ERIC Number: EJ1226190
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-0300
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Integrating Mapping and ELA Skills Using Giant Traveling Maps
Buchanan, Lisa Brown; Tschida, Christina M.; Brown, Seth N.
Social Studies and the Young Learner, v29 n2 p21-27 Nov-Dec 2016
The Giant Traveling Map program is a collection of very large, flat maps, each with an accompanying set of teaching resources. The maps are available for rent to U.S. schools and community organizations for exploring world geography. The Giant Traveling Map program provides students with a unique kinesthetic learning experience that captures their attention. Geography has a significant presence in both national and state standards; for example, the "five themes of geography" (location, place, region, human interaction, and movement) build in complexity from kindergarten through fifth grade. Once students have a working knowledge of each of the five concepts, explorations that actually apply their mapping skills would deepen their understanding of geography and further develop their map skills. Because of the physical space needed to portray the scale of regions and places accurately, most small-scale maps and textbook or workbook depictions fail to help young learners understand the enormity of spaces. As such, many teachers focus largely on the content of geography standards rather than tangible mapping skills. The size of the traveling maps alone provides the opportunity for children to manipulate the maps in a way that simply is not possible with book-sized maps. In this article, the authors describe the traveling map program and related materials, present a geography themed text set to use in conjunction with map rentals, and offer suggestions for using the giant maps in your school.
Descriptors: Maps, Geography Instruction, Kinesthetic Methods, Elementary Education, Educational Resources, Map Skills, Language Skills, Language Arts, Childrens Literature, Learning Activities, Integrated Activities
National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A