Discusses ways in which planetary comparisons can be used to help give students a new perspective on earth's natural environment. Describes tectonism, volcanism, gradation, cratering, wind, and temperature as they are affected by different planetary conditions. Includes a chart comparing average surface temperatures and greenhouse warming of three…

It is important to learn geography, yet most Americans leave school functionally illiterate in geography. Geography is fundamental to student maturation, the process of true education, and it is a springboard to every other science and humanities subject. Knowledge of maps and geographical information is crucial to the examination of economic,…

This article describes a design partnership that investigated how to integrate Google Earth, remotely sensed satellite and aerial imagery, with other instructional resources to investigate ground cover and land use in diverse middle school classrooms. Data analysis from the implementation study revealed that students acquired skills for…

The authors share a successful Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant award. The purpose of the grant was to enhance American educators' experience and knowledge of South Africa, in particular, and sub-Saharan Africa more generally. Toward that end, participants experienced a multifaceted view of South Africa's geographical diversity, both physical…

Latin America is a popularly accepted world region. A systematic review of geographic interpretations of Latin America reveals that the origin of the term goes back to the mid-nineteenth century and that the region's boundaries have shifted over time. This article argues that four basic principles operate in the formation of world regions such as…

This booklet is both an executive summary of "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994" and an introduction to geography as an essential part of every child's education, and as an integral part of the lives of all U.S. citizens. The publication is illustrated on every page with photographs, paintings, graphs, and maps. It…

This activity is designed to introduce college students to the concept of floods as natural hazards, to flood frequency analysis, to hazard adjustment, and to the mechanics of public policy formulation through a six hour laboratory exercise, culminating in a simulation game. (JH)

Current concerns of the discipline geography are presented. The following topics are discussed: 1) space and time; 2) space as area and space as an organizational framework; 3) ecological geography and social geography; 4) landscape and flows; and 5) general geography and regional geography. The journal is available from Unipub, Inc., P. O. Box…

This paper discusses four key concepts to help preschool and primary grade children develop the ability to read and understand maps. Examples of student activities to develop each of the concepts are provided. The essential concepts are representation, symbolization, perspective, and scale. Representation is vital. Children must perceive that a…

Structuring geographical concepts so that they are intelligible to an uninitiated student is a recurrent problem in geography teaching. The subtle interrelationships between map distributions and analytical procedures are not intuitively clear, nor is it plainly evident that concise map analyses depend upon specific measures of distributions. This…

Four geographic concepts can be used for an in-depth study of the community: spatial tradition, area studies tradition, man-land tradition, and earth-science tradition. (Author/JR)

Gilbert Grosvenor, editor of "National Geographic," is interviewed about the importance of geography for Americans. He claims our lack of geographic knowledge impedes our ability to act and compete in the world market as a world power and points out that geographic ignorance extends to people employed at high levels of government. (MD)

Reviews three themes of reference used in relation to geography: facts, maps, and environmentalism. Discusses geography's major traditions of the study of place, spatial organization, man-environment relationships, and the biophysical environment. Sees geography as a bridge between the social sciences/humanities and the physical/biological…

This document contains a test designed by the National Council for Geographic Education for middle school students to determine what knowledge, skills, and understandings students have developed in geography. The document also contains directions for administering the test, test performance data from a sample of 468 middle school students in 18…

This textbook is a primary-grade geography course. It presents the idea of direction and helps children form definite conceptions of the natural divisions of land and water through the aid of pictures and diagrams. Clear and beautiful maps in color, unencumbered with names not referred to in the text, are introduced, not as mere illustrations, but…