The Kansas Geographic Alliance celebrates and promotes Geography Awareness Week 2015
LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES
World on a String
Overview: This activity is a simulation to show interdependence demonstrating the global links in trade.
Grade Levels: Grades 4 through 12
Time Needed: One session of 20-30 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: Geography, economics
ArcGIS Online 5x3
Overview: This activity is an introduction to the main functions of ArcGIS Online.
Grade Levels: Grades 4 through 12
Time Needed: One session of 15-20 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: GIS
Interpreting Traditional Maps
Overview: This activity teaches maps as the language of geography, and as with every language, students need guided practice to become skill efficient.
Grade Levels: Grades 5 through 8, can be adapated up to grade 12
Time Needed: Three sessions of 45-50 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: Geography, physical systems, human systems, human-environment interaction
ONLINE RESOURCES
American Presidents
Overview: This activity helps students understand how the political geography of the country has changed using spatial analysis of the home states of U.S. presidents over time
Grade Levels: Grades 5 through 8, can be adapted up to grade 12
Time Needed: One session of 30-90 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: Geography, history
Gang of Fourteen
Overview: This activity helps students learn about world climate types, climate data, climographs, and climatic classification in an interesting and engaging manner.
Grade Levels: Grades 5 through 8, can be adapted up to grade 12
Time Needed: One session of 30-90 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: Geography, climatology
Tear the Continents
Overview: In order to gain a better understanding of Earth’s continents, students will tear paper into representative continent shapes and configure them with world oceans through relative location, direction, and latitude and longitude starting points.
Grade Levels: Modifiable to all grades
Time Needed: One session of 15-30 minutes
Connections to Curriculum: Geography
POSTERS
Download these two posters about the power of maps to support Geography Awareness Week.
National Geographic Geography Awareness Week Website
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/programs/geographyawarenessweek/?ar_a=1
National Geographic Education - http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/teaching-resources/?ar_a=1
GIS Day - http://www.gisday.com/
International Map Year - http://mapyear.org/
Esri ArcLessons - http://edcommunity.esri.com/Resources/ArcLessons
Esri ArcGIS Online Lessons - http://www.esri.com/connected/explore-materials/#connect-ed-top
Geography Educator Network of Indiana - http://www.iupui.edu/~geni/
Smithsonian Map Education - http://smithsonianeducation.org/mywonderfulworld/
USGS Education - http://education.usgs.gov/
Google Maps Education - https://www.google.com/edu/training/get-trained/maps/introduction.html
Michigan Geographic Alliance Teacher Map Resources - https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/cst/MGA/Pages/resources.aspx
Flowing Data: Walmart - http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/
The National Map - http://nationalmap.gov/
The National Map: Small Scale Collection - http://nationalmap.gov/small_scale/
