Let's Teach Geography!

In class we have been learning all about geography! One activity we did as a class was called "Hug the Earth." To do this activity you need to have your class stand up in a spread out circle. Then with a plush or blow up Earth have students pass it to one another first giving the Earth a big squeeze and then explaining how they can help the Earth or in our case how we can teach geography. This activity was engaging and let my classmates express their own ideas on teaching geography. Some of the ideas I will be "borrowing" for my own classroom one day!

Many of the ideas and examples of how we can teach geography were from the presentation "103 Creative Simple Ways to Teach Geography." I definitely had my fair share of favorites from this slide show, but agree that there are so many different ways to teach geography and all 103 are great! Below I will describe my favorites and how I would implement them into my social studies classroom.

Google Earth Trip
This is just simply a box or other container filled with different destinations across the globe in which students can pick a slip and then together as a class we can fly to our new stop! I like this idea because it is random and gives students the chance to experience places they probably have never even heard of. Also on Google Earth there is a new feature in which you can take a tour or major cities and it shows the different landmarks and attractions at these cities. After you take a trip to your destination you can have students separate into groups to do research on different topics for the place. Students can come back together as a whole and discuss their findings. I think it would be an interesting idea to make paper passports for each student, so that when they travel to a different destination that day they can get a new stamp in their passport. This is something I could relate to other subjects and have done once a week. 

Go Local
This activity can be given as a weekend homework assignment or small project. Just ask students to walk for five minutes in different directions from their homes and take a picture of what they can see at their 'destination'. On the following monday students can produce a simple photomontage and have them explain what they saw and where it was. Students will be able to relate their photos with their classmates to see nay similarities or differences!

Wordle Stereotypes
Before teaching a topic use wordle or another word cloud creating tool to gather views on a place, group of people, company or organization. Have each student contribute one or two words that come to mind when they hear the given topic. Afterwards, you can display the word cloud for students to look back on when they have learned more information. This is a way to pre-assess students' knowledge.

Before, Before, After, After
This activity will encourage students to use their imagination and prediction skills. Choose an image and ask pupils to consider what happened before the picture was taken and what will happen in the future. This image can be one after a natural disaster or over a long period of time. This can be linked to ELA and students can write their own stories about the image.

Flat Stanley 
This idea was not given in the slideshow presentation, but one that I remember from elementary school myself and thought it would be a good idea to share with you all! Flat Stanley is a way to get students and families involved all year long! Flat Stanley is a cardboard cutout of a boy who will be asked to travel to many different places. A student will send or give Flat Stanley and his travel log to a family or friend who does not live with him or her.  Flat Stanley will spend a short amount of time with them.  They will record where Flat Stanley went and what he saw. The child will bring it back to school and share it with the class.  Then, have the child choose someone else to send it to.  Each time you get a response, mark it on a classroom map to see what towns, cities, states, and countries Flat Stanley visits throughout the year! Pictures of Flat Stanley on his adventures are encouraged and give students great visuals and connections to different places.