Helping+Students+Interpret+the+Earth+and+Its+People+through+Geography

Helping Students Interpret the Earth and Its People Through Geography 1. List six activities you did in the past couple of days. 2. Perhaps you drank juice, drove to a supermarket, talked with a person from another nation, or dressed appropriately for a storm. In which of the activities on your list did you use geography? Geography is an integral part of daily life. When was the last time that you were conscious of using geography? When was the last time that you sought out specific geographic information to help you make a personal or family decision? What issue in your community or in the nation are politicians discussing that is better understood and answered with the help of geographic information? In this chapter, geography is viewed as an integrated subject fundamental to people's lives and to the social studies curriculum. This chapter discusses the many ways we use geography in our lives and how children can meaningfully learn it. 1. Evaluate your own experiences learning geography and compare them to the practices in today's elementary and middle school classrooms. 2. Analyze geography standards to develop a comprehensive definition of geography that is more than a tool for locating places. 3. Explain how geography is an integral part of all subjects and is used in many careers and daily work. 4. Identify and locate resources for teaching geography. 5. Identify activities that help students describe the three-dimensional characteristics of the world and translate them into a two-dimensional map. 6. Describe the advantages of using the globe with students. 7. Identify key concepts and skills geographers use to describe and interpret their world. 8. Analyze geographic lesson plans. 9. Identify variables that positively and negatively impact meaningful geography learning. 10. Hypothesize actions educators can take to increase geographic achievement for all. 11. IdentifY potential impacts of new technologies on processing geographical data and it impacts on using and learning geography. Billy Fitzhugh teaches second grade at Reisterstown Elementary School in Reisterstown, Maryland. He is the 1997 winner of the outstanding elementary teacher award of the National Council for the Social Studies. He shares some of his ideas and activities in this interview. Interviewer: Have you always been interested in teaching geography? Billy Fitzhugh: Yes, I had the interest in geography and history in college, and then I came to education. Geography is good for children to learn, and its visual qualities help the childr~n learn geography. Interviewer: Do you teach social studies or do you teach predominately geography? Billy Fitzhugh: Well, I stress cultural geography, not just the physical geography, so all elements of culture and economics are included. Interviewer: How do the students respond to studyi ng geography? Billy Fitzhugh: They like learning about other children and what their lives are like. Interviewer: How do you select the nations to study? Billy Fitzhugh: In Maryland, each county makes its own selection of nations. In our county, second-graders study South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Denmark. At other grade levels, they learn about different nations or groups. I have been to Israel and Australia and also teach units about these nations. Interviewer: You have said that having prior knowledge is important to your teaching. How do you get it? Billy Fitzhugh: I brainstorm with the children at the beginning of each unit on various topics to learn a lot about my own students and the things they know. We talk about our own country and what it is like so that we can make comparisons to the things that are done in other nations. Making comparisons helps children understand ideas so the just try to memorize a lot of separate facts. Interviewer: When you do your units, how do you go about preparing them? Billy Fitzhugh: 1like to center my units on the five themes of geography (see Table 13.1). This provides a content guide for the unit and activities. The unit then kind of evolves. There are particular activities that students respond very well to which 1inca _ - rate into each of the units. The discovery kit is one of these. I have been to most of nations our system has second-graders study, so I have collected some artifacts they Gl~ handle and see for themselves. This encourages them to ask questions and speculate o~ the ways these artifacts are used. I like to use lots of picture books, and ·1always try to find one book to read for each a. the units that includes some similar practice that we have in the United States. The st - dents can relate to such a book. But, I want a book that clearly shows the other culture: perspective on the topic. I think it is important for the children to see that people around the world are much more similar than they are different. They also learn more about the United States. Interviewer: Do you have difficulty finding such books? Billy Fitzhugh: Well, yes and no. I want the focus of the book to provide something unique for each unit. For the Israel study 1use the book The Never-Ending Greenness b Neil Waldman, which tells of the holiday Tu b'Shvat. It is similar to our Arbor Day, a celebration that children may not be too familiar with, but one which we can use for comparison to show similarities and differences. Interviewer: I notice that you make lots of charts and keep a list of vocabulary words posted. How do you use these? Billy Fitzhugh: Yes, 1 am a visual learner, and 1 use lists, charts, and diagrams a lot with the children. We use them to record information and as references for our assignments. For example, when we write about our nations, 1 usually give the students a few minutes to think about the topic for their writing and then we go through the al- TABLE 13.1 ~_._-- _.-- The Five Themes of Geography and Related Concepts Absolute Environ ment Attitudes Migration Nation Grid system Landform Adaptations Diffusion Physical Map/globe Climate Inventions Barriers CuItu raI Legend/key Land use Technology Systems Communi Relative Vegetation Pollution Currents States Directions Elevation Changes Winds Middle East Distance Population Industry Transport Europe Scale Rural/urban Deforestation Communicate Historical Equator Buildings Conservation Causes District phabet giving words associated with the topic. I record the first word they give, and we just hear the rest of the words. This helps to build vocabulary in the study as well as review what we studied. I think encouraging vocabulary is very important at this age. Without the proper vocabulary, the children can't understand what you are reading to them. When they begin writing, I remind them that the lists are a reference to use and that the words on the list must be spelled correctly. Our state testing requires students to write a concise essay, so I provide lots of practice with expressing ideas in writing. There must be a topic and concluding sentence and support with information in the paragraph. I tell my students to provide two ways places are like or similar to the United States and two ways they are different. I feel that when they see the words similarity and difference on the test, they know the types of things that are appropriate to write. Interviewer: How do you approach map studies and map skills with your students? Billy Fitzhugh: With maps, I do a lot of learning from the ground up. I have the students make their own maps. Sometimes they look like they should, and sometimes they don't. But that doesn't matter because they are learning the elements of the map. It also keeps them from learning a lot of misinformation, like thinking north is "up." The children really like constructing the maps, and it teaches them the everyday practical use of maps. Again, on the state test, they will have to make a map and so they need to know what constitutes a map. We map our own area first, and I always make them draw their own maps for everything. The computer will give everyone a very pretty map with the push of a button, but that doesn't assure that the children really understand what is on a map or where places are located. Today you will see them making a cylinder map of the world and they have to correctly locate each of the continents in relationship to the equator and each other. Intervit;..wer: I notice that you have a map on the playground. I have heard you use the phrase "stand on the map." Is this where you do it? Billy fhzbugb: Y£'5, )");J;5 »05 a (?r<7jecttt7atl (Imrrrorea', and (fie parents pa(ntea it. It cost about $400 and has held up pretty well for 8 or 9 years now. The students stand on it and walk from place to place. They get a better understanding of directions, the idea of where places are in relationship to each other, and an idea of the distance between places. Interviewer: I noticed quite a bit of artwork from the fifth-grade class in the school's entrance hallway. Do you use artwork with the children? Billy Fitzhugh: Yes, we are encouraged to integrate our subjects, and you can help children see that there are many art forms. In our South Korea study, we make a fan and study how calligraphy is a form of art that is important to the Koreans, something that is taught beginning in elementary school. We draw and write the appropriate kinds of things on our fans that Koreans would have on their fans. Interviewer: What advice do you have for teachers who want to prepare better geography units? Billy Fitzhugh: The more that you read and learn about a nation, the greater will be your ability to understand it and teach it. You have skills for teaching and will see man ways to teach the children about a nation as you yourself learn more about the nation. 1. What evidence do you see in Mr. Fitzhugh's comments that he bases his instruction on accurate social studies content? 2. Mr. Fitzhugh insists on correct spelling of social studies terms but is not as concerned that students make professional-looking maps. Why do you think this is the case? 3. What in Mr. Fitzhugh's statement indicates that he thinks students construct their own understanding of the world? 4. From what Mr. Fitzhugh said, how would you describe the state of Maryland's social studies curriculum for elementary students? 5. What evidence indicates Mr. Fitzhugh makes an effort to learn about students' prior knowledge? Everybody wants to know what is happening around them. Joe Stoltzman (1990), a longtime geography educator, explains that geographically literate citizens are aware of (1) what is happening in the world, (2) why it is happening, and (3) how it affects other people throughout the world as well as themselves. Therefore, geography is good citizenship education. Geographers are unique because they apply their efforts to understanding both the physical and cultural characteristics of the world. They have the perspective that location is an important characteristic of everything on earth. Through the study of locations and their relationships to each other, geographers help to explain the dynamics of what is happening in the world or in various places in the world. Geographers begin their study by asking where, but spend the vast majority of their time investigating the questions, Why is this where it is? If people do something in this location to change the physical or cultural conditions, what will be its impact on other locations? In what ways will the impact be positive and in what ways will it be negative? Because everything that has happened, is happening, or will happen must take place at a location, geography is a part of all 10 social studies standards. Clearly, geography is strongly evident in the social studies standard for People, Places, and Environments. Geographers know that places do not exist in isolation; all parts of the world are interrelated and important. Global systems in the natural habitat, such as winds and currents, impact people's lives. There also are many connected cultural systems, such as communications, transportation, economic development, environmental quality, and human relations. Geography helps citizens understand our nation and interdependence with other people. This cross-national interdependence and the potential for regional and cultural conflicts is an important assumption underlying the problems encompassed in the social studies standard Global Connections. The social studies standard, Culture, is addressed in geography when people make decisions about the use of the earth's resources that are influenced by their culture. Some cultures exploit as many resources as possible, often bringing about major changes in the habitat. Other cultural groups view nondisruption of the habitat to be the correct decision. The final decision often is related to which group has the greater political or economic power or the legal authority. to enforce decisions. Or it is related to who will devote time and effort to get their way or to force another group to compromise. Active citizens need to understand how geography is related to the social studies standard Power, Authority, and Governance and the standard Civic Ideals and Practices. Before the standards movement, geography was defined by a joint committee from the American Association of Geographers and the National Council for Geographic Education, which developed five themes: (1) location, (2) place, (3) relationships within places, (4) movement, and (5) regions as a working definition for K-12. Today, many teachers and geographers still use the five themes as they confront the daily pressures and tensions of the classroom. Theme 1: location, Position on the Earth's Surface. The importance of location is the fundamental assumption of geography. Sometimes, we need to know an absolute or exact location, such as in which classroom we can find Mr. Lopez's fourthgrade class. At other times, we can be satisfied with a more general or relative location; for example, much of the world's oil is found near the Persian Gulf. Some learning activities including the location theme help students learn to locate places in the community, state, or nation; on the earth; or on a map or a globe. Theme 2: Place, Natural and Cultural Characteristics. This theme is descriptive of both the natural and human features of the landscape. Concepts describing features on the earth include mountains, capital cities, and the developing wo_==- All are part of the place theme. Students gather data and answer questions s~ - as the following to help them describe place: What does the land look like? How much water is present at this place? Does the water usually come from the atmosphere as rain or snow or from stream or body of water? Why don't wild animals live in the area? Do plants dominate the landscape or is the land largely barren or filled "vi-~ buildings? Why do so many (or so few) people live in this place? What have people done to change the appearance of the area? Theme 3: Relationships within Places, Humans and Environments. The natural e_- vironment tends to limit what people can do in a place. However, throughout history, people have been quite clever in dealing with these limitations. In dry are~ where water was not sufficient to grow needed food, peoplfTound ways to imporr water. Today, people in dry places use advanced transportation to import food. ThE learning cycle lesson plan on page 409 addresses the theme of relationships withir: places. Theme 4: Movement, Humans Interacting on the Earth. People often do not remain in ope place, nor do they use only resources from the place where they live. The movement of ideas and products affects not only places of origin and destination but also places along the way. Raw materials are extracted, new products are grown or produced in factories, and transportation centers are expanded or established. Ideas such as preservation, conservation, and democracy are being attempted in new places. People travel to other nations to visit and may spend part of their lives working or living in other nations. There are systematic movements among the natural forces on the earth. For example, currents carry warm and cold water to new locations; they also carry pollution created by people to new locations throughout the globe. Global problems are concerns of geographers as they study movements between places and regions. Theme 5: Regions, How They Form and Change. It is difficult to conceive of the scale ofthe entire world, so geographers frequently divide it into regions. Within a region, geographers study all the places and activities defined by the other four themes. After studying many regions, geographers begin to get a picture of how the entire world works as they investigate the interactions between regions. Because the criteria for establishing a region are determined by the person doing the study, a region can be as small as an individual classroom, school, neighborhood, or community with which very young students are familiar. In this region, they can observe and investigate. As students develop their understanding of the five themes of geography, and develop their skills, they begin to study larger and more formal People ChAnge (heIr EnvlronMento.; II Grade Levels: Primary and Intermediate NCSS Standards: People, Places, and Environments ~_ Students suggest what the word environment means to them. 1. While the students are out of the room, rearrange the desks, turn off the lights, start a tape of soft music, and spray the room with a flower-scented room freshener. If the students do not notice the changes when they return to the room, ask them how the room has changed. Ask: "What changes in the environment do you notice? Do you like them? What do you think when you hear the word environment!" Record each response on a strip of paper and place it on the bulletin board. 1. Students offer logicaI associations for the concept of environment. aterials: Three sets of 10 pictures illustrating natural and human changes, various natural and cultural scenes of rural and urban ar:.eas,and pictures showing scenes including some of pollution or natural disasters, homes, roads, schools, stores, and so on. 1. Students identify changes in the environments shown in pictu res and suggest whether the changes were caused by nature or people. 2. Students classify elements of the environment into natural and cul- 1. Over two or three days, students use different sets of teacher-selected pictu resand work in small grou ps. Teachers carefu Ily select pictu resfor each group because the content of the pictures guides the classification possibilities. Eachgroup usesa different set of pictures each day. Follow the identical procedure each day but address one of the content classification objectives each day. 2. Group activities: Students classify the pictures as: a. Examples of natural and human changes. b. Scenessimilar to or different from their community scenes. 1. Students work cooperatively. 2. Groups classify pictures as assigned or create thei r own logical classifications. ., .,~, - - . , . , ~ tural (human c. Changes they consider good or bad. When doing 3. Students offer logimade) landscapes. this, students must give reasons for their choices. ca I reasons for c1as- 3. Students identify sifying a change as pictures that ap- good or bad. pear similar to and 4. Groups share work. different from their Iisten to each other. own community. and ask appropriate 4. Students judge 3. Each day, students share their group's conclusions questions. changes in the en- with the class. Groups decide on one picture to 5. Checklist for group vironments in the show the class to illustrate their classification and work: pictu res as positive judgment. A different spokesperson makes the a. Students ask apor negative and grou p report each day. Students ask cia rification propriate quesgive reasons for questions as needed. tions. their judgments. b. Disagreements are clearly 4. Daily closure: After each day's class discussion, stated. teachers asks: "Are there any pictures or words we c. Class ma kes apshould add to or take off our bulletin board be- propriate and cause of what we have learned today?" Changes are logical changes. made when class agrees. Ask: "How does our bul- 6. Students summarize letin board summarize what we have been studying accu rately, giving about the environment?"- important ideas. . ~. e1337183498~. .. 1. Tell students: "Think about what you have been learning and doing with the pictures of the environment 1. Students tell what 1. Students state wha" this week. Will someone give me a brief statement of they have learned something you learned about the environment and they have learned about changes in how the earth is changed?" Call on several students. c1early. the environment. After each comment teacher says: "If you have also learned what Johnny said, raise your hand." 2. Students raise 2. Students identify 2. Display a list of occupations including doctor, clerk, hands in agreeoccu pations that contractor, janitor, tree trimmer, architect, fire ment. bring changes to fighter, farmer, and gardener. Ask: "Which of these 3. Students offer a nthe environment. people have jobs that cause them to change the en- swers and explanavironment as they work?" tions. 3. Students Iist ways they can change thei r classroom environment. 4. Students agree on a set of changes to make in their classroom. 3. Ask students: "How might students change the environment of their classroom?" List responses. If appropriate, have students also address how they could change the room to reflect a topic to be studied or coming season or holiday. (This procedure can be repeated during the school year.) 4. Through voting and discussion select several changes to make in the classroom. Have students make these changes then reflect on their quality in a short note to the teacher explaining how and why they believe the changes are good or bad. 4. Students offer logical answers. 5. Students discuss and reach a conclusion by voting. 6. Students take part in carrying out the changes on the classroom and express their concerns and willingness to make additional appropriate changes. Formal evaluation is note to teacher. Seerubric. Note: This lesson may be expanded by students taking part in a school or community cleanup campaign or students extending their knowledge by learning about laws concerning the environment. Criteria for Note Beginning (1) Mastery (2) Exceptional (3) ---_._ -- -_.--._- Sayschange is good or .Jvaluates, but without a Evaluates as a personal Evaluates identifying personal bad. reason. preference or reason. and community impact. Identifies change. Names a change. Describes change be- Describes change with a reafore and after. son for the change. Tells how change was Sayswho made change. Gives one specific act Gives several specific behavdone. done to change the iors done to bring about the environment. change. Note is neat and uses Usesonly phrases or Writes two sentences. Usesmore than two complete acceptable grammar. single words, more of a sentences. list tha n a note. 1. Why do students quickly notice changes in the classroom set up for the exploratory introduction of the learning cycle on People Change Their Environments? 2. What initial terms do you anticipate students associating with the word environment? 3. What procedures would you use to prevent or solve the problem of students being curious about the pictures that other groups of students have? 4. Modifying the bulletin board helps students reconstruct their ideas about the environment and changes in it. What other activity might you use to help illustrate students' thoughts as they study? regions defined by physical and topographic features or political control. Those regions, such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, defined by the interaction of many complex features, are appropriate for study by students who have welldeveloped concrete reasoning schemata or are formal thinkers. Geography Education Standards and the Six Elements of Geography Education Geography for Life is a statement of geographic education standards prepared by a committee of geographers and geographic educators. It details the basic concepts and generalizations of physical and human geography and illustrates how geography systematically approaches the study of the earth and its people. It explains how locations and interactions between people and natural habitats help students understand events and places today, in the past, and possibly in the future. These standards are helpful in selecting appropriate geographic content, concepts, and skills for lessons, curricula, and assessments. The 18 standards are grouped into 6 major categories, or elements. Figure 13.1 identifies the 6 elements and the 18 standards. The standards subsume the five themes. Element 1: The World in Spatial Terms. Element 1 incorporates the theme of location, reminding instructors that finding places is not the only skill one uses when dealing with maps. It also identifies the variety of maps that students need to study and use. Element 2: Places and Regions. Element 2 combines two of the five themes, clarifying their meanings by pointing out that places are culturally defined by people, that they can be small or large, and that they may vary in importance over time. Element 3: Physical Systems. Element 3 serves as a reminder that the earth has patterns that are related to its physical nature, that many Element 1: The World in Spatial Terms 1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process,and report information from a spatial perspective. 2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. 3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on the earth's surface. Element 2: Places and Regions 4. Know and understand the physical and human characteristics of places. 5. Know and understand that people create regions to interpret the earth's complexity. 6. Know and understand how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions. Element 3: Physical Systems 7. Know and understand the physical processesthat shape the patterns of the earth's surface. 8. Know and understand the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on the earth's surface. Element 4: Human Systems 9. Know and understand the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations on the earth's surface. 10. Know and understa nd the characteristics, distri bution, and complexity of the earth's cuItu ral mosaics. 11. Know and understand the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on the earth's surface. 12. Know and understand the processes,patterns, and functions of human settlement. 13. Know and understand how the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the earth's surface. Element 5: Environment and Society 14. Know and understand how human actions modify the physical environment. 15. Know and understand how physical systems affect human systems. 16. Know and understand the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources. Element 6: The Usesof Geography 17. Know and understand how to apply geography to interpret the past. 18. Know and understand how to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future. FIGURE 13.1 .... _--- ational Geography Standards Source: Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, by the GeographyEducation S"andardsProject,1994,Washington,D.C.:NationalGeographicResearchand Exploration. changes are a result of the physical processes acting on the earth, and that natural forces change Earth by moving materials. Element 4: Human Systems. Element 4 stresses ongoing changes in human patterns related to settlements, the movement of resources, and the struggles and conflicts regarding control of the earth's surface. The inclusion of these two systems reminds teachers to include detailed considerations of both. Element 5: Environment and Society. Element 5 shows how people, at times, adapt their behaviors to fit the environment, whereas at other times, they try to change the environment to fit their own needs and desires. This element ensures that teachers consider environmental perspectives and ask stude"nts to think about how various people view the earth. Element 6: The Uses of Geography. Element 6 encourages teachers to as~ students to apply geographic knowledge to other school subjects and consider how people use geographic knowledge and skills in their jobs when making decisions. An inexpensive but important primary teaching resource is just outside your school. Field work is possible on every walk or trip outside. With a little planning and encouragement, students can study geography. Even the youngest students can talk about, draw, list, and photograph what they consic!§r important observations. In doing so, they begin to learn the usefulness of major geographic tools, such as graphs, charts, maps, photographs, aerial photographs, and remotely obtained information from satellites circling the earth. Making accurate observations and recording observations require instruction and practice using instruments and skills. But the first geographers began with nothing more than paper and pencils, tools that are readily available to all students. As students explore the local geographic outdoors laboratory, they come to appreciate and take pride in some of its aspects. Some might express negative feelings or concerns and want to seek ways to improve a place, such as cleaning an empty lot or making a playground for neighborhood children. Such efforts recognize that the study of geography involves values. Conflicts among the values of people and groups become obvious, as does the need to consider civic ideals and practices for the common good. Geography is integral to abilities to locate, move, or control natural resources in ways that contribute to the quality of our lives. So governments and private businesses collect, organize, and publish much of the geographic information that citizens may need as they make both personal and group decisions. Maps are available from governments at various levels. The most detailed and up-to-date maps in the United States are produced by the U.S. Geological Service, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S.Weather Service. Links to their websites are available at the Companion Website. State offices responsible for natural resources, highways, and tourism frequently produce maps. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State organize and distribute information about various parts of the country and world. These are valuable resources for teaching, as are the employees of such offices. As guest speakers, these employees help to teach the proper use of maps and photographs as well as explain how they use geographic knowledge and skills in their work. Workers in the private sector, such as builders, arIe cameras and the ease with which digi- ~sand streaming video can be placed on Ind students to share their homes, com- 1d field work with parents and students chools and nations. Students get to share consider important with other students Iy ask questions rather than receive a ld interpretation or outdated information -to-obtain printed sources. Students can Jct joint research studies with students in tions and in other nations. GLOBE is a lat assists in locating current data, pro- ,ns for sharing data between schools and tists. GLOBEworks with agencies of the nment to coordinate these projects. oliferation of websites makes information lily available to youths and teachers. lCies' websites provide coverage of events Ie world 24 hours a day. Agencies and departments of governments, especially the U.S. government, provide easy access to data in the form of graphs and maps about weather, landforms, agricultural products, population demographics, and population distributions. The Census Bureau, U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Parks Service are just a few of the many U.S. government agencies whose websites provide data to teachers and students and lessons that assist in the use of their data. Organizations such as the United Nations, CARE,Oxfam, the Red Cross/Red Crescent, the National Wildlife Federation, and the National Geographic Society provide data and often have teacher and student pages to teach about their work. There is no hard data that indicates how effective using technology is in increasing geographic knowledge and understanding among American students. However, NAE.Pdata indicates that students who report having such experiences in their classes do score higher on the NAEP Geography Test. chitects, travel agents, and real estate agents, also encounter geographic problems and use geographic knowledge. ling Geographic Concepts, Generalizations, lis Geographic knowledge is found throughout the elementary curriculum in both social studies and science. When emphasis is placed on the people of a region, their culture is part of the study of geography. Geographic concepts, generalizations, and skills are all present in the classroom, on school grounds, and in larger regions such as local communities, states, nations, and throughout the entire world. Even though geography is so much a part of our lives, it was often largely neglected in the school curriculum. Textbooks tended to reduce it to long lists of detailed facts and occasional map skills lessons. Geography often has been represented in textbooks by the place and location themes. Textbooks have emphasized the place theme by discussing concepts such as mountain, river, plain, continent, equator, suburb, community, transportation, and lake (Haas, 1991). The location theme has been emphasized through map exercises in which students locate places and symbols and identifY directions on maps of classrooms and familiar locations such as shopping centers. A major problem of emphasizing only the location and place themes is that studying geography becomes a chore of trying to commit isolated lists of information to memory. The most important reason for learning geography is its usefulness, which is made clear through the relationship and movement themes (Pigozzi, 1990). It is only through learning all the themes that students combine a sufficient number of appropriate concepts to form generalizations in geography. The generalizations that students make are tested by examining how concepts that are developed with information from one region can be applied to another region. All five themes of geography, or all six elements of the standards, are stressed in every grade level. Very young children begin learning geography through personal interactions with their own local environments and regions. They observe their surroundings in the school and on short walks or field trips, and they record their information in simple stories, drawings, and maps. As_they increase their information and skills through direct experiences, they begIn to use more indirect sources of information to learn about places they cannot visit in person. Gradually, they use pictures, maps, films, charts, and written descriptions to begin to compare places. By identifying similarities and differences, they refine and elaborate their concept definitions. They form conclusions and make generalizations about various relationships among geographic phenomena. In so doing, they develop an elaborate mental map of their world. The mental map helps them to understand events and problems they encounter. Two chief characteristics of a powerful geography curriculum are (1) the organization of geographic information and (2) the involvement of students in mindson learning through inquiry and the use of inquiry skills. Information is presented in connected ways so that students are assisted in organizing this information. Authentic activities show the usefulness of geography by involving students in hands-on geographic investigations that are not limited to watching television programs, looking at Internet sites, or reading a book. When information is presented in a connected way, students are better able to construct meaning from it. Research by Brophy and Alleman (2000) reveals that whereas primary grades students can identify details in pictures and give reasons why different people might construct houses from different materials, they need help from teachers. Such help includes involvement in lessons with activities and prompting questions that enable them to construct geographic generalizations, such as that people build houses from the natural materials found in their physical environments. It is no coincidence that the NeSS standards use important superordinate concepts, such as People, Places, and Environment, as labels for their themes. Among the important superordinate concepts suggested by geographers in the five themes and six elements of geography are location, place, movement, physical systems, human systems, environment, and society. Questions using these superordinate concepts and relationships among them make excellent focus questions for This young man's interest in places is enhanced by studying the atlas and sharing information with family and friends. units and curriculum for the entire year. Following is an example of a classroom scene shQ.wing how geography is meaningfully learned. As you read it, consider and examine the following: • How students' prior knowledge is activated • How concepts are developed • How students use and expand on their new knowledge Mr. Boyd noticed that his state's third-grade social studies guidelines included teaching landforms and bodies of water and emphasized reading maps of the United States and the world. He knew that, although their community was located on the coast of one of the Great Lakes, most of his students had not seen a river. He planned and implemented a short unit using river as the superordinate concept to organize it. He began by asking the students to think about Lake Michigan. Then he asked, "What can you tell me about the lake?" After students responded, Mr. Boyd refocused the discussion by asking, "Using the information we have been talking about, tell me how a river is similar to or different from Lake Michigan?" After some discussion, the children agreed that rivers are long and skinny and that you can see across them and build bridges to cross over them. Valesca said, "I saw pictures on television where a river had flooded over fields and into a town." Some students agreed with Shenana, who said, "Rivers are dirty and not pretty and blue like our lake." Mr. Boyd told the students that they certainly knew a lot about Lake Michigan and how people in their city use the lake. He told them, "In the next few days, we will be learning more about rivers and thinking about how the people who live along them might use rivers and what the think about rivers." The next day, Mr. Boyd began the lesson development by putting students into small groups and giving them each a black-and-white outline map of the United States. He told the students, "Take a close look at the lakes and rivers on your maps. Then, make lists of differences and similarities." After a few minutes, he provided them with an additional colored map of the United States and colored pictures of scenes of the Great Lakes and several different rivers. He told them, "Look carefully at these colored maps and the pictures your group has. Add to your lists of similarities and differences if you want to." The students' lists lengthened. They noted that cities werelocated along both the rivers and the lakes and that both rivers and lakes were shown:in blue on the colored map. They also noticed that the colored map had some small lakes on it that were not present on the black-and-white maps. The students were surprised to see white water in some of the rivers that appeared to be moving fast. Some rivers seemed to be way down among rocks, whereas others were even with the land as the lakes were. All the groups decided that rivers that were even with the land did not look like they were moving. They noticed lots of trees and shrubs along the edges of rivers. Fields and cities seemed to sit back away from the river a bit. Students grouped their pictures of rivers into those they thought might cause flood damage and those they did not think would be likely to cause flood damage. The students responded by placing those that were in rocky areas in the "not likely to flood" category. Mr. Boyd showed the students pictures of rivers that had flooded. The students concluded that their classifications were correct. Mr. Boyd explained, "Rivers that flood have flood plains. This is an area that is expected to be covered with water in an average flood." He asked, "Where would you find the flood plain of a river?" Then Mr. Boyd told the students that one frequently flooded river in the United States today is the Mississippi River and that another great river that floods is the Nile River. After locating the Nile River on a world map, he showed the students pictures taken along the banks of the Nile River and asked them, "Where is the Nile River's flood plain?" The students quickly identified the flood plain. They explained why it was planted in crops, whereas the villages were on higher ground just beyond the flood plain. Next, the students examined a map of the Nile River as the teacher called their attention to the various colors on the map along the course of the river. Students consulted the legend and discovered that elevation was shown by various colors. Part of the Nile River was at very high elevations shown in brown, whereas green indicated the lowest areas. The teacher then asked, "Where along the Nile do you think the pictures of the flood plain were taken?" Tne students de6ded that these pictures had been taken in green areas in Egypt. The teacher then asked, "Where does the Nile River begin and where does it end?" The students found one end of the Nile but had trouble with the other end. So Mr. Boyd suggested starting at the end they found and tracing the Nile with a finger until they could not trace it any further. A controversy developed when they reached the city of Khartoum, Sudan, over whether this was the source of the Nile. The students said that each of the two rivers beyond the city, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, had Nile in its name and each came from high areas. Mr. Boyd took the opportunity to define the junction as a place where rivers flow together, forming a bigger river. He then asked the students to decide whether there would be a Nile River if there were no Blue Nile or White Nile. After some discussion, the students decided the source of the Nile River was the source of both the Blue Nile and the White Nile. At this point, Mr. Boyd provided the names for the regions in which rivers begin and end, telling the students that the region where rivers begin is called a source and where it ends (by flowing into the ocean or a lake) is called the mouth. The students had noted that the Nile River divided at its mouth into branches with a triangular shape. Mr. Boyd told them the region in which a river divides is a low swampy area called a delta. He explained that delta is a letter in the Greek alphabet that looks like a triangle, and he drew this letter on the board. Then Mr. Boyd refocused the students' attention on the junction of the Blue Nile and White Nile at the city of Khartoum. He wrote the word tributary on the board and said that the Blue Nile and White Nile were tributaries of the Nile. He asked, "Knowing they are called tributaries, what do you think the word tributary means?" After some discussion and looking at maps, the students developed a class definition: "A tributary of a river is a smaller river that comes in and helps to make the big river." Nex!J Mr. Boyd challenged the groups to (ook at tne map of the United States and trace thg:course of the Mississippi River. They had to identify the states where its source and mouth are located and count and record the names of its tributaries. They also decided whether the Mississippi and its tributaries had deltas. After about 10 minutes, the groups shared their findings. Mr. Boyd ended the session by asking for a volunteer to trace the course of the Mississippi River on a map of the United States he put on the overhead projector. He called on several students to name one of the parts of a river that they had learned about that day. Then they briefly summarized the lesson activities and the major concepts they had investigated related to the superordinate concept of river. These were similarities and differences between rivers and Jakes, what rivers look like, which rivers might flood, flood plain, river junction, river source and mouth, delta, and tri buta ry. On the next day, the small groups traced the courses of the Ohio, Colorado, St. Lawrence, Columbia, Snake, Missouri, Arkansas, and Rio Grande rivers. They predicted which rivers might have large flood plains and where flooding might frequently present problems. They presented their evidence for making their predictions. Then they described inconveniences flooding might cause people living along the rivers. They offered explanations about why some rivers have large tributaries and others do not. They also explained why they thought only some of the rivers have large cities located along their courses. Then they were asked to decide whether the locations of these cities were in places where flooding might cause lots of problems. To conclude, Mr. Boyd said, "Both lakes and rivers are bodies ·of water." He asked the students to review the lists they had made previously of ways in which rivers and lakes are similar and different. They were encouraged to revise their lists. As a summary, Mr. Boyd asked one group of students to list on the board the activities of this short unit and the concepts discussed. Another group added one activity that had been overlooked. As an evaluation, Mr. Boyd asked students to write about the following in their journals: Imagine that you and your family are moving to a new community. Which type of community would you want to live in: one located on a lake or one located along a river? Explain the reasons for your choice .• When planning, the teacher keeps in mind students' experiences, skills, interests, and developmental level, as well as the themes and standards of geography. .Because a single theme or standard can be studied through the use of a variety of content, teachers decide what important content students .ihould learn. A firstgrade teacher in an area where flash flood watches are common might include a discussion of such watches and how to respond to them. A teacher in Iowa might talk about flooding resulting from snowmelt or rainstorms, whereas a teacher in Oklahoma would be more likely to discuss tornadoes than floods. As students develop their skills, they study more complex regions and issues. The complexity of the region makes it more difficult to understand-not its distance from the student as the expanding environments curriculum assumes. There is a difference between actual geographical distance and psychological distance. What is understood is directly related to common experience and empathy. Therefore, it is possible for young students to be interested in, and learn, accurate and legitimate information about areas of the world that are far away from them 1. How did Mr. Boyd help students construct the concepts of delta and tributary? 2. What examples were used to help the students construct the concept of delta? 3. What inquiry skills did the students use to gather information? 4. How did Mr. Boyd assessstudent learning of each concept? 5. Why do you think Mr. Boyd asked the students to make the decision about-living by a lake or a river as the evaluation activity! 6. What criteria would you include on a rubric for this writing assignment? How many examples would you expect in the highest quality responses? 7. Having completed this study of rivers, what might be a good choice for the content of the next social studies lesson for these students? in geographical distance. With young students, it is particularly important to carry out the following tasks: • Provide enough accurate information • Have students look for similarities • Link similarities with familiar concepts • Help students imagine how people in other places feel or respond to an issue For example, young students who learn about children in northern Nigeria celebrating a holiday with special foods and dancing should be led to see that the children in other cultures get treats on special occasions just as they do. Whether a teacher thinks of geography as elaborated in the NCSS standards, the five themes, or Geography for Life, geography education should stress content, concepts, skills, and generalizations across the range of the standards. Many people associate geography with map skills. Geographers may use map skills far more frequently than the average citizen or people in other careers, but they also use many other skills commonly practiced by all social scientists. Table 13.2 identifies these inquiry skill categories and illustrates them with specific examples of classroom activities. Because geographically literate citizens need to become familiar with these skills, they also must be an integral part of the curriculum. Research Findings on Geographic Education Reviews of research on geographic learning by the teams of Rice and Cobb (1978) and Buggey and Kracht (1985) concluded that elementary students have the ability to learn geographic skills. Carefully planned instruction in the elementary and middle grades is effective in increasing both geographic knowledge and skills. In 1985, the Rresident of the National Geographic Society (NGS), Gilbert Grosvenor, noted that U.S. students taking part in an international test on geography had done poorly compared to students in other nations. With the support of geographers, the NGS launched Geographic Awareness Week in 1987 to promote the study of geography at all grade levels. The NGS also raises money to fund the teaching of geography and encourages states to help form and maintain geographic alliances. These alliances, whose members are largely classroom teachers, focus efforts on increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers and promoting geographic education. The results ofthe 2001 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test in geography showed improvements in achievement over the 1994 NAEP tests (National Center for Education Statistics, 1995, 1996,2002). Most likely, the higher levels of performance were related to efforts to increase the study of geography in the United States. Examining results ofthe 2001 NAEP assessment in geography provides information on what students knew and could do. This can help in making decisions for teaching geography to elementary and middle school students. • Seventy-one percent of fourth-graders and 74 percent of eighth-graders were at or above the basic level, whereas 21 percent of the fourth-graders, and 30 TABLE 13.2 -- Student Behaviors Illustrating the Five Geographic Skills Ask questions: Where is it?Why is it there? What is important about its location? How is one location related to other locations of people, places, and environments? Distinguish between geographic and nongeographic questions. Locate, gather, and processinformation from a variety of maps and primary and secondary sources. Make and record observations of physical and human characteristics of places. Make and record direct field observations. Plan ways to gather Locate information information. _ in computer databases. Formulate geographic hypotheses and plan their testing. Prepare maps to display data; construct graphs and tables displaying geographic information. Construct graphs, tables, and diagrams displaying geographic information. Summarize data integrating various types of materials. Make models of physical and culturallandscapes. Usemaps to observe and interpret geographic relationships. Usetables and graphs to observe and interpret trends and relationships. Usetext, photos,.::-' documents to observe and interpret trends and relationships. Make inferences and draw conclusions. Interpret geographic information. Prepare oral and written reports that use maps and graphics. Acquire geographic information; draw conclusions; and make generalizations. Apply generalizations to solve problems and make decisions. Assessvalidity of generalizations and revise if needed. Apply theories from geography to help explain events and places. Source: Adapted from Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, by the Geography Education Standards Project, 1994, Washington, D.c.: National Geographic Research and Exploration. Thoughtful decision making by citizens is essential in a democracy and therefore is an important social studies goal. 1. Which of the five geographic skills helps to define a problem? 2. Which of the five geographic skills helps to process information to be able to understand and interpret relationships and evaluate their importance? 3. Which of the five geographic skills is used when students evaluate or revise their conclusions and generalizations? M~!f~9_~.._?~Y:r:-!'..~_~_r_:~- 1337183498~t? Books Provide Different Cultural Perspectives Most people experience a geographer's curiosity when encountering spectacular sites prompting thoughts about origins and creations. Today, the appearance of the surface of the earth is explained as the result of erosions, depositions, and plate tectonics. Today's scientific culture makes explanations in relationships and theories from science. But people in other cultures have explanations concerning important events and places that have been passed on for hundreds and thousands of years. Legends of Landforms: Native American Lore and the Geology of the Land (1999) by Carole G. Vogel presents pictures and contrasting explanations about the creation of many striking landforms from across the United States. A teacher can use this book to stimulate discussions that encourage learning about and appreciation for the cultures and values of the people that formulated the explanations. Speculative questions prompt students to think and examine the nature of cultures, including their own. For example, why would Native Americans want to provide explanations for certain locations? How might nomadic or settled people use stories to help them teach their youths? Who are the aGtors in the stories and why do you think they were given their specific roles in the story? What do you think is the role stories play in the culture of the Native Americans? When reading various explanations, help students examine their personal reactions to the stories. Ask students, "Which explanations do you like the best? What did. you learn from each explanation? Which explanation do you understand the best? Which do you think you will remember the longest? How has each explanation helped you to remember the characteristic of the site? Which explanation would you tell another person who looked at this site in wonder? What does the scientific explanation tell you about our society and its culture? Does the scientific explanation make sense to you or does it make you want to ask more questions? What do the Native American explanations tell you about their views of the world?" In Story of the Nile: A journey Through Time Along the World's Longest River by Anne Millard, the reader visits unique sites along the 4,350-mile course of the Nile River, from its sources to its mouth. Examining the details and relationships between the many individual drawings of daily life and the important events in the large pictures enables students to construct their understanding of the importance of the Nile River to the economic life of people and empires throughout time and in various environments. All places are not alike. This generalization accounts for some of the differences in the way people act, the things they like or dislike, and potentially the things they can do or how they might differ when performing specific tasks. Young students are curious about the lives of others their age, but they tend to think that all young people live the same way they do. Reading Recess at 20 Below by Cindy Lou Aillaud can help young students restructure their thinking about the impact of location on human activities. Begin by asking students to share why they like to go outside for recess and what might be a good reason for canceling going outside. Examine the location of Alaska, the Arctic Circle, and the Alaska Highway. Ask students for predictions on how living in the far north of the United States might impact school activities and recess. The book uses words and photographs to describe the characteristics of the Arctic climate, illustrating special winter gear and clothing, the fun, and the dangers of going outside for recess when the temperature is 20 degrees below zero and daylight is short. Cold weather is not a reason for canceling recess, because the students adapt to the cold through actions of their own. However, some elements of their environment cannot be controlled, and sometimes schools must cancel the fun of recess outside. The book ends by implying that when the long hours of darkness, snow, and cold are gone, students look forward to long days and riding a bike in bright sunlight after 10 P.M. Recess at 20 Below can be used to not only address the single lesson of people in places, but it also is an opening for additional geography lessons about earth-sun relationships throughout the year and how they impact the lives of all people on the earth, including those living in the tropics, the middle latitudes, and the upper latitudes. Many primary-grade teachers read trade books with settings in other nations to their classes. By linking these books to the study of the geography through a focus on the locations and a comparison of environments, students are encouraged to use skills in reading and listening comprehension while gaining greater understanding of the world in whic they live. Such a procedure also models strategies fo using books as learning resources for use in making small-group and individual reports. percent of the eighth-graders performed at the highest (proficient and advanced) achievement levels. • Students scoring at the higher percentiles were more able to work with a range of geographic tools, create maps based on tabular or narrative data, grasp processes and relationships, bring outside knowledge to bear on answering questions, and analyze data. -' The results from the NAEP geography test make it clear that some groups of students perform better than others. Some individuals in lower-performing groups do well on geographic tasks. But group differences indicate that schools in certain regions or serving specific demographic groups need extra efforts and assistance. Personal activities, such as doing geography projects, and home activities, such as discussing geography topics with a parent, also resulted in differences in performance on the test. Differences associated with demographic variables include the following (the terms identifying groups of people based on race and ethnicity are those used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census): • White and Asian students had higher scores than Mrican American, Native American, and Hispanic students. • The higher the level of parents' education, the better the performance of students. • Overall, male students performed better than female students. • Students attending non public schools performed at higher levels than did those in public schools. • Students who were not eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch scored higher than students who were eligible for the program. Differences in scores related to home and school behaviors include the following: • Eighth grade students who reported studying countries and cultures scored higher than those who said that they never or hardly ever studied countries or cultures. • Fourth- and eighth-grade students whose teachers had them use the Internet scored higher than those whose teachers did not have students use the Internet. In addressing the press on June 21, 2002, when the findings ofthe 2001 NAEP test in geography were released to the public, Rod Paige said, Geography not only helps students explore the world's people and civilizations across time, it also helps them understand the complexities of the world we live in today .... This is not the same planet our parents knew or their parents .... It's a world of 24-hour-news cycles, global markets, highspeed Internet and big challenges for all who inhabit it. And in order for our children to be prepared to take their place in that world and rise to those challenges, they must first understand it .... I am pleased to hear that this report shows improved achievement among the fourth and eighth graders. . . . But the results also show us that, clearly, there is much more work to do. (Paige,2002b) Students in grades K-5 understand space differently from the geographer. Even older students may have difficulty understanding the world as it is spatially presented on maps. This means that the types of maps used in grades K-5 should differ from those used by older students. The types of information included on a young student's map or observed by a student on an adult's map will probably be interpreted differently by the student and the adult. Spatial understanding begins developing in the first few months of life. Early deyelopment of spatial understanding is influenced greatly by the egocentric nature of the learner. At first, children view things from their own perspective. Later, they come to recognize multiple perspectives from various locations. Last, they are able to use an abstract reference system to locate items in relationship to one another. The t.hree types of space children come to understand are topological, projective, and~Euclidian. Teachers who recognize the characteristics of these types of space help children organize and gain information from maps in developmentally appropriate ways throughout the elementary and middle school years. These teachers also recognize opportunities to integrate the learning of geography and mathematics. 1. Howdo you think the results of national tests are best used to improve student learning? 2. Usingthe above information, identify the out-of-school variables that seem to impact student learning of geography. 3. If a class or school does not provide opportunities for students to learn geography, what are some activities that parents or communities can do to provide geographic learning experiences to the students? In helping students to develop spatial relationships, teachers integrate geoeraphy and mathematics. The three types of spatial knowledge include topograph:- cal space, projective space, and Euclidian space. Topographical space deals witt shapes, separation, closure, continuity, and order. It is one of the first elements 0:: a map and geometry that students learn. Projective space deals with the fact tha:: items are seen differently depending on the direction from which they are viewed. Preschoolers have experiences with looking straight at objects or from a high poin:: such as a hill. The above-vertical perspective, or "birds-eye" view, is associated with reading maps and aerial photographs. Euclidian space, the most abstract type 0_ spatial knowledge, focuses on where things are in relation to one another or to coordinates, such as the prime meridian, the equator, and the poles. Researchers report that elementary and middle s<:hool students can be taught about spatial relations and have greater success when experiences use concrete materials and images that can be viewed and manipulated. Students make extensive use of spatial skills when reading or creating maps (Catling, 1978; Holloway, 1967). Maps and globes are important tools for geographers because they provide a convenient way to organize information by location. By their very nature, maps and globes are quite different from the real world. They are not a picture of the world but an interpretation by the mapmaker, containing only information the mapmaker considers important to include for the purpose ofthe map. The title tells the reader the major idea shown on the map. One of the best ways to learn the definition of a map is to make your own maps. When doing so, students encounter and solve the same kinds of problems professional mapmakers encounter. Mapping the classroom, schoolyard, or route taken on a neighborhood walk are excellent experiences for primary-grade students. Such mapping might begin with making three-dimensional models in a sandbox or on the floor with blocks or plastic models. Older students might map their individual routes to school or their rooms at home. Students of all ages should examine a variety of maps so that they can compare and judge their own ideas against those of professionals. Globes and maps today are durable, less expensive than in the past, and made from a variety of materials. Schools can afford to have several globes so that small groups of students can explore and mark on a globe rather than gaze at it from afar. It is possible to buy inexpensive maps and atlases so that each student or pair of students has an atlas or placematlike map. Such instructional materials provide students with opportunities for more active involvement in learning. Publishers of atlases and globes produce research-based materials that are appropriate for students at the various elementary grade levels. Many schools are painting maps on their parking lots and playgrounds, providing children with the opportunity to stand and walk across maps representing large areas such as the United States or the entire world. If you put a globe where young children can get to it easily, they explore it and ask questions. This model of the earth is studied before maps are studied for several reasons. First, a globe is more concrete and realistic than a map. Second, students are familiar with models because of their toys. Third, although maps may include more specific information, all the information that is required in reading a map is available on a globe, and the globe presents the information more accurately. Shapes, locations, relative locations, distances, and sizes are all more accurately represented on a globe than on a map. Because of their two-dimensional nature, maps represent distances and shapes inaccurately. Such inaccurate information can lead to misconceptions. Misconceptions not only limit a student's ability to answer geographical questions correctly, but often remain even after instruction tries to correct them. For instance, many U.S. children believe that Alaska and Hawaii are islands located just a little west of California and Mexico or in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the visual impact ofthe items on a map that helps to create and maintain such misconceptions. By using a globe first, children are more likely to learn geography correctly. After becoming familiar with a globe, students are likely to question the inaccuracies on maps. Eventually, they can discover why the map maker must make choices about what to include on a map and how to show it as accurately as possible. Reading a map or globe requires knowledge ofthe five superordinate concepts of (1) shape or pattern, (2) symbols, (3) directions, (4) distance, and (5) grid {?ou.t-/, Cel ST -Un.re.d Making three-dimensional maps helps students see new ways to illustrate elevation. systems, as well as the conventions oftheir presentations on globes and maps. ~ most concepts, each ofthese can be understood at a variety oflevels. It is pos-- - - to use these concepts correctly on a map without thoroughly understanding just as it is possible to drive a car without understanding how its various SY5 -.: work. However, understanding accounts for greater success in using globes maps and for knowing when maps are most effectively used. Each of these con~ is introduced, practiced, and refined by the student throughout the elementary middle school grades. The first maps students use should depict familiar locations with only =- symbols. Map and globe publishers such as Nystrom, Cram, and Rand Me. -"-_ produce instructional programs and sets of globes, atlases, and maps for child.:=- starting in kindergarten. By the sixth grade, most textbook series include vaL ~ types of maps usually found in commercial atlases. Because students at this .== are just beginning to develop their understanding of the abstract Euclidian s. on which these maps are based and just starting to read locations, distances. ~ elevations with exact measurements, teachers need to encourage lots of discus~ and involve students in a wide range of activities with these maps. Geographers divide map and globe work into three sets of skills: mapmalC-.::: map reading, and map interpretation. The interpretation of data on maps is .=- lated to the complexity of the question being asked and to the data students read and understand from the map. Young students can make inferences ana =--- terpret data from a map based on their mastery of spatial concepts. Older stude:::.:;; begin making inferences from data shown on two or more maps. Continents, nations, states, and distributions covering areas such as the Corn &:: or a low pressure system have distinct shapes or form patterns with a shape. Tr= ability to recognize these patterns and describe them is key to the study of gOO£- raphy. The first step is to be able to recognize the patterns, and the second st~. ~ to be able to identify the pattern when it is seen again. Because maps are made =- different scales, patterns based on shape must be recognized when shown in \2r...- ous sizes. How people determine what they see as a shape of a portion of the ear"'" is a matter of personal choice. Few patterns repeat, and few have simple sha. - such as a square. Teachers encourage students to describe places by the shape - ~ have when a dark line is drawn around the edges. This is helpful in learning tL= locations of states and nations. Very young children are capable of doing this tz-.::- Many children enter kindergarten knowing various states because they pIa. - with a puzzle of the United States. Teachers encourage children to make assClCiztions to help them learn patterns. They allow children to make their own shape <L.=- scription rather than tell them what shape someone else has decided it is. Teach~ might need to encourage children to do so with examples, by suggesting, for =-- stance, that Indiana is shaped like a stocking or that Antarctica is shaped like - toy rubber duck. The idea that something represents another thing is learned in the preoperational stage, around ages 5 to 7. Globes and maps are symbols and they make extensive use of other symbols. Two types of geographic symbols are point symbols and area symbols. Point symbols identify those locations that cover small areas appearing as a point on a globe or small-scale map. The simplest point symbols to identify are called pictorial symbols because they appear similar to a picture of the real item. Maps for the beginner use a few pictorial or semipictorial symbols. As mapmakers include more information on a map, they simplify the symbols by making them more abstract. Area symbols show features that cover acres or square miles ofland. Shading and colors are used for area symbols, and they are very abstract. Few universal symbols appear on maps and globes, partly because so many features might appear on a map. Even the meaning of a color may change from map to map. Maps have legends or keys to specify the meaning of symbols used on them. Students must learn the habit of using the legend to be able to read maps. Symbol is one ofthe first superordinate concepts a student must come to understand to be able to read a map. Complex maps layer area and point symbols on top of one another. Directions are learned first in relationship to oneself and then to other objects. Pointing to things and describing where they are in relation to yourself, to other people, and to objects is the beginning of directional activities. Students in the early primary grades can do this. Knowing left from right is important for learning map directions because east is 90 degrees right of north and west is 90 degrees left of north. Take students outside to locate north. As they face north, have them locate east' and west by raising their arms. Tell students that south is to their backs when they are facing north. Then label the walls in the classroom with corred diI'ediolls. USIng tne card'i'na{ d'irections, have students locate items outside and inside in relation to people and objects. For example, a student might say, "Mary sits two desks north of Joan." When maps and globes are introduced, they should be oriented toward the north. Because maps show what is on the earth's surface, they are best placed on a desk or on the floor parallel to the surface of the earth. Students are encouraged to trace directions with their fingers over the surface of the globe or map. In the early primary grades, many children quickly memorize directions on a map and give correct answers to questions, but this does not mean that they understand direction or can use directions, except on a map. Correctly measuring distance on a map with the use of a scale is complex. It requires accurate use of mathematics knowledge, an understanding of proportionality, The grid on the classroom floor allows students to practice locating items and classmates in order to better understand the use of the grid on maps. and the ability to divide quickly. Students must be able to conserve distance, recognizing paths ofthe same length. Distance is not only a straight-line measure; it is also important in determining the correct size and shape of an area. Therefore, exact measures of distances are best attempted in the intermediate grades. However, relative distances are used in the primary grades. Near, farther away, and farthest can be introduced to young children, as can measures such as small, big, and very big. Because the globe provides a more accurate presentation of distances in all directions than does a world map, measurement of world distances and comparison of the sizes of regions is done first on the globe. Pieces of string are stretched over a globe between two points to get a relative measure of distances between places. The pieces of string are cut and compared to see whether they are the same length and, if not, which is longer. As the string is laid on the globe, the student observes the direction of the path one would travel to get between the points. When actual measurements in miles are heeded, a string or thin strip of paper is placed between the two points and cut at the end point. The string or strip is moved to the scale where the distance is read by placing the paper or string next to the scale. Pieces of string or dental floss are used when measuring curved rivers or roads because their flexibility yields more accurate measures. Measuring with string the equator, meridians (longitude), and lines of latitude on a globe and comparing the lengths greatly assist students' meaningful learning of thel>e concept"" along with the concepts of sphere and hemisphere. Without an accurate understanding of these concepts, students can't master the grid system of latitude and longitude. The grid system is the most complex ofthe concepts. It is a way of finding locations. A vertical line and a horizontal line intersect at only one place. To use a grid system, the student needs to understand this principle and practice locating intersections. Grid systems are taught first by using a system similar to that used in locating a seat in an auditorium with numbers for the rows and letters for the seats. When transferred to a map, letters are placed along the horizontal axis and numbers along the vertical axis. Road maps of individual states usually include this type of grid system as do city maps. Such a grid system gives an approximate location. The grid system can also be introduced with a dot-to-dot game. For additional practice, letters can be placed in the boxes formed by a grid and secret messages can be decoded for practice. For example, Kathleen's mailbox address might be C5. Some teachers have labeled the tiles on the floor or ceiling of the classroom and encouraged students to practice locating people and things in the classroom. So the aquarium might be at E8. Exact locations are given by the system of latitude and longitude. Each line of latitude and longitude is identified by a number and a direction. Because every line of latitude or longitude is not on a map, locating places by latitude and longitude requires the ability to sequence numbers in relationship to the rectangular grid. It also requires the ability to estimate and understand directions on a map. Remot!-Sensing and Digital Maps in the Teaching of Geography Most people use maps so that they can travel to a chosen location. In the United States, virtually all locations with a street or road address are included in one or more digital databases. Similarly, satellite images and historical data also are available. This has enormous potential for teachers and students who access these types of data via the Internet through a number of government websites and free commercial services such as Google. You can examine your own community or any place in the country by using Google Map. Google Map can help students answer the most fundamental question: "What is a map?" Call up your city by entering its name into Google Map, click on the map, and then click on the satellite view. Ask students, "What differences do you notice?" This broadly worded question starts an inquiry lesson on important ideas about maps that can yield not only the definition of a map and aerial photographs, but that can also help students to construct conclusions and generalizations about the multiple uses of maps and data from remote-sensing sources. Click the hybrid button to combine the two images, creating an image that is even more helpful. Students and the public see such hybrid images on news broadcasts and in newspapers and magazines, especially when the reports are about weather or disasters. Most students reveal great interest in exploring their own community, and more so when using these digital tools. Throughout the year, elementary teachers can use Google Map when preparing for walks or field trips. Students can help to plan the route and use the map to record or review their observations during or after a fieldtrip. Students should be asked to verbalize the field trip's route by naming landmarks, intersections, and roads. Cardinal directions should be used to indicate turns and locations from one site to another. When debriefing fieldtrips, teachers can use the map, aerial photograph, or hybrid to help review the trip. Students can explain the observations made at various locations on the trip, including short descriptions of what made a place special, along with information about what they learned at the final destination. Such verbalization helps in building and reinforcing social studies vocabulary. Students might also compare their routes with the directions for car drivers printed by a computer service. View the whole world by downloading Google Earth, a globe that displays information about places around the world. Interested in adding your own information or information from other databases? For a small fee, you can use a version that allows you to add your own data files to the program and see them displayed. Geographers and businesses make extensive use of remote:sensing data, as do many agencies of the US. government, such as the National Ocean and Atmospheric Agency, the US. Department of Defense, the Census Bureau, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and the US. Geological Survey. Each of these agencies offers multiple maps on their websites. The Companion Website has links to many of such websites. Google Earth can help students understand current events because it displays data across large areas. Students can examine relationships between and among similar locations that are great distances from each other or explore patterns that transcend national boundaries, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. With the use of GIS software, geographers and students are able to create displays or overlays of data on physical or political maps of the earth to answer geographic questions. All maps are made of layers of information. Learning to read and interpret maps and aerial photographs requires the ability to mentally isolate a layer of information, question the data's spatial relationships, and combine that layer of data with other data on another layer of the same map. Choosing sites to locate new places, targeting markets, planning a transportation network to distribute products and services, or respond to an emergency are problems that geographers answer in providing services to individuals, businesses, and governments. In doing so, geographers can help save multiple billions of dollars and time. Important information about people cannot be easily viewed by observing the landscape, but when it is digitized as, for example, the US. Census is, that information can be put onto maps and the spatial patterns examined. Atlases prepared for use in the upper elementary and middle schools include maps that illustrate distributions of such topics as population density and agricultural production for nations and continents, but such maps do not provide the most recent information and cannot show local differences or a general pattern. Digitized maps are therefore more likely to be both more detailed and up to date than maps in a printed atlas. The third-, fourth-, and eighth-grade curricula of most states focus on communities and the state. Resources such as Google Map and Globe can be used to develop lessons and units to locate spatial relationships between economic resources and businesses or to examine the cultural and governmental services in their community and state. This assists students in understanding problems in their community and adds interest and realistic meaning to the study. Although such activities do not require Internet resources, the costs and scarcity of teacher time to locate, travel to, and obtain needed resources make it difficult for most teachers to do so. The media often display images gathered from satellites orbiting the earth. Digitized data on the Internet provide students and teachers with the opportunity for greater interactions, knowledge, and understanding of their world. The Companion Website for Chapter 13 has a link to the short video "Layers of Our World" that explains and illustrates GIS and its uses. The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) offers the CD "Eye in the Sky! U.S. Geography from Above" for students in grades 4-6. Using digital resources that relate to fourth through sixth-grade curricula and youthful computer skills, tne lessons focus on urhan ana rural issues for all regions of tne United States. Ancillary materials include a guide and self-training modules for teachers wishing to introduce and use GIS with students. This self-contained package enables teachers to begin teaching skills that geographers use in working with digital data to youth at an early age through a systematic approach of using spatial skills to identifY the distributions of patterns and density and the presence or ab- Jredict and test relationships to find better solutions to geographic questions. In for the ,work and importance of geographers and the study of both maps and ~eography. Commercial GIS programs for use by middle school teachers and stutents with more advanced skills are available that enable students to seek an- ,wers to their own questions and import data from digital databases or databases hey create from data they collect. ~umbers:The Amount or Quantity on Maps, in Atlases, md in Textbooks ieographers cannot escape encountering and interpreting the meaning of large LUmbers.Population, gross national product (GNP), dollar value of crops, acres, ailes, and elevations are just some of the geographic facts that are given as numlers. Comprehending the amount in a large number is quite difficult. Therefore, lany people ignore the numbers and end up with great misconceptions about imortant characteristics of places. Geographers use charts and graphics, particulrly histograms, pie graphs, bar graphs, and population pyramids. These graphics rovide a visual image of numbers and sometimes compare parts to a whole or lake symbols in graduated size to allow for more meaningful comparisons. Sometimes graphs are placed directly on a map to focus on location as well as amount. One of the most common graphs combines a line graph of the average monthly temperature and vertical bars indicating the average monthly precipitation at a location. These graphs are often shown on or with the maps that illustrate the types of climates and illustrate the variations in the temperature and precipitation during the year. Population pyramids are often printed with population distribution maps to indicate the age and sex distribution of the people. Other maps use area symbols to illustrate the amount of rainfall, length of growing season, and values of products produced in a state, nation, or continent. Typically, the colors on such map use shades to indicate amounts, the lightest shades indicating small amounts and the darker shades the greater amounts. Atlases prepared for grade 6 are filled with graphic representations of facts and concepts. Maps for primary grades may categorize cities by size, such as small city, medium size city, and big city. Atlases for primary grades also use aerial photographs of the region with the map to help students gain the vertical perspective from which the map is drawn and to illustrate how symbols represent real objects. Teachers use such maps to encourage students to make pr~flictions and conclusions that can be tested. Students who examine the variety of maps in an atlas should be asked, ''Why is the information important in explaining the characteristics of a place?" Activities using maps and graphs to learn about places include the following: 1. Students explain why a map shows only some of the objects visible in the aerial photograph and tell why they think the mapmaker omitted several specific items. Students make their own map of a familiar location, explaining what they included and identifying several things they decided not to include. 2. Students explain why there are so many more young people or old people in some nations than in other nations. They predict the special needs that a region has because there are many old people or young people living there. 3. Using climate maps and graphs, students decide what clothing they would take if they were to travel today to a specified place. Then they decide what would be the best time for a tourist to visit that location. 4. Students pretend that they are starting a fudge factory that will need tons of various ingredients each month. Using the product maps, students decide from where in the United States they will purchase their products and where in the world they will find the chocolate and nuts needed for the fudge. 5. Using land use maps, students identify places that are home to cowboys and cowgirls, miners, and those who catch fish or raise fish. 6. Examine the climate and product maps and predict where people might have a harvest festival and the month in which they would be celebrating the harvest. 7. Students write reports on a nation explaining how the people earn their living and how they spend their recreational time using only resources available in an atlas. Students are challenged to provide at least six specific facts to support their ideas. Reading words on a map is different from reading words in a story. Except for the title ofthe map, words on a map are labels for specific locations. Reading left to right is not always the standard convention on a map. Sometimes the words are written at odd angles and spread out to cover the areas being designated. Many words are spread out much wider than the normal reading eye span. This is particularly true on large wall maps and road maps. The style of print is also used as a symbol. More important features have fonts that make them more visible. The same font is used to designate all features or regions of the same type. The teacher needs to assist students in discovering the unique ways in which words appear on a map. Creating a complex mental map of the world is a worthy goal for each student. Building this knowledge oflocations is accomplished throughout the years. The following instructional activities help students to construct map and globe concepts and practice using the skills needed to read and interpret information from maps and globes: 1. Students arrange a box of crayons, a pencil, a book, and a pair of scissors on their desktop and draw a map illustrating the arrangement. They remove the items and give them and their map to a partner. The partner uses the map to place the items on a desktop. The mapmaker checks to see whether the arrangement is correct. 2. Young students make Me Maps. A tracing is made around the body. Then the children use previously agreed-on symbols to draw their eyes, nose, heart, knees, ears, mouth, waist, and elbows in the correct locations. 3. Students follow a map to go on treasure hunts within the school or on the scho<.>} grounds. The map may be drawn by the teacher or other students. 4. StuGents map their classroom or school grounds, selecting information to include and symbols to use. Then they place each symbol in the appropriate location. Actual measurement of distance is used if the students have such skills. 5. Each student makes a map illustrating the route taken to school. Older students also write directions tp their homes, which classmates follow to mark a route on a city or county map. 6. When taking a field trip, students use a city or state map to plan the routes to and from their destinations. Older students measure the distance involved and try to locate the shortest route. They also write out a set of directions for the trip. 7. Students plan trips to visit famous cities and landmarks. They measure or compute the distance traveled. 8. Students use a world atlas and an outline map of the world to locate a natural resource or crop and draw its transportation route to the factory or marketplace where it is used or sold. 9. Students use a gazetteer to find the latitude and longitude of cities they hear about or read about in the news so they can locate them on the map. text continues on page 441 Grade Level: Middle school NCSS Standards: People, Places, and Environments National Geography Standards: The World in Spatial Terms Materials: Two cards with information about specific citiesor vacation sites for each small group of three students (each group should have different cities or sites on its cards); maps and atlases Objectives .- Procedures .- Assessments - 1. Given questions 1. Present the followi ng puzzle to the students: 1. Students respond about places to eat "Imagine that you have been shopping at a large -' with logical suggeslunch at a mall, mall and that you are hungry and start to think tions and explain students explain about eating a hamburger. Your friend suggests that, when a person the difference be- going to the food court because she wants a slice of has specific wants, tween seeking a pizza. Will going to the food court meet your want he or she must go specific site or a for a hamburger? How would you respond to your to a place that can general site. friends' suggestion?" Ask: Why do you think the fi II those specific owners of malls include food courts in their plans? wants. Would a restaurant owner want to locate in a mall with a food court? Is there any time when you would definitely not want to go to the food court for lunch?" 2. Ask: "Can you think of other examples of times when specific locations rather than general locations are the place to go?" 2. Given a city or va- 3. Divide the class into groups of three and provide 2. Students make an cation site to visit, them with information about a particular city or va- effort to describe students try to de- cation site. Without naming the place, students try city locations and scribe its location to develop clues that enable their classmates to de- try to guess the to classmates so term ine the site. cities described. they can locate the Students say that mystery place. they need a way to find the exact loca- 4. Have the class establish a number of tries the class tion of a place. has for each clue. Then have groups present their 3. Students try to 10- clues and have students try to determine the loca- cate the places in tions. the clues. 5. Ask: "Why was it hard to determine these locations?" 4. Students discussthe difficulties of finding the placesfrom the continued .- clues concluding that it is difficult to locate placesin other cities or na- {I·ons.fhey deo"de that there should be a way to do this. Materials: A globe for each small group with locations marked with three differently colored stickers; a diagram for each small group showing the world divided into northern and southern halves by the equator and into eastern and western halves by the prime meridian; a grid for each student labeled with the equator and prime meridian and with other lines of latitude and longitude unlabeled; a world map for each group; a task sheet for each group with a set of 10 cities in the world whose location the group identifies; an atlas for each group; plain paper and one pair of scissorsper group 1. Given a globe on which are placed three colored stickers, students attempt to describe all three locations .-: in words. 1. Tell students we have learned about using a grid system to find an approximate location on a city or state map. Ask: "Can someone explain how we found the location of the city, vacation site, or store on the map?" 2. Ask each group's materials manager to get a globe. Tell them you have put three stickers, each a different color, on the globe. Tell them, as a group, to try to figure out a way of describing the locations of each of the colored dots. Tell them they will have 5 minutes to try to figure out how to describe in words the locations of the three dots. (Note: A blue dot is located on the equator, a green dot is at the intersection of the prime meridian and a line of south latitude on the globe, and a red dot is between a line of north latitude and a line of longitude either east or west and near but not on a city that is labeled on the globe.) 3. After 5 minutes, ask: "How are you doing? Can you describe the locations of the dots? Which was the easiest to describe?Why?" 1. Students respond that, after finding the area, they searched the area for the specific symbol and name on the map. 2. Students usethe lines and perhaps the names of the lines (numbers) to identify the locations. 2. Given a latitude and longitude grid and several locations, students practice locating places with latitude and longitude, circIing the correct I- cations on the grid. 4. Tell students: "When we used the grid system, each square had an address or two names, what did we use to label the coordinates of the grid?" 5. Ask: "Did you find any labels on the line on the globe that we could use to name the lines?" Help the students find the numbers and the words equator and prime meridian. Students should already know that the equator divides the world into a northern and a southern half while the prime meridian divides the world into an eastern and western half. Review this and give each small group a diagram to reinforce the point. Ask review questions. 6. Provide students with a grid with a labeled equator and prime meridian. Help students label the other lines of latitude, also called parallels, in intervals of 20 degrees. Label each line with the number and an appropriate direction. Repeat similarly for longitude lines (also called meridians). Stressthat each line has an address. Make an analogy to each line having a first and last name just as each student does. (The first name is a number and the last, a directionnorth, south, east, or west.) 7. Have students note that any combination of a verticalline and a horizontal line can cross,or intersect, at only one place. 8. Provide practice locating several intersections and circling them (0 and 20E, 30N and 40W, 50Sand 0). After a few additional practice numbers, have the groups give you the locations of the green dot on the globe. Follow these steps to locate places by latitude and longitude: a. Begin at the equator and locate the correct latitude N or S. b. Mark that line. c. Begin at the prime meridian and locate the correct longitude Eor W. d. Mark the line. e. Find the place where the two lines meet. 3. Students reply that letters and numbers were used. 4. Students look carefully at the globe finding the words prime meridian and equator and numbers. -" 5. Students follow directions, accurately labeling lines and circling locations on the grid. 3. Students identify lines of latitude and longitude as a parallel and a meridian. 4. Working in groups, students correctly locate cities on the globe and on the world map. 9. Present the question: "Is the line for 15N on the grid? 28E?We must estimate the locations of these lines." Stressalways starting by looking from the zero line (equator when locating the N or Sparallel and the prime meridian when locating the Eor W meridian). 10. Practice several of these as a class. Have the groups locate the red sticker on their globe. Ask: "Why aren't all the lines drawn on the globe?" 11. Review the terms latitude and longitude and meridian and parallel. Ask: "Which line is also called a parallel! What directions will be the last name for a line of latitude?" 12. Provide each group with a world map and have them locate the parallels and meridians. Ask: "Arethe lines labeled the same on the map and the globe?" 13. Provide the grou ps with a set of 10 world cities to locate on a globe and a world map. Each pair locates all cities on both the globe and on a world map. Include the coordinates of your own city or that of a nearby city that can be found in the gazetteer in the back of an atlas (5N, OW;41N, 72W; 48N, 2E; 34S, 139E; 37N, 122W; 33S, 70W; 14N, 90W; 52N, 40E; 1S, 36E; 35N, 139E). 14. Ask: "Was it easier to locate places using latitude and longitude on the globe or on a world map? Why? Why do you think a map of a city usesa number and letter grid and not latitude and longitude grid?" (Answer: The city is too small an area for different numbers to be read and estimated.) "What are the latitude and longitude coordinates of our own city?" 15. Ask: "If you hear or read the name of a place and want to know its latitude and longitude so you can locate it on a map, where can you find the latitude and longitude?" Show students how to use the gazetteer in the atlas. 16. Provide for additional practice by using volcanoes, mountain peaks, or other cities. Have students use the gazetteer to find locations and write them on slips of paper to use in additional practice. (Such practice activities can be in a learning center also for 6. Students identify meridians and parallels accurately. 7. Students work cooperatively in pairs correctly locating the cities on the globe and world map. those who need additional practice or are curious and want to do more.) Students can draw slips of paper at random from a box and locate the sites on a globe or map. 17. Closure: Ask students to describe and demonstrate how to identify the location of a city using its latitude and longitude. 8. Usea checklist to record if students find the locations correctly. Materials: Large world map, grids and list of hurricane plots downloaded from NOM Internet site (given below) for each small group 1. Students direct another student in how to locate a new place on a transparency or wall map of the_ world. 2. Given an activity of plotting the course of a hurricane, students identify the need for weather services to track and predict hurricanes and other dangerous storms to help many people. 1. Ask review questions on vocabulary associated with latitude and longitude. Present a new place. Students give verbal directions for locating the place to another student, who tries to find it. Ask, "What is the first step John must do to locate the city! What next?" and so on. 2. Explain, "There are some occupations in which people use latitude and longitude because exact locations are very important to the successof their jobs." Ask: "Can you think of one such job?" 3. Explain the assignment: "You will need to plot a number of locations using latitude and longitude. Because the placesto plot are closetogether, Iam giving you a large map of a small region of the world." 4. Provide student groups with a new grid for tracking hurricanes (obtain from the NOM at the link on the Companion Website). Using a world map, locate this area and show students that this map has symbols for individual degrees of latitude and longitude. When you estimate locations on the larger grid, you should notice that the lines are 1 degree apart. Ask: "New Orleans is located 30N and how many degrees west?" and "What is the latitude and longitude for KeyWest?" 5. Provide small groups of students with lists of places to plot. When they complete the plots they should connect the locations. 1. Students give accurate answers and directions and check for correctness. 2. Students complete assignment correctly. 6. Ask: "What do you think is plotted on the map? Who would want to know this information?" Consult Internet sites on weather (seethe Companion Website) for information on hurricane paths to plot for the lesson). 7. Ask: "When does the average citizen need to use latitude and longitude to help them locate places? People in which occupations might need to use latitude and longitude?" Ask students to describe the regions in the United Stateswhere hurricanes often stri ke. 8. Lesson Summary: Ask students to describe the activities in this learning cycle. 3. Students conclude that shippers, tourists, farmers, and people living in potential hurricane paths would be interested. Readthe learning cycle on pages436-441 and then reflect on it as you answer the following questions: __ 1. Think'about when you were taught how to use latitude and longitude. How well did you accomplish the task? What did you find most difficult? Did you find anything relatively easy about latitude and longitude? 2. How would you describe your memory of the study of latitude and longitude? 3. Have you used latitude and longitude or seen references to them outside a school setting? If so, how were they used? 4. In a skill lesson, the teacher must provide practice in the use of the skill. Where in the learning cycle are practice opportunities suggested or provided? 5_ What are some of the strategies the teacher uses to help students succeed in using latitude and longitude? 6. How does the teacher assessstudents' progress toward learning these skills? 7. Skill lessons are best taught as part of largerunits that focus on geography content. What would be an appropriate content focus for a lInit that incorporates the teaching of latitude and longitude? 8. During the remainder of the school year, when might a teacher provide some additional practice using latitude and longitude?
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