Learning Links
Pollution / Culture / Rivers / Climate / Endangered Species / Erosion / Agribusiness / Famine / Overpopulation / Earthquake / Desalinization / Space / Biomes
Related Concepts
Location / Place / Regions / Relationships Within Places / Movement
Demonstrators should be read from bottom to top, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Recognize that everything has a location.
• Use a variety of means to identify absolute and relative location.
• Use geographic sources of information and data for a purpose.
• Explain the influence of geographic factors on human movement.
• Compare regions to identity unifying characteristics.
• Examine the interaction between people and their environment and predict trends.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Analyze geographic characteristics (e.g., landforms, waterways, climate, and natural resources) to explain human/regional relationships.
• Analyze relationships among people, places, and events using geographic skills and resources.
• Evaluate the influence of geographical factors in real-life decisions.
High School Demonstrators
• Analyze and evaluate geographic considerations in making decisions.
• Evaluate the impact of geographic factors on real-life issues.
Sample Teaching/Assessment Strategies
Collaborative Process: Cooperative Learning, Peer Tutoring / Community-Based Instruction: Field Studies, Service Learning / Continuous Progress Assessment: Interviews, Portfolio Development, Self-assessment, Performance Events/Exhibitions / Graphic Organizers: Graphic Representations, Mapping/Webbing, Storyboard, Time Line, Venn Diagram / Problem Solving: Inquiry, Case Studies, Creative Problem Solving, Future Problem Solving, Debate, Interviews, Oral History, Simulation / Technology/Tools: Computers, Games, Interactive Video / Whole Language Approach / Writing Process
These sample strategies offer ideas and are not meant to limit teacher resourcefulness. More strategies are found in the resource section.
Ideas for Incorporating Community Resources
• Obtain information from the Kentucky Tourism Cabinet about significant geographic locations in the state (e.g., Mammoth Cave, Kentucky Lake).
• Contact chambers of commerce nationwide and local travel agencies about the geography of other states.
• Utilize an electronic bulletin board to communicate with others.
• Invite a local agronomist to discuss the influence of geographic factors on land use and development.
• Contact the Kentucky Geographic Alliance to obtain resources about geography.
• Contact the National Guard or a military base for information about the influence of topography in military movements.
Core Concept - Relationship of Geography to Human Activity
Sample Elementary Activities
• Create a classroom grid to show the absolute location of the students, teacher, and furniture in the room. Extend the activity to include relative location. Present and explain the grid. PE, P
• Create and present a riddle about one of the fifty states. Include at least five pieces of relevant information concerning geographic location. Sequence clues from general to specific. PE
• Create a scale map of your town and apply the five themes of geography to explain it. PE
• Prepare a tasting party of ethnic dishes for another class. Explain how geography influences the diets of people around the wood. PE
• Develop a travel brochure of an Asian country and what tourists will see there. PE, OE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Variations on a theme: Location/Place
Language Arts
• Read a novel (e.g., My Side of the Mountain,- Sign of the Beaver,- Sarah, Plain and Tall) and explain how geography affected the life of the central character. OE, P
Science
• Construct a topographical map with various types of terrains. Predict where cites might develop and explain the reasons why. PE, P
Mathematics
• Make a pictorial chart showing the relationship between altitude and climate. PE
Arts and Humanities
• Study totem poles and research how they express cultural beliefs. Create and present a totem pole representation of your culture. PE
Practical Living
• Analyze the relationship between the location and features of houses built in various areas around the wood. Build a scale model of one of the houses. OE, P
Vocational Education
• Relate types of jobs to the geography of an area. PE
Sample Middle School Activities
• Prepare a videotape showing relevant geographic features of the local area. Hold a round-table discussion after the video to consider the impact of geography on the community. PE, P
• Identify sites for locating a factory, a school, or a park in your community. Use aerial photographs and other resources to choose a site. Submit your plan to a panel of teachers and planning experts for evaluation. PE, OE, P
• Create a brochure, including maps, which explains local geography and points of interest for newcomers in the community. PE, P
• Draw a map of your county which shows directions for getting from school to every student's home in the class. Distribute the map to class members for future reference. PE, P
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Read a book in which a character relocates (e.g., In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson). Explain how the character's move affects the story. P
Science
• Research how a volcanic eruption can affect the climate in other parts of the world. Present your findings. PE, OE
Mathematics
• Design a travel itinerary from Tucson, Arizona to Hartford, Connecticut. On a budget of $1,000, visit ten cities and explain geographic features which contribute to the uniqueness of each. OE, P
Arts and Humanities
• Analyze how artists' (e.g., Matisse, Gaugain) works reflect their changing environments. OE, P
Practical Living
• Chart the spread of a communicable disease from one region to another. P
Vocational Education
• Research how and why businesses choose various locations for their industry. Explain your findings to a group of your peers. PE, P
Sample High School Activities
• Produce a presentation for middle school students which explains the relationship between Kentucky's geography and the state's economy. Suggest solutions to economic problems which are supported by geographic conditions. PE
• Build a model rocket with a camera in the payload. Launch the rocket over a geographically significant area of land in the community and build a scale model showing major geographic features depicted in the picture. PE
• Use a series of news or historical accounts and other relevant data to determine the relationship between an event and its location. Create maps and visuals to use in support of your conclusions in a presentation. PE
• Investigate how the movement of industrial pollution from the United States has affected the environment in Canada. Hold a debate focusing on the responsibility of nations to control pollution emissions. PE, OE
Applications Across the Curriculum
Language Arts
• Write a story which examines the relationship between the individual and his/her environment. OE, P
Science
• Analyze the impact of communication technology on the exchange of information. OE, P
Mathematics
• Study man-made canals which have facilitated the movement of people and goods. Calculate distance and times involved from one point to another in pre-canal and post-canal periods. OE, P
Arts and Humanities
• Observe the portrayal of geographic features in different works of art (e.g., Winslow Homer, Japanese landscape). Create art works to reflect the six regions of Kentucky. PE
Practical Living
• Study diseases that occur in different parts of the world. Relate how geography is involved in the occurrence and prevalence of the diseases. PE, OE, P
Vocational Education
• Predict jobs of the future and where they might be located in the world. Prepare a series of maps which illustrate your findings. OE,