The introductory level course Geography of the U.S. and Canada requires students to grasp large amounts of complex material, oftentimes using a lecture-based pedagogical approach. This article outlines two ways that popular music can be successfully used in the geography classroom. First, songs are used to review key concepts and characteristics…

Popular music can be used to study many subjects and issues related to the social sciences. "Geographies of American Popular Music" was a workshop that not only examined the history and development of select genres of American music, it also introduced students to basic geographic concepts such as the culture hearth and spatial diffusion. Through…

Music informs understandings of place and is an excellent vehicle for teaching cultural geography. A study was developed of geography students' perception of where music genres predominate in the United States. Its approach, involving mental map exercises, reveals the usefulness and importance of maps as an iterative process in teaching cultural…

Presents two lesson plans integrating social studies, art, music, and literature to teach geographic themes using the concepts of human settlement and transportation. Explains that comparing two paintings of rural life illustrates the themes of relationships with places and movement. Suggests that comparing songs about great projects uses the same…

Often students are naive or have misconceptions regarding physical geography because of little or no exposure to the discipline; therefore it might be beneficial to relate content to their other experiences and interests. Students have an interest in some type of music, and by tapping into this, students can further explore geographic concepts.…

Explains a way to introduce geographic concepts concerning the Great Plains through nineteenth-century folksongs. Folksongs relate what is geomorphologically true and reveal values and attitudes that are true for the region and time. A geographic understanding includes both the human and physical aspects of the region. (GG)

In 2002, the University of California, San Diego ArtsBridge America program initiated a project that was designed to address the lack of standards-based geography content and culture-based arts instruction within San Diego elementary schools.