Why Teach Geography ?

Geography is the study of the different features that make up the world like oceans, continents, rivers, and cultures. It is essential that students are taught about Geography because they need to understand the world around them and why it is like that. There are so many ways to incorporated Geography into not just social studies, but all subjects. In class we were provided with a very useful slide show that contained 103 way to teach geography. I'm going to give you a brief description of some of my favorites. I definitely recommend checking out the whole list- here is the link !

One favorite is Google Earth ! I think this is such a cool tool to use. It really brings Geography to life. Another reason I like this is because it is free and accessible to students both inside and outside the classroom. I truly believe this can be incorporated into any lesson.

I also loved the adopt a rock project. I think young children would absolutely love this as well !The children would choose a rock and study how it looks and why they chose it. They can also bring it home to their families for the weekend. I think that this is more meaning full twist on brining home a teddy bear for the weekend. 

I thought the clay modeling of psychical land features was another great idea. I liked this because students would get to see land features like a mountain or valley in 3 dimensions rather than just looking at if from a picture.

The list include a creative activity that has students looking for pictures inside the state borders ! i thought that this was a unique and interesting idea that helps students picture the state lines.

Another activity that I loved was the landscape in a box ! This activity has students creating a landscape inside of a box and then all of the students get to display theirs.]

I thought the map for memory activity was very cool as well. I think the students would really enjoy this one because it is like a competition for them.

I think students would really enjoy creating a 3d map.This is awesome because the students get to use classroom items !

The online geogame is a great way to incorporate technology into geography !

The blow up globe activity is great because it can be used for all subjects and the students will become more familiar with the world !

One last idea that I thought was interesting was the map shower curtain hanging in the classroom ! I feel that students would really enjoy this.

It is essential that teaches include Geography into their everyday instruction- with such fun and engaging ways, there's really no excuse for teachers not to !