When I started teaching last year I assumed that students would know how to read a map, use an atlas, and find locations on a globe. What I soon realized was that most of my students couldn’t even tell the difference between a map of South America and Africa at first glance, because they have almost the same shape. My goal for this year, spending the first several weeks practicing using all three of these resources until the students know that just because they look the same doesn’t mean that they are. Continue reading Just because they look the same doesn’t mean they are . . .
Category Archives: maps
Got the whole world in my hands!
When it comes to social networking my generation left me in the dust in 2006 after I signed up for Facebook, so this will be my first experience as a blogger (makes me feel very techy). I say that I was spending all of my time coming up with creative and innovative ways to teach social studies and didn’t have time for the online social world!
I just finished my first year teaching on Friday and to say it was a learning experience is a huge understatement. One of my favorite lessons from the year was a simple, cheap, and easy idea that the students loved so much I did it twice! On the first and last day of school, I grouped the students up and gave them a blue balloon and a green marker and we made globes. Every 30 seconds they had to switch who was drawing so that everyone had a hand in the completion of the globe, and it gave them a chance to get to know each other at the beginning of the year.
The improvement Continue reading Got the whole world in my hands!
I’d marry a map if it was legal
I love maps.
Seriously love maps. My latest purchase is a 1941 Collier’s World Atlas and Gazetteer. Three hundred and thirty-five pages of maps, statistics, articles, and geographic data. Sweet.
And really, aren’t maps some of the coolest things that history teachers get to mess with? The answer is yup. But I think we sometimes forget how powerful and useful a map can be. Geography and place often is pushed to the side in our history and social studies instruction. Perhaps is because we just don’t have a strong geography background or we don’t think we have the time / resources to focus on it. But we really don’t have an excuse anymore.
The newly approved Kansas state social studies standards are focused on five Big Ideas. The fifth one? Continue reading I’d marry a map if it was legal
