Intended as a teacher handbook, this volume takes a comparative look at the development of geography, both as a science in its own right and as an educational area of study, in Europe and the United States. The book is a description of the development of educational systems in very different political arenas. Reaching from early Greek educational…

This activity-centered approach to teaching geography to elementary students is based on children's literature. Methodologies for teaching the themes of geography involving children's books and stories are given. The book is organized into five chapters: (1) "Geographic Literacy in Curriculum" gives instructions for using the book and provides…

Reviews short term lunar surface changes gathered during the last decade and their relations to the seismic data from the four seismographs placed on the Moon. Indicates that such a continued consideration may give rise to a new insight into the structure of the Moon. (CC)

Focuses on the factors which influence black residential patterns in Boston, Denver, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle; attempts to move a step beyond the traditional demographic projection of changing numbers in time to that of projecting the spatial locus of the population. (RJ)

An analysis of 14 introductory physical geography textbooks yielded 121 core concepts (basic concepts appearing in 7-10 books). The authors suggest that the trend toward overspecialization in introductory geography classes can be reversed if teachers agree to stress core concepts and their relationships to geography as a whole. (AM)

This inquiry had two aims: to assess children's ability to interpret maps in geography; to relate the assessed ability to maturity of thought as proposed by Peel, general intelligence, and age. It was found that performance on four tests depended more on intelligence than on maturity of thought or age. (Author/SJL)

A survey of 2,092 high school seniors in 16 Georgia schools shows that geography is liked the least of social science subjects by the most students and liked the most by the fewest. Reasons are teacher attitudes and methods. Recommendations include better teacher training, more use of the inquiry approach, and more emphasis on social concepts and…

Describes a cartographic exercise to help students in an introductory geography course on the college level understand the geography of world affairs. The activity involved students in creating a diagrammatic map commensurate with amount of news magazine coverage of various foreign countries. (Author/DB)

The article describes a study undertaken to investigate the impact of geographical training (controlled experience) on junior high school students' ability to interpret topographical maps. Findings indicated that those students with more developed spatial skills (often resulting from a greater amount of geographical training) performed better on…

Suggestions are made for classroom games intended to increase the understanding of a wide range of social studies concepts in elementary school children. These games cover the topics of history, geography, basic economics, community functions, media communication, career considerations, and making decisions. (JD)

Teaching the geography of the United States to gifted elementary-level children in a way that challenges preconceived ideas about people and places is the focus of this article. Detailed student instruction is described, including thinking and writing activities that enable students to compare preconceived notions and reality. (CR)

Explores the interplay between geographic concepts and geographers' Web site design. Draws on the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and phenomenologically oriented geographers to propose the structure of cyberplace. Explores two examples of virtual field trips, "Virtually Hawaii" and "Bosnia Virtual Fieldtrip", stating that three…

Identifies teachers as primarily responsible for increasing geographic literacy, and suggests newspapers as a valuable source for geography lessons. Gives lesson plan ideas that include the use of the sports, news, travel, and weather sections of the paper. Lessons should enhance appreciation and knowledge of geography in everyday life. (RW)

Discusses the educational benefits of map usage in social studies classrooms. Recommends approaches to teaching map skills, including instruction in location, distance, scale, and direction. Presents activities which utilize neighborhood resources. Describes an activity in which students devise maps of their local community. (RW)

Presents a secondary education geography lesson plan for teaching the theme of place and relative location. Provides samples of student materials. Using Japan as an example, shows how place and relative location can be used to study a country. (KO)