The Blue Willow Journal

Table-top Maps are Great!

Recently I did a workshop for pre-service and classroom teachers. Our main activity that day was trying out the new table-top map kits from National Geographic. These are the smaller version of the huge tile maps NGS intoduced a few years ago, some of which needed a gymnasium wall to display their full glory. All of these tile maps are now called Nat Geo Mapmaker Kits, and are available in the large wall version or the new table-top version. What is great about the small maps is that they require photocopying only eight pages (tiles) while the big maps could be 120 to 180 tiles in size.

Here are some teachers working with the Water Planet and World Political map kits:

The detail on these maps is superb and the possibilities are endless for grades 3 to 12. Check them out on the National Geographic website. You'll find them under "Geography Awareness Week" in the LEARN ABOUT FRESHWATER section.

Flying Wild

This past Saturday I attended an all-day workshop on bird conservation called "Flying Wild", developed by the Council for Environmental Education (CEE) in Houston, Texas. It's designed for middle school students but I found it readily adaptable to other ages, especially younger children. We received an extensive manual with plans for lots of activities as well as an outline for planning an all-school bird festival, along the lines of a geography night for families. Great stuff, and here are a few photos of teacher participants during the "bird walk" portion of the workshop:

The Americas

In the geography education world the week of November 16-22 was a big one - it was Geography Awareness Week (GAW) which this year celebrated the Americas from Greenland south through South America.

This year the National Geographic Society produced a terrific toolkit for teachers - a theme map of "extremes" found in the Americas, a booklet of lesson ideas for K-12 and a CD with (among many other resources) a file which produces a 20 ft.x 10 ft. map of the Americas.

I went out to a middle school to see one of these completed huge maps - wow, was it something! The whole social studies department of this 600-student school , teachers and kids, had worked on it for three weeks. See a photograph of this great effort below.

Another aspect of this year's Americas theme has been the chance for students to become involved in some cultural expressions of countries new to them. I spent a morning working with a fifth grade on crafts from the Americas - fun and educational for both the students and me! (photos below)

Also, our state alliance, the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance (RIGEA), came up with some inventive ways to spread the word about the GAW theme and recruit new members at the same time. Early in November we held an Americas Dinner for teachers new to our organization. The dinner featured an outstanding menu from North, Central and South America and was preceded by a social hour during which RIGEA members were on hand to share information about our organization. Today, we have scheduled the first in a series of lectures by Brown University professors on topics relating to the Americas - registration for both events has exceeded our expectations!

 

 

 

Minnesota's Iron Range

Northeastern Minnesota is quite a place - beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, amazing geology and the Iron Range mining region! I was fortunate, indeed, to have a spot in the Building America: Minnesota's Iron Range, U.S. Industrialization and the Creation of a World Power workshop which just concluded August 1st. This was a National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of History and Culture Workshop, one of many offered each year. Most of the participants told me they had been part of several other NEH workshops (one person had done eight!) and they have all been great. This was the first time the Iron Range topic had been offered. The role this area has played in American history is largely unknown yet it is a significant one: its iron ore was a major factor in the successful outcome of WWII, the immigrants who came to work in the mines reflected a diversity matched only by New York City (their political and cultural imprint remains to this day) and new technologies and mining processes are creating a hopeful future for this intriguing area of Minnesota.

 

 

 

 

 

Geography Action: Mapping the Americas

Just returned from the National Geographic Geography Action! training in D.C. and thought I would share a few photos. We worked with a huge (45 x 30 ft.) map of North America - which travels around the USA by the way- and of course I had to stand on Rhode Island, my home state.  Many other wonderful experiences came our way during our busy schedule - Mexican dancers at dinner one evening, and a tour of both the mapping division of the Library of Congress and regional American works of art at the Smithsonian to name a few. There was a teacher from every state in the union there plus Puerto Rico and Newfoundland, Canada!

 

 

 

Geography Action Training in D. C.

Educators from across the United States will be convening at the National Geographic Society (NGS) tomorrow to learn about the theme for the 2008-2009 Geography Action! (GA) campaign - an annual initiative at NGS. The theme for this year is Mapping the Americas and I will have the fun of coordinating efforts to ensure Rhode Island teachers and students are aware of this wonderful educational resource and are are (hopefully!) exploring this theme in their classrooms.
Our agenda for the week looks very exciting and includes a tour of the Library of Congress mapping division, a tour of the American art collection of the Smithsonian and a reception at the Costa Rican Embassy. While in Washington I will be receiving extensive information on how teachers, parents and grandparents can access activities for kids of all ages on this year's GA theme and I will post that information right here of course.