A unit on China's ethnicities provides students rich opportunities to explore multiple themes in the social studies while helping them to develop a deeper understanding of recent events in western China. Studying China's ethnic minorities encompasses such topics as stereotyping, cultural diversity, the creation of ethnic identities, and key…

In teaching about Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing a human dimension to the study of the region is essential. Texts on the region can be dull and lifeless or even biased and skewed. Introducing students to the region by exploring prose, poetry, and picture books helps to illustrate the rich diversity found throughout Latin America and the…

Describes Middle America (Central America) in terms of two geographical building blocks: location and place. Tables, maps, films, video resources, and a suggested instructional activity demonstrate the concepts of location, physical characteristics, and cultural characteristics in geographic education. (DH)

Provides guidelines for preparing a unit on African geography, specifically physical landscape, using inquiry techniques. (DB)

Considers those key concepts in geography that contribute to the teaching of history. Outlines strategies that teachers can use to combine and complement the two subjects. Discusses specific examples of these strategies focusing on the Erie Canal and Bunker Hill. Includes maps and illustrations. (MJP)

Relates a project in which elementary students created a model globe that hung in the classroom in order to enable the students to build their geographic understanding. Describes in detail the process of constructing the globe and discusses the finished globe's uses. (CMK)

Presents a lesson in which history, science, and mathematics combine to contribute to an understanding of one of the five fundamental themes of geography: location. Discusses the maps and navigational equipment available at the time of Christopher Columbus. Describes timekeeping, recording speed, and determining latitude and longitude during a…

Described is a social studies unit which challenges students to employ important geographic principles in investigating the relationship between land and people. (Author/DB)

Presents a study which identifies experienced classroom teachers' beliefs about what should be included in the geography curriculum. Tables show how questionnaire respondents ranked the importance of specific items in three categories: geographic skills, human geography, and physical geography. Concludes that teacher perceptions must be considered…

Asserts that teaching principles and concepts related to global time is a test of student comprehension and an instructor's teaching ability. Describes how teachers can create an International Date Line Wheel for classroom demonstration purposes. Includes 11 figures illustrating how to make and use the wheel. (CFR)

Provides a lesson that enables students to explain the global importance of mountains by applying the five themes of geography (location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions) to a particular mountain range. Explains that students work in teams to prepare a brochure about their mountain range. (CMK)

Describes a doctoral student's experiences on a trip to Turkey. Discusses the Southeast Anatolia Project involving dam building on the headwaters of the Euphrates to provide electricity and irrigation. Suggests the experience as an example demonstration of complexities of human and environmental interaction and other themes of geography. (DK)

Describes a learning exercise to combine the goal of global understanding and appreciation with global knowledge. Suggests that students (1) take a systematic inventory of their personal possessions, (2) record the origin of each on a world map, and (3) analyze and discuss their findings. Reports results of student surveys listing origins and…

Reviews the background and history of the "Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and Secondary Schools," which were 10 years old in 1994. Argues that, although it is too early to determine whether the reform efforts in geography are successful, the guidelines may be a basis for a renaissance in geographic education. (CFR)

Contends that the 1984 publication of the Joint Committee on Geographic Education's "Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and Secondary Schools" was a landmark in the national reform movement in geography education. (CFR)