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Geography Instruction

• "Sex", "Race" and Multiculturalism: Critical Consumption and the Politics of Course Evaluations
  Calls attention to the difficulties of broaching issues of "race" and "sex" in the classroom context of nationwide calls for multiculturalism. Discusses the current politics surrounding the importance of student course evaluations, and presents strategies for making evaluations more useful in the context of courses that include controversial material.
• "Water as Rough as an Elephant's Foot..." Learning Geography through Poetry Writing at KS2
  Describes how bilingual fourth and fifth graders at one London elementary school learned geography by writing poetry. This effort involved: engaging with the topic, consolidating knowledge and understanding, and extending knowledge and understanding.
• Communities and Regions in Germany, Social Studies Grades 3-4. Update 2002
  This instructional package is targeted at students in grades 3 and 4 and describes about geography instructions for elementary schools.
• Cultural Reflections: Work, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany, Social Studies. Grades 9-12. Update 1997/1998
  This packet contains three lessons designed for the high school classroom. Lessons include: (1) "The German Worker"; (2) "Government in Germany"; and (3) "Culture and Daily Life in Germany." Student activities focus on comparative economic systems, worker training and apprenticeship programs, structure of government with case studies of the health care system and the federal budget, the role of the press in Germany, and leisure activities.
• Expressing a Global Perspective: Experiences in a Mexican Classroom
  Argues that expanding the global perspectives of students requires strategies focusing on knowledge and point of view. Provides four exercises used in a Mexican high school to allow students to identify, express, and understand their own global perspectives.
• Geographic Perspectives: Content-Based Activities. Revised
  This unit is designed for students in grades 7-12 and can be adapted for individual settings. The unit provides student-centered instruction in geography through content specific teaching strategies.
• How Big is Africa?
  Presents three activities adapted from the "How Big Is Africa?" Curriculum Guide developed by the African Studies Center of Boston University. Includes activities designed to make students aware of the diversity extant in Africa and the vastness of the continent.
• Incorporating Components of American Pluralism into a Course on the Geography of the USA
  Outlines some of the pedagogical and organizational concerns encountered in transforming a traditional college-level U.S. geography course into a course emphasizing pluralism and diversity issues.
• Lafayette Geography Institute, 2000.
  This document contains 7 geography lesson plans: (1) "Can You Give Me Directions to the Game?" by Tim Robison (uses Geographic Information Systems to establish directions to a place; grades 6-8); (2) "Crossing China by Sampan" by Marcie Ritchie (examines the role of geography in communication throughout China; grade 6); (3) "Indiana Tornado Project" by Carole Mayrose (researches tornadoes in Indiana; grades 9-12); (4) "A Multicultural Study: Chinese New Year" by Gloria Massey (examines the differences between Chinese New Year customs and beliefs and those of the U.S. New Year; grades K-3); (5) "Postcards across America" by Tami Hicks (uses a postcard exchange among schools throughout the United States to learn about individual states; grade 5); (6) "Where in the World Is Mr.
• Making Global Connections in a Chicago Classroom
  Discusses the development at Bowen High School (Chicago, IL) of firsthand experiences to create connections for students between their local and global worlds. Outlines the course, explains specific projects, and discusses links between the classroom and community.
• Overview of Germany: The Federal Republic and the Federal States. Social Studies. Grades 6-8. Update 1997/1998. Corp Author(s): Inter Nationes, Bonn (Germany)
  This packet is designed for middle school classrooms. The four lessons correspond to the typical curriculum pattern of world cultures, geography, and government.
• Projecting the Voices of Others: Issues of Representation in Teaching Race and Ethnicity
  Discusses the practice of first-person accounts in curriculum examinations of race and ethnicity. Refutes the essentialist notion that only members of a particular group can address issues concerning that group.
• The Geography of Germany: Lessons for Teaching the Five Themes of Geography. Social Studies, Grades 9-12. Update 1997/1998
  This packet contains five lessons related to the five themes of geography: location; place; human-environment interaction; movement; and region. The lessons are designed to support the teaching of courses in world geography, U.S.