The focus in this article is on the usefulness of spatial sequencing as a tactic for interpreting a map and organizing our memory of it. This skill is useful whenever some condition varies in a systematic way with distance. When students are asked whether they see a pattern on a map of a topic like wildfires or terrorist activity, some students…

This is the first in a series of six articles about how spatial reasoning can help children "read" maps, graphs, and geographic texts. Since the late 1900s, neuroscientists and psychologists have used new brain-scanning and eye-tracking technologies to do a "lot" of research about visual perception and spatial thinking. One key…

Poor geographic knowledge among students and citizens, in general, has been one of the main research concerns in the area of geography education. This study is part of a project aimed at determining compulsory secondary education students' level of geographic knowledge and providing tools to improve learning. Following quantitative research…

Since the publication of "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" in the United States (Geography Education Standards Project, 1994), it has been widely used to develop quality curriculum materials for what students should know and able to do in geography. This study compared geography content taught in Omani public schools…

The aim of this study was to analyze the attainments of map literacy skills in the 2018 Social Studies course curriculum according to the learning areas and examine the applicability of the program. The research sought answers to the following questions: 1. How is the distribution of attainments related to map literacy skills in the 2018 Social…

Maps are an increasingly used source of information and it is therefore essential to develop map skills in students. A fundamental factor affecting the choice of map skills and the way they are developed is the teacher and his/her concept of map work. Based on the results of a survey and semi-structured interviews among Czech teachers, this study…

Ever want to take a quick, deep-dive into a map found in students' textbooks? Ever want to use a web-based map to bring that static, print map to life? Maybe the map would be better with interactive or near real-time data. This article discusses the new Earth Science GeoInquiries! Earth Science GeoInquiries from Esri are instructional resources…

Aerial imagery has a great capacity to engage and maintain student interest while providing a contextual setting to strengthen their ability to reason proportionally. Free, on-demand, high-resolution, large-scale aerial photography provides both a bird's eye view of the world and a new perspective on one's own community. This article presents an…

This text is a combination of a student training manual and a teacher's guide. The student manual gives background information, activities, and student worksheets for map work. Chapter titles include: (1) "Our Country"; (2) "World Regions"; (3) "United States Regions"; (4) "Continental Topics"; (5) "Urban Topics"; (6) "Rural Cultures"; (7) "World…

The teaching guide for an elementary geography in-service course provides a framework for broad geographic understandings. The emphasis is upon helping teachers better understand the structure of geography themselves so they may implement a social studies program in which students use the facts of geography to develop understandings of basic…

A teaching strategy to achieve adequate understanding of topographic maps is presented. It is founded upon a group of integrated illustrations that take the learner from data gathering to the final map. The strategy is applicable from elementary through college. (NH)

Out of approximately 50 activities which were, for a variety of reasons, not included in the final version of the High School Geography Project course, Geography in an Urban Age, the HSGP staff selected eight which would be useful in many secondary school classrooms. The activities included here are: 1) Operation Bigger Beef (on themes of cultural…

This curriculum unit teaches students about the basic physical and political geography of Europe and introduces or reviews fundamental geographical concepts and vocabulary in a European context. The unit offers a geographic introduction to the changing map of Europe. Each of the unit's five lessons can be integrated into the curriculum where it…

Primarily a collection of lesson plans covering various topics in geography, this document is divided into seven sections. The first section includes three short papers on geography and its place in the curriculum. The second section deals with teaching map skills, evaluating computer software to be used in teaching geography, and ideas for field…

By plotting economic and population data on maps and coordinating the data on a scattergram, introductory world geography students work with the concept of spatial association, learn to identify geographic problems, and become familiar with world political units. (JR)