics
how location influences relationships with other phenomena
5 Steps to thinking geographically
- Asking geographic questions
- Acquiring geographic information
- Organizing geographic information
- Analyzing geographic information
- Answering geographic questions
students must speculate about possible answers to "where?" and "why there" questions
test inferences
locate and gather information from primary/secondary sources
older grades take photos, distribute questionnaires, conduct interviews, collect samples, read and interpret maps
use literature sources/ videos/ resource persons/ websites/ other information sources (younger elementary grades)
includes places to observe and maps
organize and display information to share with others using charts/ graphs/ models/ illustrations/ narratives/ time lines/ maps/ clear written or oral summaries
interpret and analyze the information
Have the people been wise in using the environment in such a way?
Is this the most productive use of the land and its resources?
All personal opinions should be supported with sound reasons
presentation of geographic information or extending information that was collected/ organized/ and analyzed.
skills: presenting information in oral/written form and accompanied by maps, graphs, models, and other visuals