450 Chapter Eleven

Introduction
Students in Laurie Ward’s third grade class in upstate New York were introduced
to Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go (1990) and terms such as street, town, and moun-
tain as geographic locations they might go to visit. Next they moved to the iPad and
SMART Board as they “buckled up” and began their travels around the world. Using
Quick Response codes (QR), the students tapped into their iPads to locate informa-
tion beginning with QR for www.seussville.com then moving on to National Historic
Landmarks in their own state of New York where they discovered several includ-
ing the Erie Canal, the Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, and Harriet Tubman’s
House in Auburn, New York. Laurie then read aloud Talking Walls (Knight 1992), an
informational picture book about 14 walls throughout the world and their historical
significance culturally and historically (e.g., the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall,
the Lascaux Cave, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the walls of the prison that held
Nelson Mandela captive). Each student and his/her partner selected a wall as a “great
place” to “travel to” and a handout with questions and space to fill in their responses.
The teacher vetted Internet Web sites and then gave a list to the students for them to
locate the information they needed. Questions included:
1. How far is this “great place” from where you live? What unit of measure-
ment would you use to measure the distance?
2. What mode (or modes) of transportation could you use to get to the “great
place”?
a. What features of geography would you pass as you make your way to the
“great place”(deserts, grasslands, forests, oceans, lakes, large cities)?
3. What are some of the cultural and geographical features of the country
where the wall is located? (Lin, Widdall, and Ward 2014)
Next, they added global economic links as they examined where products in
their homes and school had been made, discovering clothing from Vietnam and
the Sri Lanka, oranges from Brazil, avocadoes from Mexico, and electronics from
South Korea, and more. Colored stamps were used to post on a wall map the vari-
ous products and their country of origin. Thus, three NCSS standards were inte-
grated in this travel unit: III. People, Places, and Environments; VI. Production,
Distribution, and Consumption; and IX. Global Connections.
Geography surrounds us. Without thinking about it, we make decisions based
on geographical knowledge every day—we dress appropriately for the weather,
plan the quickest route for doing errands, and download maps to places we want
to find. There is an ongoing interaction between humans and the geography
that surrounds them. It is this interaction that teachers and students explore
together. Geography should come alive in the classroom, and the 1994 National
Geography Standards reflect this idea in the title Geography for Life. The Stand-
ards state, “Geography is for life in every sense of that expression: lifelong, life
sustaining, and life enhancing. Geography is a field of study that enables us to
find answers to questions about the world around us—about where things are
and how and why they got there. We can ask questions about things that seem
very familiar and are often taken for granted” (Geography Education Standards
 Geography 451

Project 1994, 11). The C3 Framework (National Council for the Social Stud-
ies 2013) stresses the importance of teaching learners how to ask “compelling
questions,” and then guide them as they build deeper understandings in robust
learning environments.
It is important to note that the whole thrust of the Standards is on questioning
why things are the way they are. There is no better way to get students thinking, dis-
cussing, and analyzing information than through the use of children’s and young adult
literature. The social studies curriculum offers curious students and their teachers rich
opportunities to “mine the treasures in literature” (Laminack and Wadsworth 2006,
139), just as Laurie Ward did with her students. As you read this chapter, you will find
a healthy balance between fiction and informational, nonfiction texts. Well-written
fiction titles offer learners rich stories about diverse people and other lands. Authentic
nonfiction texts provide “the widest range of topics, subjects, people, issues, events, and
thoughts to explore. Nonfiction breeds passionate curiosity; passion leads to engage-
ment” (Harvey 2002, 15). Having a book such as Rand McNally’s Goode’s World Atlas
(2009) available as both a resource and for free-time perusal by students will open eyes
to new worlds and new places. By reading fiction and nonfiction books, children can
travel to other lands and experience the events that have shaped our world. Literature is
an ideal way for students to gain the geographical knowledge that they need in order to
be productive citizens in a global community. “The pairing of geography and literacy
can promote deep levels of thinking and meaning—thus supporting elementary stu-
dents’ learning in both disciplines” (Ballock and Lucas 2014, 15).
Literature encourages questioning and discussion. It provides a common
ground for shared inquiry. Well-written informational texts serve as one source of
data when students are investigating compelling questions. As Louie (1993, 18)
states, “Whereas textbooks present factual information and explanation, literature
can make geographic concepts come alive for children.” It is through the use of
quality literature for children and young adults as well as close reading, viewing,
and listening followed by collaborative conversations, thinking, writing, and visu-
ally representing new ideas that geography will come to life in the classroom.
This chapter gives practical ideas on how to incorporate geographic subject
matter, skills, and perspectives—as identified by the 1994 National Geography
Standards and the C3 Framework—into a social studies classroom through the
use of literature activities, inquiry experiences and writing activities, and thematic
units. A beginning step for both teachers and students when incorporating geogra-
phy in their classroom and in their lives is to adjust their mind-set about the defini-
tion of geography. In this chapter, geography comes to life through the use of the
high-quality children’s and young adult books. Educators must reinforce the ideas
that the Standards (Geography Education Standards Project 1994, 18) espouse:
“Geography is not a collection of arcane information. Rather, it is the study of
spatial aspects of human existence. Geography has much more to do with asking
questions and solving problems than it does with rote memorization of isolated
facts.” Richard Boehm and James Petersen (1994, 211) expand on this idea when
they state: “Geography is an eclectic subject that ranges from the physical sciences
through the social sciences to the arts and humanities.” By integrating geography
into all subject areas of the curriculum, students will begin to see that geography
truly plays a part in all aspects of their lives.
452 Chapter Eleven

 In the Classroom
Six Essential Elements and Eighteen Geography Content Standards

The geographically in ormed person knows about and understands:
I. The World in Spatial Terms
1. How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire,
process, and report in ormation rom a spatial perspective.
2. How to use mental maps to organize in ormation about people, places, and environments
in a spatial context.
3. How to analyze the spatial organization o people, places, and environments on Earth’s
sur ace.
II. Places and Regions
4. The physical and human characteristics o places.
5. That people create regions to interpret Earth’s complexity.
6. How culture and experience in uence people’s perceptions o places and regions.
III. Physical Systems
7. The physical processes that shape the patterns o Earth’s sur ace.
8. The characteristics and spatial distribution o ecosystems on Earth’s sur ace.
IV. Human Systems
9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration o human populations on Earth’s sur ace.
10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity o Earth’s cultural mosaics.
11. The patterns and networks o economic interdependence on Earth’s sur ace.
12. The processes, patterns, and unctions o human settlement.
13. How the orces o cooperation and con ict among people in uence the division and control
o Earth’s sur ace.
V. Environment and Society
14. How human actions modi y the physical environment.
15. How physical systems a ect human systems.
16. The changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance o resources.
VI. The Uses o Geography
17. How to apply geography to interpret the past.
18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan or the uture.

A Look at the Geography for Life Standards

The Geography Education Standards Project (1994) presents teachers with an
outline of what students should know and be able to do at the end of three bench-
mark grades: four, eight, and twelve (see In the Classroom above). They were devel-
oped through a consensus process by geographers, teachers, parents, and others. The
Standards are based on the five fundamental themes that were identified in 1984 in the
 Geography 453

Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and Secondary Schools (Committee on Geo-
graphic Education). “The five themes have become an integral element of social studies
education, appearing in all geography textbooks and most social studies programs as a
context for geographic education” (Boehm and Petersen 1994, 211). The themes are (1)
location, (2) place, (3) relationships within places (human–environmental interaction),
(4) relationships between places (movement), and (5) regions. The five themes were
meant to convey to the nation’s teachers the message that it is no longer acceptable to
stop teaching geography after teaching only location and place (Boehm and Petersen
1994). For an explanation of each theme and teaching suggestions for primary students
see In the Classroom below. The Standards expand on the five themes and assist edu-
cators in answering two important questions: (1) What is most worth knowing about
geography? (2) What content, skills, and perspectives are essential for students to know
and use? The five themes give meaningful guidance to educators and curriculum devel-
opers about best practices in geography education (Bednarz and Bednarz 1994).

 In the Classroom 
The Five Themes of Geography and Related Teaching Ideas
Location: This theme answers the question, “Where is that?”
•  Assist young students as they learn their street address. This helps them understand that their
home is a de nite spot on Earth.
•  Use maps, globes, and GoogleEarth to locate settings o read aloud stories.
Place: This theme answers the question, “What is it like there?”
•  Encourage youngsters to use their ve senses to note the physical and cultural eatures o
places they visit on eld trips and other experiences outside the classroom.
Relationships within Places (Human-Environmental Interaction): This theme answers the
question: “What do people have to do to live there?”
•  Work together with your class to beauti y the school grounds by planting owers, plants, and
trees or hanging bird eeders to attract local species o birds.
•  Visit a construction site and watch the progress.
•  Examine photographs or satellite images o students’ school, home, or neighborhood to see
the changes that have occurred over time.
Relationships between Places (Movement): This theme answers the question: “How do people,
goods, and ideas get rom one place to another?”
•  Read stories, learn words, and sing songs rom other lands.
•  Invite amily members to send postcards rom their travels or other places. Discuss how
postcards get rom one place to another.
•  Request that students bring in a avorite stu ed animal with a tag. Locate the place o origin on
a map.
Regions: This theme answers the question: “How are places alike?”
•  Identi y the di erent regions in your classroom such as the reading center, writing center, or
other areas o the room.
Source: Adapted rom: M. Schoen eldt (2001).
454 Chapter Eleven

The study of geography comprises three interrelated and inseparable parts: sub-
ject matter, skills, and perspectives. The subject matter of geography is the essential
knowledge that students should acquire. It is on this essential knowledge that the
skills are based. The skills include asking geographic questions, acquiring, organ-
izing, and analyzing geographic information, and answering geographic questions.
The knowledge and skills are viewed from two perspectives: spatial and ecological.
Students must master all three components of geography to become geographically
informed citizens (Geography Education Standards Project 1994).

The Geographic Skills

The geographic skills offer a framework for developing lessons. A brief expla-
nation of each skill and a sample activity follows:
1. Asking geographic questions. Students will find the answers to the questions
Where? and Why There? After fifth-graders read the book Follow the Drinking
Gourd (Winter 1988), the teacher and students identify the locations of the
Underground Railroad stations that are hinted at in the lyrics of the songs
in the book. A class discussion about why those locations were chosen as
part of the Underground Railroad ensues (Louie 1993). When teaching the
same concept to younger students, it is important that they understand that
the Underground Railroad was not a train, but a series of safe hiding places
for escaping slaves. Three engaging picture books that introduce the concept
of the Underground Railroad to young learners are Underground: Finding the
Light to Freedom (Evans 2011), The Underground Railroad (Bial 1995), and Bare-
foot: Escape on the Underground Railroad (Edwards 1997). Once students have a
firm understanding of the Underground Railroad, read, infer, and question
together as you share the wordless picture book Unspoken (Cole 2012).
2. Acquiring geographic information. Students will gather information from an
array of data sources and in a variety of ways. When acquiring geographic
information, involve students in fieldwork. Young fieldwork participants
conduct research in the community by distributing questionnaires, taking
photographs, recording observations, interviewing citizens, and collecting
samples (Geographic Education Standards Project 1994). Another plentiful
source of geographic information is the Internet (see the Web sites section at
the end of the chapter) and other geospatial and related technologies.
3. Organizing geographic information. Learners will organize and display infor-
mation in ways that help with analysis and interpretation of data. They
must be able to construct maps and use them to explain patterns and rela-
tionships. Involve middle school students in a “Top 10” project. Begin by
sharing the picture book Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest (Jenkins 1998)
describing the remarkable natural wonders on Earth. Divide your class into
small groups to collect, organize, analyze, and display information about
their chosen top-ten natural wonders. Other books that are helpful for this
project include America’s Top Ten Rivers (Tesar 1998b) and America’s Top Ten
Mountains (Tesar 1998a).
 Geography 455

4. Analyzing geographic information. Junior geographers will look for patterns,

relationships, and connections. After fourth graders study a map of the
Oregon Trail and read from the many diaries available, invite them to draw
inferences and suggest reasons why people migrated and why they chose
particular routes. One such diary is Rachel’s Journal (Moss 1998), which
gives a fictional account of a ten-year-old girl traveling from Illinois to Cali-
fornia and provides young readers with a sense of what it would have been
like to journey on the Oregon Trail.
5. Answering geographic questions. Students will develop generalizations and
conclusions based on geographic knowledge. Students choose a topic of
interest to them such as the finding the safest place to go in-line skating or
determining where the town should build a bike trail. Next, they research
the topic by doing fieldwork. Learners then analyze and compile their evi-
dence by using charts, maps, and graphs and create a digital media presen-
tation to share their findings with the class or with the agency that might
consider implementing their ideas.

The Six Essential Elements

The Standards identify six essential elements that are used to plan and organize
themes in the classroom. Of course, as with any integrated theme or unit of study,
the subject matter will reach far beyond geography. Following are brief descriptions
of each element to help in the selection of related themes.
1. The World in Spatial Terms—Studying the relationship between people,
places, and environments by mapping information about them in a spatial
context
2. Places and Regions—Discovering how the identities and lives of individuals
are rooted in particular places and in human constructs called regions
3. Physical Systems—Examining the physical processes that shape Earth’s
surface and that interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and
modify ecosystems
4. Human Systems—Looking first at population, and then at the human activi-
ties, from culture to economics, to settlement, and to conflict and cooperation
5. Environment and Society—Understanding the intersection of physical and
human systems
6. The Uses of Geography—Learning how geography, when taken as a whole,
helps us understand the past, interpret the present, and plan for the future
(Geography Education Standards Project 1994)
The remainder of this chapter addresses each of these six elements and dem-
onstrates how teachers, through the use of literature-based activities, can incorpo-
rate each element into their existing themes and units. For each element, a sample
theme, unit, or list of activities is offered. It is my hope that these themes and ideas
will start you on the road to becoming a geographically informed citizen who will,
456 Chapter Eleven

in turn, provide your students with a wealth of opportunities to experience, ques-

tion, and make decisions based on their geographical knowledge.

Geography and the Other Social Sciences

Geography’s link with the other social sciences is an essential one. We see
this as second-grade students study their community and the location of the
grocery store, bank, and police station; fourth graders track the settling of their
state; or eighth graders trace Attila’s conquests as he led the Huns from Asia
across Europe during the Roman Empire. Geography often provides the criti-
cal framework in terms of territories of people so that the other social sciences
can be studied. Oceans, rivers, deserts, and mountains restricted the movement
of people throughout history. The need for food production resulted in com-
munities being located in fertile areas. State governments were established and
moved when the need for a more central location was discovered. We see an
example of this in both of the state capitals of Indiana and Illinois when they
were moved from areas in the south to centrally located spots (from Corydon to
Indianapolis and Vandalia to Springfield). Geography clearly plays a vital role
in the social sciences.
A volcano erupts in Hawaii and lava flow eventually cools and creates additional
rock and land expanding the island. A river changes course over the years causing
new bridges to be built. Such are a few of the close links geography has to science

Using maps as part of the study of the Revolutionary War gives students a perspective on
how the battles impacted common citizens.
 Geography 457

and technology. There are numerous Web sites to link geography with science and
technology. National Geographic has one of the most interactive, educational Web
sites at http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/?ar_a=1/, which
contains useful features and resources for teaching. NASA’s interactive education
Web site hosts timely topic-specific Web chats. This site allows students to interact
with NASA engineers, experts, and even astronauts. The site can be accessed at
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ with new projects being added from time to time. The
US Geological Survey’s Learning Web holds a collection of lesson plans, classroom
materials, and other science and geography related materials. Those curious about
geology can “Ask-a-Geologist” by directly emailing US Geological scientists. Maps
may be studied from an historical perspective as well as image galleries. The Web
site is www.usgs.gov/education/index.html.
The potential of the Internet is used to the fullest extent by some historical
map sites that link history and geography. A useful Web site is the Perry Castañeda
Library Map Collection at the University of Texas (www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/
PCL/Map_collection/histus.html). This Web site is smaller and well indexed. Eur-
atlas Periodis Web (www.euratlas.net/history/europe/index.html) provides a chron-
ological mapping of European history at hundred-year intervals from the beginning
of the first millennium to ad 2000. In order to save precious instructional minutes
and even hours, it is wise for the teacher to explore each of these Web sites ahead of
time and bookmark maps that best accompany each lesson.

The World in Spatial Terms

Around the World with Exciting Books
Children are fascinated with travel and faraway places. Billie Kapp (1991)
explains a clever way to introduce the concept of travel to young children. Begin by
reading Shel Silverstein’s poem “Magic Carpet” found in A Light in the Attic (1981).
While your class sits on a special rug invite them to tell about their choice of a travel
destination. Locate the places using Google Maps and record their travel destinations
on a chart or interactive whiteboard document and save it for future reference. Kapp
discovered that “by the end of the year in which geography was regularly infused
into the curriculum, the chart demonstrates that young travelers have expanded their
horizons” (1991, 174). Children who, at the beginning of the year, chose either Walt
Disney World or Grandma’s house were now choosing places from other continents.
One way to infuse geography into the classroom is through the use of a read aloud
activity called “Around the World with Exciting Books.” As an addition to your regu-
lar read aloud, build in a time to read books from around the world and locate the
settings on a world map bulletin board (see figure 11.1). As children journey from
continent to continent through fine literature, offer opportunities for students to iden-
tify some cultural and environmental characteristics of the specific places and write
descriptions of the continents from the information gathered in the books. Younger
students can draw an illustration of each book read. Post either the descriptions or
illustrations on the bulletin board or interactive whiteboard document. A compelling
book that will give students further insight into the diversity of the world’s cultures
458 Chapter Eleven

Figure 11.1 Around-the-world bulletin board.

Around the World with Exciting Books

North Europe Asia

America

Africa

South
America

Australia

Antarctica

and climates is Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Robert Burleigh’s (2002) Earth From Above
for Young Readers. This idea is easily adapted for intermediate students as a way to
encourage independent reading in a variety of genres. Older readers can keep track
of their own reading using an individual world map where they record the titles and
authors of both the fictional and the informational books they read about each conti-
nent. This chapter includes a sampling of books for primary and intermediate grade
children that represent each continent in our world.
Africa—Primary
Brett, Honey, Honey—Lion! A Story of Africa (2005)
Brown, Uncommon Traveler (2000)
Cowcher, Desert Elephants (2011)
Diakité, I Lost My Tooth in Africa (2006)
Feelings, Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book (1974)
Hoffman, Boundless Grace (1995)
Musgrove, Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (1976)
Rumford, Rain School (2010)
Africa—Intermediate
Johnson, Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace (2010)
Smith, Thunder Cave (1995)
Antarctica—Primary
Cowcher, Antarctica (2009)
Spinelli, Something to Tell the Grandcows (2004)
Antarctica—Intermediate
McMillan, Penguins at Home: Gentoos of Antarctica (1993)
 Geography 459

Antarctica—Middle School
Armstrong, Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and
the Endurance (1998)
Bledsoe, How to Survive Antarctica (2006)
McKernan, Shackleton’s Stowaway (2005)
Walker, Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed (2010)
Asia—Primary
Guiberson, Moon Bear (2010)
Kostecki-Shaw, Same, Same but Different (2011)
Malaspina, Yasmin’s Hammer (2010)
McGinty, Gandhi: A March to the Sea (2013)
Rumford, Tiger and Turtle (2010)
Asia—Intermediate
Macdonald, Marco Polo: A Journey through China (1998)
Neuberger, The Girl-Son (1995)
Rumford, Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battula, 1325–1354 (2001) (Middle East)
Winter, Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan (2009)
Australia—Primary
Baker, Where the Forest Meets the Sea (1987)
Fox, Possum Magic (1983)
French, Diary of a Baby Wombat (2010)
Ormerod, Lizzie Nonsense (2005)
Wheatley and Rawlins, My Place (1988)
Australia—Intermediate
Oodgeroo, Dreamtime: Aboriginal Stories (1994)
Europe—Primary
Bemelmans, Madeline (1939) (France)
dePaola, Strega Nona, Her Story (1996) (Italy)
Huck, The Black Bull of Norroway: A Scottish Tale (2001)
Europe—Intermediate
Brewster, Anastasia’s Album (1996)
Krasilovsky, The Cow Who Fell in the Canal (1957) (Netherlands)
Krasilovsky, The First Tulips in Holland (1982) (Netherlands)
North America—Primary
Aillaud, Recess at 20 Below (2005) (Alaska)
Ancona, Piñata Maker/El Piñatero (1994) (Mexico)
Berkes, Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Wind Blows (2008)
Binch, Gregory Cool (1994) (Caribbean)
MacLachlan, All the Places to Love (1994)
Mora, Book Fiesta! Celebrating Children’s Day/Book Day (2009)
Spinelli, Polar Bear, Arctic Hare: Poems of the Frozen North (2009)
North America—Intermediate
Jacobs, A Passion for Danger: Nansen’s Arctic Adventures (1994)
Parker, Land Ho! Fifty Glorious Years in the Age of Exploration (2001)
Ryan, Becoming Naomi León (2004)
North America—Middle School
Creech, S. Walk Two Moons (1994)
460 Chapter Eleven

Creech, S. The Wanderer (2000)

Curtis, C. P. The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 (1995)
Curtis, C. P. Bud, Not Buddy (1999)
South America—Primary
Cherry, The Great Kapok Tree: The Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest (1990)
Dorros, Tonight Is Carnaval (1991)
Winter, Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia (2010)
South America—Intermediate
Kurtz, Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun (1996)

Mental Maps
“The Standards redefine place-location literacy as having an accurate mental
map. A mental map is a picture of the world and its features carried by individuals
in the ‘mind’s eye’” (Bednarz and Bednarz 1994, 194). Mental maps are effective
tools for students and teachers. Providing learners with various opportunities to

 In the Classroom 
Creative Road Trips
Students need to learn how to read both paper and digital maps. In particular, they need to
become amiliar with their own city and their state’s major cities. Have students choose a city or
town (other than the one in which they live). Students can use Google Maps (projected onto a
SMART Board) to locate the town or city in which they live and the highways they’ll take to get to
their destination city/town as well as the mileage.
A ter making certain your students can locate the major cities and towns in their state, have
them choose cities/towns in other states on the map on the SMART Board and have them make
up “creative road trips,” noting the highways they would take and mileage rom one location to
the other. The highways and mileage can then be written on cards and shu ed. One student
reads the cards while the others nd the two cities. Use an atlas to expand the activity to the
world. Here are some examples:
Weed Patch, Cali ornia, to Garden Grove, Cali ornia
Boring, Oregon, to Cranky Corner, Louisiana
Brilliant, Ohio, to Fame, West Virginia
Accident, Maryland, to Rescue, Virginia
Speed, North Carolina, to Trooper, Pennsylvania
Doctor Phillips, Florida, to Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, to Co ee, Georgia
Ball Club, Minnesota, to Diamond, Illinois
Talent, Oregon, to Hollywood, Cali ornia
A variation or middle school students is to use cities named or names o capitals and countries.
Havana, Illinois, to Cuba, New Mexico
Moscow, Idaho, to Russia, Indiana
Historical events can also be used or yet another variation.
Napoleon, Ohio, to Waterloo, Iowa
Custer, Kentucky, to Little Bighorn (National Monument), Montana
 Geography 461

draw mental maps freehand as part of their class work will help them to see maps
as instruments for expressing ideas. It gives them a tool for both learning and dem-
onstrating knowledge (Hayes 1993).
An idea for introducing mental maps to seventh graders, called “Write It! Map
It! Sail It!” (Hollister 1994, 279), engages them in both describing a route in writing
and drawing a map. Students choose a familiar location and write detailed direc-
tions for reaching that place. They pass these directions to a classmate who draws
a map from the written directions. The maps are displayed for positive comments
from the class. Through this activity, students discover that it is difficult to verbally
describe how to get somewhere clearly enough for someone else to map.
Mental maps can also be used in the middle school to represent ideas found
in books. For example, the book Anno’s U.S.A. (Anno 1983) gives readers a more
in-depth understanding of the United States. Using their prior knowledge of US
geography, learners trace the traveler’s route and discuss the characteristics of the
different locations in terms of landscape, history, and story settings (Louie 1993).
Middle school teachers will find mental maps are a helpful instructional tool to
illustrate geographic ideas and to work through problems associated with places.


Latitude and Longitude Activities
In the Classroom 
To have a rm understanding o the concept o latitude and longitude (the system o
east–west lines, called parallels o latitude, and north–south lines, called meridians o longitude),
students must begin by understanding the grid system as a place location device. A ter they gain
this understanding they then can begin to trans er it to latitude and longitude. The parallels o
latitude measure distances in degrees north and south o the equator (designated as zero degrees
latitude). The meridians o longitude converge at both poles and measure distances in degrees east
and west o the prime meridian (designated as zero degrees longitude). The ollowing activities
build on each other and strengthen a child’s concept o latitude and longitude:
1. Prepare a simple grid with squares along the top identi ed by numbers and squares along
the side identi ed by letters. Design a simple shape—heart, pumpkin, house—by coloring
in certain squares. Give students blank copies o the grid and by using coordinates (A–1, B–2,
C–3, and so on) instruct students to color in all the squares to create the shape.
2. Provide your class with a basic outline map o the world. The map should include the lines
o latitude and longitude and a simple compass rose. Play “Find a Continent” by giving
coordinates and having students locate the nearest continent.
3. Be ore reading a book about another country, display the coordinates o longitude and
latitude that all within the boundaries o the country in the book. Ask students to use the
coordinates to identi y the country; have them color in the country on their own outline map
o countries they have read about.
4. Write an itinerary or a journey to various cities in the world. Instead o naming the cities,
identi y them only by longitude and latitude. Have students plot each city on a world outline
map and determine a route or the journey.
5. A ter enjoying the book Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan 1985), readers compare and con-
trast Sarah’s home in Maine and the Whitting’s home on the prairie. Each student chooses a
city, determines its latitude and longitude, and describe its prominent eatures.
462 Chapter Eleven

Mental maps are useful because they emphasize key information and eliminate
irrelevant details often found on wall maps and textbooks (Hayes 1993).
Third and fourth graders will find it a challenge to map the activities of the
canoeists in the book Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe (Williams 1981). Using
the map in the book showing the first day’s activities, learners make maps of the
activities that the families engage in on the remaining days (Louie 1993). This lively
book motivates children to become budding cartographers!
Children in the early primary grades can also use mental maps. Many picture
books lend themselves to the use of mental maps. “In the early grades, students
should come to see maps, like the written word, as a source of information about their
world” (Geography Education Standards Project 1994, 63). First graders can follow
the example of Sara Fanelli (1995), a young girl who drew maps of her world in My
Map Book. Sara includes map symbols such as a direction key for north, south, east,
and west and labels of important elements including bridges, school, and the play-
ground. Children can create a map of the route the characters took when they were
looking for Simon’s missing items in Adèle & Simon (McClintock 2006). After reading
the book Around the Pond: Who’s Been Here? (George 1996), youngsters can draw a map
of the route Cammy and William took on their walk, then compare it with the map
in the book. The multicultural tale of My Little Island (Lessac 1984) can be mapped to
show the different places the boy visits when he returns home, and the charming story
of The Little Band (Sage 1991) lends itself to a map showing the places the band passed
on its march through the town. Finally, the humorous story The Scrambled States of
America (Keller 1998) is a lively introduction to mentally mapping the United States.

Using Literature to Teach Mapping Skills

There are many outstanding and informative nonfiction books for teaching stu-
dents of all grade levels about how maps are made and how to use maps. Consider
introducing second graders to the seven continents and the oceans with My Pop-Up
World Atlas (Ganeri and Waterhouse 2012) where they encounter such terms as
tropics, wetlands, grasslands, rainforests, highest mountain (Mount Everest), and
Oceania. The following list gives just a few other enticing books:
Bredeson, Looking at Maps and Globes (2002) (Gr. K–2)
Clouse, Puzzle Maps, U.S.A. (1990) (Gr. 2–4)
Hartman, As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps (1991) (Gr. K–2)
Knowlton, Maps and Globes (1985) (Gr. K–3)
Leedy, Mapping Penny’s World (2000) (Gr. K–2)
Lye, Measuring and Maps (1991) (Gr. 4–6)
Ritchie, Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills (2009) (Gr. 1–4)
Rabe, There’s a Map in My Lap: All about Maps (2002) (Gr. K–2)
Weiss, Getting from Here to There (1991) (Gr. 2–5)

There are also fiction books that lend themselves to teaching various map skills.
The difficult skill of recognizing and using symbols is introduced to young children
in the book My Camera: At the Aquarium (Marshall 1989). Readers follow the photog-
rapher’s footprints on a map of the aquarium to see the many different sea creatures.
They can then make symbols for each sea creature on their own map of the aquarium
(Louie 1993). Intermediate students can practice measuring distance on maps using
 Geography 463

the nonfiction book Measurement (Sammis 1998) where, through activities, they learn
to make distance measurements on maps using scale bars, color keys, and contour
lines. The story City Cat (Banks 2013) helps young children discover the similarities
and differences between the places in their community and the landmarks City Cat
sees as she follows a family on a European vacation. Using the clues in the illustra-
tions, work with your class to trace City Cat’s journey on a globe. The class can also
map the same journey on a flat map and collect postcards and other travel informa-
tion from the different locations (Louie 1993). Intermediate students also enjoy track-
ing a story’s progress on a map. The book Paddle-to-the-Sea (Holling 1991) is full of
maps that guide the reader along the way as the canoe named Paddle journeys from
Canada through inland waterways and finally crosses the Atlantic Ocean. Students
can use a large reference map to chart the canoe’s progress.

C3 Framework
Understanding Scale: Choosing the Right Map

Dimension 1: Dimension 2: Dimension 3: Dimension 4:

Developing Applying Disciplinary Evaluating Sources Communicating
Questions and Tools and Concepts and Using Evidence Conclusions and
Planning Inquiries Taking In ormed
Action
Developing Civics Gathering and Communicating
Questions and Evaluating Sources and Critiquing
How are maps used in
Planning Inquiries Conclusions
city, state, and ederal Various state and local
How can we use government? maps with di erent Which maps best help
maps to answer our scales with which situations?
Economics
questions about
Developing Claims Taking In ormed
directions, distances, Will paper maps
and Using Evidence Action
and places? become obsolete
because o GPS and Examine maps o What tips can you give
other technological di erent scales and someone or inding
advances? gather evidence to the right map or the
support which maps situation?
Geography
are best or a given
How does the scale o task.
a map determine the
best ways to use the
map?
History
What is the
importance o the
date a map is created?

Source: Adapted rom National Council or the Social Studies 2013, 12.
464 Chapter Eleven

Stories of getting lost will resonate with any reader who, too, has once been
lost. Jennifer Dewey’s (2001) Finding Your Way: The Art of Natural Navigation is a
collection of stories and experiences of those who have been lost in such places as
Antarctica, the desert, a small boat in the fog, and cities around the world. Consider
reading this book aloud to children in grades two through four.
Historical fiction novels present opportunities for older readers to trace
travels of the main character via a land map. Thirteen-year-old Sophie travels
from Virginia to Connecticut where she joins her cousins and three uncles to
make a transatlantic trip by sailboat to England in Sharon Creech’s (2000), The
Wanderer. The journey of a family from Michigan to Alabama during the civil
rights movement years is portrayed in The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 (Curtis
1995) where the family stumbles into the Birmingham church bombing and race
riots. A second book by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999) is Bud, Not Buddy, which
traces the travels of the orphan boy Bud across Michigan in search of his father
based on clues he finds in his dead mother’s belongings. Walk Two Moons (Creech
1994) tells the story of a young girl who makes a journey from Ohio to Idaho with
her grandparents to find her mother. Books such as these can be the focus of a
literature circle with a role of a mapmaker being added as one of the tasks of the
group (see chapter 7).
Several informational picture books for primary- through middle-school-age
students highlight geography and the use of maps. Englishwoman Mary Kingsley’s
travels in the 1890s to West Africa are described in Don Brown’s (2000) Uncommon
Traveler. The story Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325–1354 (Rumford
2001) tells about Ibn Battuta who traveled from his home in Morocco to the Rock of
Gibraltar to Beijing, China. During his travels of over 75,000 miles, this Muslim pil-
grim faced rebels, shipwrecks, illness, and freezing weather. As you read this book
aloud, track Ibn Battuta’s journey using Google Earth. Pair this with Marco Polo: A
Journey through China (Macdonald 1998), depicting the earlier travels of Marco Polo
from Italy through the Middle East to China. A meaningful activity is to compare
Ibn Battuta’s 14th century travels with those of Marco Polo in the 13th century on
the same map.
Yet another picture book of an explorer is A Long and Uncertain Journey: The
27,000 Mile Voyage of Vasco da Gama (Goodman 2001) set 150 years after Ibn
Battuta’s journey. This book is an account of Vasco da Gama’s voyage from
Europe around Africa to the Orient and back, enabling Portugal to gain a foot-
hold in the Muslim world and its desirable trade routes. Included in this book is
a foldout map of da Gama’s route. Twelve European explorers who reached the
New World, from Columbus to Cabrillo, during the golden age of exploration
are introduced to students in Land Ho! Fifty Glorious Years in the Age of Exploration
(Parker 2001). Maps and labeled illustrations add to the information shared in
this picture book.
For the intermediate grades, Walter Oleksy’s (2002) Mapping the World provides
a history of cartography covering mapmaking from the ancient world to modern
times including a timeline, glossary of map terms, and a list of additional sources.
If a university is nearby, a field trip to a cartography lab would be appropriate for
fourth graders through middle schoolers.
 Geography 465

While Google, MapQuest, and GPS devices have made it easier to find locations, K–8
students need to engage in interactive activities to understand directions and gain map skills.
These students are marking state capitals, which helps familiarize them with locations and
gives them a sense of perspective as to distances between major cities and states.

Nonfiction books that are enticing to intermediate and middle school readers
include the biography Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True
Story of Shackleton and the Endurance (Armstrong 1998), a detailed account of the
now famous Shackleton expedition aboard the ship Endurance from England to
Antarctica in search of the South Pole. When their ship was crushed by ice, Shack-
leton and his men pulled their small lifeboats across the ice, eating their sled dogs
when their food ran out.

Treasure Maps
Another way to entice students to create and use maps is through a unit on bur-
ied treasure. Two intermediate fiction books that will get readers thinking about hid-
den treasure are Will Hobbs’s Ghost Canoe (1997) and Paul Fleischman’s The Ghost in
the Noonday Sun (1989). Both books contain young protagonists involved in looking
for treasure. Two nonfiction books that describe true stories of hidden treasure are
True-Life Treasure Hunts (Donnelly 1984) and The Children’s Atlas of Lost Treasures (Reid
1997). Learners use the information gained from the nonfiction books and ideas in
the fiction books to write their own treasure hunt stories. These stories should include
maps that lead to the treasure their main character is trying to find. Another enjoyable
activity for older students is to hide “treasures” for younger students and draw simple
treasure maps to help guide the younger hunters to the treasure.
466 Chapter Eleven

Places and Regions—A Primary Unit

about Native American Tribes
The Native Americans of North America formed tribes that lived in different
regions of our country. By studying different Native American tribes and the region
in which they lived, children begin to understand the concept that a region is an area
of the Earth’s surface with unifying geographic characteristics and that these char-
acteristics affect the humans that inhabit the region. An example of a primary grade
unit on Native Americans is described here. Primary students study and learn about
three Native American tribes and the regions in which they lived: the Wampanoag
Tribe of the Northeast, the Sioux Tribe of the Plains, and the Pueblo Tribe of the
Southwest (see figure 11.2). To learn a bit about each tribe’s customs and traditions,
young learners listen to both fiction and nonfiction books set in that region. After
gathering information about each tribe, budding writers use what they have learned
to complete the expository writing frame or the chart found in figure 11.3. The frame
helps young writers organize their information and shows them the basic elements of
report writing. It also serves as a way to compare and contrast the different tribes and
their regions.
Choose from the growing collection of Native American tales to help students
gather information. The Rough-Face Girl (Martin 1992) is the Algonquin Cinderella
tale giving children a glimpse into how the Algonquin lived in the Northeast Wood-
lands. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush (de Paola 1988) tells the tale of Little Gopher

Figure 11.2 Map o Native American regions.

 Geography 467

Figure 11.3 Expository writing rame.

The ____________________ tribe lived in

Their homes were _______________ made of

They ate

They _______________________ and

who lived in the Plains region and painted the stories of his tribe. The award-winning
story Arrow to the Sun (McDermott 1974) comes alive with the brilliant colors that
the Pueblo Tribe of the Southwest used in their artwork. To culminate the unit, read
Children of the Earth and Sky (Krensky 1991) featuring tales about children from differ-
ent Native American tribes. To complement the fiction texts consider including these
nonfiction selections: Dancing Rainbows: A Pueblo Boy’s Story (Mott 1996), Tapenum’s
Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times (Waters 1996), and Many Nations: An
Alphabet of Native America (Bruchac 1998). The Native Americans who lived, and still
live, in these three regions share many similar customs and traditions and also have
their own unique traditions. After students have studied and written reports about
each tribe, work together to make a class Venn diagram (see figure 11.4) to organize
their information and compare and contrast the three Native American tribes.

Figure 11.4 Venn diagram o Woodland, Plains, and Southwest Native Americans.
468 Chapter Eleven

Mapping Ideas
In the Classroom 
1. As a homework assignment during Fire Prevention Week, request that students and parents
plan a sa e escape route rom their home and a meeting place outside the house. The amily
can work together to draw a map o this route to share with the class.
2. Using a map with ve major cities on it, middle schoolers pretend that they are a bus driver
and have to pick up and deliver passengers to all ve cities. Students begin by determining
the most efcient route. Next, they generate a passenger schedule or one bus based on this
route. For an extra challenge, they can create a schedule or two buses (Gregg 1997).
3. When a new child joins your class, students can draw a map o the school to help the new
classmate nd his/her way.
4. Work together with your class to make a three-dimensional map o the classroom. Ask stu-
dents to collect empty hal -pint milk containers; tell them to cut the top o where it meets the
side, so the box is open, and then turn it over and cut away parts o the sides with scissors so
that it resembles the legs o a desk (see gure 11.5). Children decorate their desks and place
them on a large piece o paper on the oor. Request that students bring in various size boxes
rom home; use them to make the other urniture in the room (Maxim 2002). Once your three-
dimensional map is complete, read aloud Roxaboxen (McLerran 1991), a tale about Marian and
her playmates building an imaginary town on a hill.
5. Younger learners can make “Me Maps.” With a partner, students take turns tracing each other’s
body shape on large pieces o paper. The children then label their body parts using agreed
upon symbols or eyes, nose, mouth, ears, waist, and elbows in the correct location on their
body maps (Sunal and Haas 2000). Read My Map Book (Fanelli 1995) to show young cartogra-
phers all the other things they can map.
6. Using the book Me on the Map (Sweeny 1996) as a model, students make a diagram showing
their global address. Beginning with a world map, they can mark the continent that they live
on, then the country within that continent, then the state within that country, and nally, the
city within that state.

Figure 11.5 Milk carton desk.

The Buffalo Are Back by Jean Craighead George (2010) shares a history of the
buffalo in America and tells how the Indians relied on them for food, shelter, and
clothing—the essential elements for survival on the Plains. Buffalo were killed to
 Geography 469

feed the men building the railroads across the plains, and then the grasslands were
plowed up for crops. The result was poor management of the land. When Theodore
Roosevelt became president of the United States, he sent scouts to look for wild
buffalo who found a tiny herd of 300. Theodore Roosevelt passed a law that made
it illegal for people to kill buffalo. Grassland has been set aside for the buffalo. Now
their numbers are over 500,000 buffalo on nonpublic and public land.

Physical Systems—How Climate and

Weather Affect Our Lives
Physical processes can be grouped into four categories according to where the
process operates: (1) atmosphere (climate and meteorology), (2) lithosphere (plate
tectonics, erosion, and soil formation), (3) hydrosphere (the circulation of the oceans
and the hydrologic cycle), and (4) biosphere (plant and animal communities and
ecosystems). Children must understand the interaction within and between these
categories of physical processes (Geography Education Standards Project 1994).
The study of atmospheric processes of climate and meteorology provides an excel-
lent basis for an integrated social studies unit on weather and its effect on human
beings. As the Standards (p. 76) point out, “Climate and weather affect more than
just personal decision-making on a daily basis. They are major factors in under-
standing world economic conditions over longer periods.” Through the study of
weather and different weather events, students are given an opportunity to use other
data-collecting tools to represent their ideas. In primary classrooms, many teachers
graph the daily weather on a weather chart. Teachers can take this graphing activ-
ity a step further by asking their class questions about how the weather is affecting
their lives. For example, if it has been raining for a week straight, teachers can ask
their students, “How has the weather affected the place that you choose to play after
school?” This idea can then be broadened to include climates in other places by pos-
ing the question, “How does the climate in the desert affect the plant and animal
life there?” A book that illustrates the delicate balance between plants and animals
in the desert is Desert Trip (Steiner 1996). To show how life in a small town is con-
nected to the desert environment, read Desert Town (Geisert, 2001). Using a large,
shallow cardboard box, the class can make a desert diorama with sand and models
of desert plants and animals. The diorama can be used as a springboard for writ-
ing activities and discussion about desert climate and its effects. Nonfiction titles at
various grade levels are also available. Beginning readers will learn many facts from
the Rookie Read-About Science Series book It Could Still Be a Desert (Fowler 1997),
and for older readers Gail Gibbons’s (1996) Deserts is bursting with information.
In both The Cloud Book (de Paola 1975) and Clouds (Rockwell 2008) the authors
cleverly present basic information about the most common cloud types and how they
indicate coming weather changes. After reading, take your class outside to observe
the clouds each day and record on a chart or graph the types of clouds they see.
Young meteorologists can write their daily prediction about the weather in a learning
log and check their prediction the following day. Extend the concept of clouds and
cloud formation into a creative writing and art activity by reading It Looked Like Spilt
Milk (Shaw 1947). To make their own book, give students torn pieces of white paper
470 Chapter Eleven

mounted on nine-by-twelve-inch sheets of blue paper; students look at their “cloud”

and write what they imagine their “cloud” looks like. Conclude your study of clouds
by reading the charming story Cloudette (Lichtenheld 2011).
Older learners discover how devastating tornadoes are to both the land and the
people when they read Night of the Twisters (Ruckman 1988). Intermediate grade
students who want to learn more about tornadoes, their behavior, and the way
meteorologists track them should reach for Storm Chasers: Tracking Twisters (Herman
1997), Tornadoes (Murray 1996), and Tornado Alert (Branley 1988). Another violent
weather event that affects both the environment and the people living in the area is
a hurricane. The book The Day the Hurricane Happened (Anderson 1974) describes
a family’s experience when they encounter a hurricane on the Caribbean island of
St. John. Two nonfiction books that explain hurricanes, thunderstorms, and other
weather events are Wild, Wet and Windy (Llewellyn 1997) and I Didn’t Know that
People Chase Twisters and Other Amazing Facts about Violent Weather (Petty 1998). To
study both weather events at once, divide your class into two groups: one studying
tornadoes and the other, hurricanes. Gather fiction and nonfiction resources about
the weather events. Each group presents their findings through the use of maps,
charts, graphs, and written or oral reports. Their presentation should include what
causes each type of storm, how it affects both the people and the environment, and
what safety measures can be taken to help survive violent weather.

Human Systems—Westward Expansion

in the United States
In an interdisciplinary unit on westward expansion, students will use maps,
diaries, and fiction and nonfiction books to draw inferences about why people
migrated and why they chose certain routes. As Rocca (1994, 114) states, “Students
will benefit from tracing migration routes and learning why these movements were
necessary.” The interdisciplinary unit illustrated in figure 11.6 is designed for either
primary grades or intermediate grades. Children in the intermediate grades can be
divided into small groups to read the various texts. If you are working with learners
in the primary grades, read aloud books from the collection to your students.

Environment and Society—Protecting Our Earth

When studying the environment and society, students become aware of how
human actions modify the physical environment. They begin to understand the
causes and implications of different kinds of pollution, resource depletion, and
land degradation. A unit on environment and society can be divided into three
parts: endangered species, endangered environment, and pollution. Using children’s
books and other resources learners explore each topic and decide what steps they
can take, either as individuals or as a whole class, to address each environmental
issue. To share their suggestions, students create posters to post around the school
and the community. The books listed on p. 472 paint vivid pictures of the dangers
our society will encounter if we do not take steps to protect our earth:
 Geography 471

Figure 11.6 Interdisciplinary Literature Unit.

NCSS Standard III: People, Places, and Environments.
Theme: Westward Expansion in the United States.

Social studies/geographic skills Math concepts

P—Chart the route on a class map. P—Take a survey after reading
I—Draw a map of the route the travelers took. The Josefina Story Quilt of
P/I—Utilizing the KWL strategy, brainstorm what others would bring with
either on a chart or in a learning log what them on a journey West,
students know about westward expansion. record results or survey on a
Then generate questions that demonstrate chart or graph.
what they want to learn. These questions
can be categorized by whether they are
geographic or not. Some questions may Language arts
include: P—Keep a diary based on
Why did they want to leave? Cassie’s Journey.
What route did they take? I—After reading Mississippi Mud,
How did they travel? students can write their own
What did they eat? poems about traveling West.
Was it dangerous? I—Students perform dramatic
reading of diary accounts or
letters.
Text Sets P/I—Put on a play depicting a
(See Below) journey West.

Science concepts
Related arts
P—Study snake bites and which
P—Make a story quilt that represents another ones are dangerous.
character’s journey.
I—Make a diorama showing the wagon on the
Oregon Trail and include the di erent things P - Primary
people encountered. I - Intermediate

Primary Text Set Intermediate Text Set Other Books to

(Grades 1, 2) (Grades 3–5) Use as References
The Josefina Story Quilt Wagon Wheels Overland to California in 1859:
(Coerr 1986) (Brenner 1978) A Guide for Wagon Train Travelers
Going West Mississippi Mud: (Bloch 1983)
(Leeuwen 1992) Three Prairie Journals African-Americans in the Old West
Cassie’s Journey (Turner 1997) (McGowen 1998)
(Harvey 1988) Going West Women’s Diaries of Westward Journey
Wagon Train: A Family (Waddell 1984) (Schlissel 1982)
Goes West in 1968 Next Spring an Oriole Children of the Westward Trail
(Wright 1995) (Whelan 1987) (Stefo 1996)
472 Chapter Eleven

Endangered Species
Jenkins, Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals (2006)
Seuss, The Lorax (1971)
Wallwork, No Dodos: A Counting Book of Endangered Animals (1993)
Endangered Environment
Baker, Where the Forest Meets the Sea (1987)
Base, Uno’s Garden (2006)
George, Everglades (1995)
Hiaasen, Hoot (2002), and Flush (2005)
McDonald, Judy Moody Saves the World (2004)
Pollution
Peet, The Wump World (1970)
Van Allsburg, Just a Dream (1990)

The Uses of Geography—Reflective Decision Making

The National Council for the Social Studies (2008) states: “A powerful and
rigorous social studies curriculum provides strategies and activities that engage stu-
dents with significant ideas, and encourages them to connect what they are learn-
ing to their prior knowledge and to current issues, to think critically and creatively
about what they are learning, and to apply that learning to authentic situations.”
Learners use the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they have gained through the
study of geography to make informed decisions. This decision-making process must
be practiced regularly in the schools. Reflective decision making requires students
to use what they have learned in a new way. They have to solve problems, make
predictions, write essays, and hypothesize. Throughout this chapter there have been
examples of how learners use children’s literature and other resources to gain infor-
mation and organize this information to demonstrate their knowledge. The next
step is for students to use this knowledge in a new way. Through reflective decision
making, students apply what they have learned in order to make intelligent and
responsible decisions. The challenge of reflective decision making is to perceive
a problem in its broadest possible context so that its multifaceted implications are
apparent. The problem selected for the classroom must be directly connected to the
interests of the students. A reflective decision maker goes through the following
steps, leading him or her to social action:
1. Identifying and defining the problem
2. Identifying value assumptions
3. Identifying alternatives
4. Predicting consequences
5. Reaching decisions and justifying decisions
6. Realizing the tentativeness of decision making
7. Acting on the decision
Divide the class into small groups with others who have the same concerns. David
Freeman and Yvonne Freeman (1991) state that when youngsters study topics in social
 Geography 473

studies cooperatively, they begin to view issues critically and plan social action. “But
what is crucial is for social studies to result in social action, in really doing social stud-
ies” (32). For instance, H. J. de Blij, Peter Muller, and Jan Nijman (2012) point out a
potential issue that with the growing world population resulting in increasingly greater
consumption of raw materials, this may result in a possible international competition
for Antarctica and its offshore waters, which heretofore have not been mined or had
drilling for oil or gas due to its remoteness and forbidding environments.
As teachers, we must model the decision-making process as well as demonstrate
that we value students’ active participation as reflective decision makers. We also
need to acknowledge students as they engage in decision making in addition to the
products and contributions they make as individuals and as members of a group.
The Five Themes of Geography can be included as integrated instruction with
language arts. For instance, as students read a novel as part of a literature circle,
they can complete a handout such as the one in the In the Classroom box, Five
Themes of Geography in Your Novel.

 In the Classroom 
Five Themes of Geography in Your Novel
Name: ______________________________________________________________

Title o Novel: ________________________________________________________

1. Location: Where does this story take place?
•  Absolute Location (latitude/longitude/address)
•  Relative location (near what)
2. Regions: How would you describe the region in which the characters live?
•  Physical (climate, land orms, living things)
•  Culture (religion, language, education)
•  Economic (agriculture, industry, livelihood)
3. Place: What are the details used to describe the speci c places in the story?
•  Human Characteristics (population distribution, customs, economic activity)
•  Physical Characteristics (land orms, vegetation, bodies o water, soil, weather, human made
eatures)
4. Movement: How and why do characters move around? What in uences their movement?
•  People (travel/transportation)
•  Goods and services (transportation)
5. Human-Environment Interaction: How does the location o this story in uence the characters
choices or the events in the story? What are the characters’s attitudes about the environ-
ments?
•  Adaptation: How does the environment a ect choices?
6. Modi cations: How and why was the environment modi ed by the characters?
7. Dependence on the environment: How did people in the story depend on their environment?
Adapted rom Ellen Ballock and Ashley Lucas (2013).

Suggested titles or use with the above handout include:

Bunting, E. 2001. The Blue and the Gray. New York: Scholastic. (Gr. 4–8)
Egan, R. 1997. From Wheat to Pasta. New York: Children’s Press. (Gr. 2–4)

(continued)
474 Chapter Eleven

Hest, A. 1997. When Jessie Came Across the Sea. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (Gr. 4–5)
Kwankwamba, W., and B. Mealer. 2012. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. New York: Penguin. (Gr. 3–6)
Lawson, J. 2004. The Klondike Cat. San Francisco: Kids Can Press. (Gr. 3–4)
Lobel, A. 1972. Frog and Toad Together. New York: Harper. (Gr. 1–2)
MacLachlan, P. 1988. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: HarperCollins. (Gr. 3–4)
Scattergood, A. 2012. Glory Be. New York: Scholastic. (Gr. 6–8)
Yaccarrino, D. 2011. All the Way to America: The Story of a Large Italian Family and a Little Shovel.
New York: Knop . (Gr. 1–2)

NCSS Standards-Linked Lesson Plan

Latitude and Longitude

Theme: The World in Spatial Terms
Grades: 3
Objectives:
•  Students will describe what they see on a US and world map;
•  Students will discover lines o latitude and longitude and explain why they are help ul;
•  Students will determine latitude and longitude o their home town and other places;
•  Students will discuss how climate varies with latitude; and
•  Students will explain what kinds o clothing they would wear at various latitudes
during speci ed months.
NCSS Themes:
III. People, Places and Environment
Materials:
World outline map with latitude and longitude lines, US outline map with latitude and
longitude lines, road atlas (optional), drawing paper
Process:
1. Divide the class into pairs or triads.
2. Give each group a world outline map and a US outline map.
3. Ask students to look at each map and discuss what they know or notice about the
maps.
4. Record their ideas on the whiteboard, a SMART Board, or a piece o chart paper.
5. Request that students look at the US map and nd lines running across and up and
down the page. Tell them that the lines across the page are lines o latitude and the
lines up and down the page are lines o longitude.
6. Instruct students to nd and mark the location o their town and help them to deter-
mine its latitude and longitude.
7. Next, choose other places in the United States and nd their approximate latitude and
longitude.
8. Invite learners to examine the world outline map and discuss the general climate pat-
terns that occur as latitude increases and seasonal temperature variations ( ocus on the
act that areas urther away rom the equator tend to be cooler and that, except in places
close to the equator, temperatures are cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer).

(continued)
 Geography 475

Instructional Comments: When discussing latitude and longitude make sure that
children understand that there are not real lines on the ground, that they were added to
the map to help people locate places more easily.
Learning Styles Addressed: Verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, interpersonal
Standards Addressed: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools,
and technologies to acquire, process, and report in ormation rom a spatial perspective.
Evaluation: Have students point out lines o latitude on the outline map. Ask students to
tell you or write down what they think they would be wearing i they were really in one
o these places:
•  I you are outside at 60 degrees N latitude, and it is January . . .
•  I you are outside at 10 degrees N latitude, and it is February . . .
•  I you are outside at 35 degrees N latitude, and it is July . . .
Modifcations or Diverse Learners: For visually impaired students lines o latitude and
longitude can be enhanced with pu y paint to give them texture.
Extensions: Ask students to draw a picture o themselves at di erent latitudes in the
United States. The picture should include them wearing appropriate clothing and doing
activities they think would be appropriate or weather in these places. Post their pictures
on a large US map on a bulletin board.

NCSS Standards-Linked Lesson Plan

Understanding Scale: Choosing the Right Map

Theme: The World in Spatial Terms
Grades: 3–5
Objectives:
•  Learners will compare the scales o three maps
•  Learners will determine which type o map is appropriate or a particular situation
NCSS Themes:
III. People, Places, and Environment
Materials:
Stewart, S. 2001. The Journey. Illus. D. Small. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. You will also
need three maps rom an atlas with di erent scales ranging rom small to large. For this
lesson use: a map o the state o Illinois—1 inch = 20 miles; a map o the city o Chicago
and surrounding suburbs—1 inch = 4 miles; a map o the city o Chicago—1 inch = 3 miles;
rulers; pencils/paper.
Process:
1. Read aloud the book The Journey (2001) by Sarah Stewart.
2. Discuss the di erence between Hannah’s li e in her Amish community and her visit to
the big city o Chicago.

(continued)
476 Chapter Eleven

3. Divide students into small groups and give each group the three maps.
4. Invite students to examine each map and write down their observations.
5. Point out the di erent scales on the maps.
6. Pose a variety o questions and have students determine which map would be the
most help ul. For example:
i. Which map would best help you nd the distance between Sarah’s Amish
community and Chicago?
ii. Which map will help you nd the distance between the Shedd Aquarium and The
John Hancock Building?
iii. Which map would help you i you were lost in the city?
iv. Which map contains more detailed in ormation?
v. Which map has a larger scale?
7. Have students work in their small group to create a list o uses or each map.
8. Display the maps and uses on a bulletin board entitled: Choosing the Right Map.
Instructional Comments: This activity can be used with any three maps with varying
scales. It is an excellent way to help students choose appropriate maps to answer their
geographic questions.
Learning Styles Addressed: Verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, interpersonal
Standards Addressed: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools,
and technologies to acquire, process, and report in ormation rom a spatial perspective.
Evaluation: Use the student’s responses to the questions asked and their written list o
uses o each map to determine their understanding o map scale.
Modifcations or Diverse Learners: When creating groups or this lesson, pair sup-
portive students with those who may need extra help. To modi y the activity use only the
state map and city map to compare and contrast.
Extensions: Have students create three maps with di erent scales or example: the
school grounds, the school building, and the classroom.

Chapter Summary
The use of stories in social studies is a powerful way to engage students’ inter-
est and provide readers with opportunities to broaden personal understandings.
By developing deeper understanding through reflection on what they have read
and felt, social studies students form positions about what they value in life and
choose the actions they will perform (Common 1986). As Pat Oden (1992, 151)
points out, “Children love books. Through carefully chosen books, geography can
be integrated into the curriculum in a way that will stimulate and excite young
students. Geography concepts can be emphasized and strengthened easily and
painlessly through the use of literature.” The use of quality children’s literature to
teach geographic knowledge and skills opens for students a world of excitement
and information.
 Geography 477

Literature Recommendations for Children and Young Adults

Geographic Skills
Bial, R. 1995. The Underground Railroad. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Photos of actual stations
are shared. (Gr. 3–5)
Cole, H. 2012. Unspoken. New York: Scholastic. This wordless picture book depicts a young
girl’s willingness to help a runaway slave and shows that “everyday people were brave
in quiet ways.” (Gr. K–5)
Edwards, P. 1997. Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad. Illus. H. Cole. New York:
HarperCollins. In this dramatic picture book, the forest animals help Barefoot, an
escaped slave, elude his pursuers. (Gr. K–3)
Evans, S. W. 2011. Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom. New York: Roaring Brook. A
family heads for freedom by running barefoot through the dark woods and resting in a
kind stranger’s home. (Gr. K–3)
Ganeri, A., and S. Waterhouse. 2012. My Pop-Up World Atlas. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
The seven continents are shared with unique features about each one. Students will enjoy
opening and sliding tabs to discover more information about each continent. (Gr. 1–3)
Knight, M. Burns. 1992. Talking Walls. New York: Tilbury House. Fourteen famous walls
from around the world and their cultural and historical importance (e.g., Great Wall of
China, Berlin Wall). (Gr. 3–8)
Jenkins, S. 1998. Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Describes some
of the most amazing wonders of the world, including the places that hold the records
for the hottest, coldest, windiest, and rainiest. (Gr. 1–4)
Moss, M. 1998. Rachel’s Journal. New York: Harcourt Brace. In her journal, Rachel describes
her family’s adventures while traveling by covered wagon on the Oregon Trail in 1850.
This fictional journal is based on actual experiences of overland emigrants between
1846 and 1868. (Gr. 3–5)
Ricciuti, E. 1998. America’s Top Ten Natural Wonders. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press.
Introduces ten unique and natural formations in the United States, including the Grand
Canyon, Devil’s Tower, and Niagara Falls. (Gr. 3–8)
Seuss, Dr. 1990. Oh, the Places You’ll Go. New York: Random House. In lyrical rhyming fash-
ion, Dr. Seuss shares the many possibilities of travel. (Gr. K–8)
Tesar, J. 1998a. America’s Top Ten Mountains. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press. Discusses
ten of America’s most unique mountains, including the Grand Tetons, Mauna Kea, and
Mount Rainier. (Gr. 3–8)
———. 1998b. America’s Top Ten Rivers. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press. Explores ten unique
rivers in the United States, including the Mississippi, Yukon, and Rio Grande. (Gr. 3–8)
Winter, J. 1988. Follow the Drinking Gourd. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. An old sailor named
Peg Leg Joe teaches the runaway slaves a song called “Follow the Drinking Gourd,”
which gives directions to Canada. (Gr. 3–8)
The World in Spatial Terms: Around the World with Exciting Books
Arthus-Bertrand, Y. (Photographer), Burleigh, R. (Text). 2002. Illus. D. Giraudon. Earth
From Above for Young Readers. New York: Henry N. Abrams. Photos from cameras in
space give a different a different perspective of earth. (Gr. 4–8)
Berry, James. 2002. Around the World in Eighty Poems. Illus. K. Lucas. San Francisco: Chroni-
cle. A collection of 80 poems from countries throughout the world. (Gr. 1–8)
Fanelli, S. 1995. My Map Book. New York: HarperCollins. A young child’s attempt at being
a cartographer. (Gr. K–2)
Silverstein, S. 1981. A Light in the Attic. New York: Random House. An anthology of humor-
ous poems on a variety of topics. (Gr. 1–6)
478 Chapter Eleven

Africa
Brett, J. 2005. Honey, Honey—Lion! A Story from Africa. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Brett’s
detailed illustrations accent this fast-paced version of the legend of the honeyguide, an
African bird, and the honey badger. (Gr. K–2)
Brown, D. 2000. Uncommon Traveler. Boston: Millbrook. The story of the remarkable journey
during the 1890s of Mary Kingsley who traveled from England to West Africa. (Gr. 4–6)
Cowcher, H. 2011. Desert Elephants. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. The desert elephants
of Mali, West Africa have followed the same circular path for hundreds of years. What
will happen when people block their pathway? (Gr 1–3)
Diakité, P. 2006. I Lost My Tooth in Africa. Illus. B. W. Diakité. New York: Scholastic. Based
on the true story of when the author’s little sister lost her tooth in Mali. (Gr. K–4)
Feelings, M. 1974. Jambo Means Hello: A Swahili Alphabet Book. Illus. T. Feelings. New York:
Dial Books. An alphabet book containing Swahili phonetic spellings, a map of the coun-
tries where Swahili is spoken, and descriptive information about Africa. (Gr. K–3)
Hoffman, M. 1995. Boundless Grace. Illus. C. Binch. New York: Dial. In this sequel to the
book Amazing Grace, Grace is invited to visit her father and his new family in Africa.
(Gr. K–3)
Johnson, J. C. 2010. Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace. Illus. S. L. Sadler. New York: Lee
& Low. A vibrantly illustrated picture book biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner and
Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai. (Gr. 2–4)
Musgrove, M. 1976. Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions. Illus. L. Dillon and D. Dillon. New
York: Dial. Following letters from A to Z, this source explains traditions and customs of
26 African tribes and includes a map of Africa. (Gr. 1–3)
Rumford, J. (2010). Rain School. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. In the African country of
Chad, students must build their school before they join their teacher in a year of learn-
ing. (Gr. K–3)
Smith, R. 1995. Thunder Cave. New York: Hyperion. When 14-year-old Jacob travels alone
to remote Kenya to find his Native American father, he is drawn into an exciting
adventure that revolves around the effects of drought and poaching on the African
elephant. (Gr. 6–8)
Antarctica
Armstrong, J. 1998. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shack-
leton and the Endurance. New York: Crown. A superb account of the expedition to the
South Pole and how Shackleton braved the ocean waters to rescue his stranded men.
(Gr. 6–8)
Bledsoe, L. J. 2006. How to Survive Antarctica. New York: Holiday House. Blesdoe’s informal
narrative is based on her three trips to Antarctica. She shares with interested readers the
amazing facts about the science and geography of this mysterious place. (Gr. 5–8)
Cowcher, H. 2009. Antarctica. New York: Square Fish. Learn about the dangers, both natural
and man-made, that face the creatures living on this frozen continent. (Gr. K–2)
McKernan, V. 2005. Shackleton’s Stowaway. New York: Knopf. A historical fiction novel
about the 1914 expedition told from the point of view of its youngest crew member,
Perce Blackborow. (Gr. 5–9)
McMillan, B. 1993. Penguins at Home: Gentoos of Antarctica. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Chil-
dren will learn the ways in which gentoo penguins are perfectly adapted to the harsh
environment of the Antarctic Peninsula. (Gr. 1–4)
Spinelli, E. 2004. Something to Tell the Grandcows. Illus. B. Slavin. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerd-
mans Books for Young Readers. Spinelli tells the story of Admiral Byrd’s expedition
from a cow’s point of view. (Gr. K-4)
Walker, S. M. 2010. Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda. Travel
with earth scientists to discover the secrets hidden at the bottom of our world. (Gr. 5–9)
 Geography 479

Asia
Dolphin, L. 1997. Our Journey from Tibet. Illus. N. J. Johnson. New York: Dutton. This mov-
ing book, illustrated with photographs, tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who escapes
Tibet through the mountains of the Himalaya so that she can go to school. (Gr. 3–5)
Guiberson, B. Z. 2010. Moon Bear. Illus. E. Young. New York: Holt. The Asiatic black bears
that live in the valleys of Southeast Asia are becoming rare in the wild. This book, writ-
ten in a question and answer format, as follows one female moon bear. (Gr. 1–3)
Kostecki-Shaw, J. S. 2011. Same, Same but Different. New York: Henry Holt. Through an
inviting point-of-view and colorful, vivid illustrations, this story shows how two boys
living oceans apart can be the best of friends. Elliot is from America and Kailash is from
India. (Gr. K–3)
Levinson, R. 1988. Our Home is the Sea. New York: Dutton. A young Chinese boy hurries
through a crowded market to his family’s houseboat in the Hong Kong harbor to join his
father and grandfather in their family profession of fishing. (Gr. 1–3)
Macdonald, F. 1998. Marco Polo: A Journey through China. New York: Watts. Marco Polo’s
travels from Venice to China and back during the 13th century are shared with intrigu-
ing details. (Gr. 3–6)
Malaspina, A. 2010. Yasmin’s Hammer. Illus. D. Chayka. New York: Lee & Low. Yasmin and
her family move from their village to Dhaka, Bangladesh to find a better life and, hope-
fully, go to school. (Gr. 1–4)
McGinty, A. B. 2013. Gandhi: A March to the Sea. Illus. T. Gonzalez. Las Vegas, NV: Amazon.
You can almost hear their footsteps in the rhythm of McGinty’s words as you travel with
Gandhi and his fellow protestors on their March to the Sea. (Gr. 1–3)
Neuberger, A. E. 1995. The Girl-Son. New York: Carolrhoda. A true story of a courageous
mother in turn-of-the-century Korea who fights prejudice and tradition to educate her
daughter. (Gr. 4–6)
Rumford, J. 2001. Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325–1354. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin. The 75,000 mile and 29 year journey of Ibn Battuta from his native Morocco
on his pilgrimage to Mecca and on to China is described in this fascinating picture book
(Gr. 4–8)
———. 2010. Tiger and Turtle. New York: Roaring Brook. Inspired by an Indian tale Rum-
ford received from an Afghani letter writer, tiger and turtle get into a quarrel over a tiny
purple flower. (Gr. K–3)
Winter, J. 2009. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan. New York: Beach Lane/
Simon & Schuster. Nasreen’s wise grandmother takes her to a secret school where she
finds joy in learning. (Gr. 2–4)
Australia
Baker, J. 1987. Where the Forest Meets the Sea. New York: Greenwillow. On a camping trip in
an Australian rain forest, a young boy wonders about the future ecology of the region.
(Gr. K–3)
Fox, M. 1983. Possum Magic. Illus. J. Vivas. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace. When Grandma
Poss turns little Hush invisible, she forgets the secret food needed to make Hush visible
again. So the two of them set off on a journey to the major cities of Australia to find
the remedy. (Gr. K–2)
French, J. 2010. Diary of a Baby Wombat. Illus. B. Whatley. New York: Clarion. In the sequel
to Diary of a Wombat, we meet baby wombat who is trying to find the wombat family a
larger home. (Gr. K–2)
Ormerod, J. 2005. Lizzie Nonsense. New York: Clarion. Lizzie, who lives with her family in
the Australian bush, passes the weeks when her father is away using her imagination.
(Gr. K–2)
480 Chapter Eleven

Oodgeroo. 1994. Dreamtime: Aboriginal Stories. Illus. B. Bancroft. New York: Lothrop. This
book is divided into two parts. In the first half, the author shares stories of her child-
hood; the second half consists of Aboriginal folktales. (Gr. 4–8)
Wheatley, N., and Rawlins, D. 1998. My Place. Australia: Collins Dover. This story takes
place on a street in Australia and through narrative text and illustrations chronicles the
neighborhood’s changes from 1988 back to 1788. (Gr. 5–8)
Europe
Bemelmans, L. 1939. Madeline. New York: Viking. The classic story of Madeline, who lives
in a boarding school in France near the Eiffel Tower and Seine River. (Gr. K–2)
Brewster, H. 1996. Anastasia’s Album. New York: Hyperion. Through the use of real photo-
graphs and letters, readers get a glimpse into the private world of the last Romanovs.
(Gr. 4–7)
dePaola, T. 1996. Strega Nona, Her Story. New York: Putnam. Enjoy this clever prequel to the
Strega Nona series set in Calabria, Italy. (Gr. K–2)
Huck, C. 2001. The Black Bull of Norroway: A Scottish Tale. Illus. A. Lobel. New York: Green-
willow. A retelling of a traditional Scottish tale set in Norway where a courageous girl
sets out to seek her fortune and ultimately finds true love. (Gr. 2–5)
Krasilovsky, P. 1957. The Cow Who Fell in the Canal. Illus. P. Spier. London: World’s Work. A
picture book that features the landscape, canals, windmills, and quaint village scenes of
the Netherlands. (Gr. K–2)
———. 1982. The First Tulips in Holland. New York: Doubleday. Beautiful drawings about
spring in Holland. (Gr. K–3)
North America
Aillaud, C. L. 2005. Recess at 20 Below. Portland, OR: Alaska Northwest. Enjoy recess in
Alaska told from a young student’s perspective. (K–3)
Ancona, G. 1994. Piñata Maker/El Piñatero. New York: Harcourt Brace. This Spanish/Eng-
lish photoessay describes how Don Ricardo, a craftsman from Southern Mexico, makes
piñatas for the special fiestas held in his village. (Gr. K–3)
Binch, C. 1994. Gregory Cool. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. Young Gregory
learns to relax and enjoy the differences in cultures when he travels from his home in
America to Tobago, a Caribbean island, to visit his grandparents. (Gr. 3–6)
Berkes, M. 2008. Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow. Illus. J. Dubin. Nevada City,
CA: Dawn. Learn about the Arctic Tundra as you sing to the tune of “Over in the
Meadow.” (Gr. K–1)
Creech, S. 1994. Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperCollins. Sal makes her way from Ohio
to Idaho with her grandparents, hoping to locate her mother who won’t be coming back.
(Gr. 5–8)
———. 2000. The Wanderer. New York: HarperCollins. Thirteen-year-old Sophie travels from
Virginia to Connecticut and boards a sailboat with her three uncles and two cousins to
make a transatlantic voyage to England. (Gr. 3–7)
Curtis, C. P. 1995. The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Delacorte. Young Kenny
describes the family’s journey during the Civil Rights period to take his “delinquent”
older brother to stay with their grandmother in Birmingham. The family encounters
shock and horror when they arrive. (Gr. 6–8)
———. 1999. Bud, Not Buddy. New York: Delacorte. During the Great Depression, Bud’s
mother dies and he sets out across Michigan to locate his mother, having only vague
clues from his mother’s meager possessions. (Gr. 4–8)
Jacobs, F. 1994. A Passion for Danger: Nansen’s Arctic Adventures. New York: Putnam. This story
takes readers on a journey with Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian, who traveled to unex-
plored regions of the world in the 1800s. (Gr. 5–8)
 Geography 481

Joseph, L. 1992. Coconut Kind of Day, Illus. S. Speidel. New York: Puffin. Poems of the Carib-
bean Islands including “Steel Drum” and “Morning Songs.” (Gr. K–2)
MacLachlan, P. 1985. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Harper & Row.
———. 1994. All the Places to Love. Illus. M. Wimmer. New York: HarperCollins. This beauti-
fully illustrated book pays tribute to the American farm. (Gr. K–3)
Mora, P. 2009. Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day. Illus. R. López. New York:
HarperCollins. In Mexico, April 30th is El día del niño or The Day of the Child. This
bilingual picture book celebrates both reading and children and would be a wonderful
catalyst for a school-wide book fiesta. (Gr. K–3)
Parker, N. W. 2001. Land Ho! Fifty Glorious Years in the Age of Exploration. New York: Harper-
Collins. Twelve European explorers from Columbus through Cabrillo are introduced in
this picture book. (Gr. 3–5)
Ryan, P. M. 2004. Becoming Naomi León. New York: Scholastic. When her mother appears
after seven years of abandonment, Naomi’s grandmother helps her find herself. (Gr. 4–6)
Spinelli, E. 2009. Polar Bear, Arctic Hare: Poems of the Frozen North. Illus. E. Fernandes. Hones-
dale, PA: Wordsong. In this collection of 24 Arctic-inspired poems students will meet,
among others, a caribou, a lemming, and a snow flea. (Gr. K–3)
South America
Cherry, L. 1990. The Great Kapok Tree: The Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. New York: Harcourt
Brace. A man threatens the natural habitat of the tropical rain forest animals when he
comes along to chop the great kapok tree down. (Gr. K–4)
Dorros, A. 1991. Tonight Is Carnaval. New York: Dutton. Illustrated with arpilleras sewn by
the members of the Club de Madres Virgen del Carmen of Lima, Peru, this book tells
the story of a family in South America that is eagerly preparing for the excitement of
Carnaval. (Gr. 2–4)
Kurtz, J. 1996. Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun. Illus. D. Frampton. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
An Inca folktale, illustrated with woodcuts, tells the tale of a young Inca girl who suc-
ceeds where her brothers and others have failed, when her bird friends help her find the
special water that will cure the king’s son. (Gr. 1–4)
Winter, J. 2010. Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia. New York: Beach Lane/Simon &
Schuster. Introduce your students to Luis and his trusty “Biblioburros” Alfa and Beta
who carry books to young readers in the remote villages of rural Colombia. (Gr. K–3)
The World
Goodman, J. E. 2001. A Long and Uncertain Journey: The 27,000 Mile Voyage of Vasco da Gama.
New York: Mikaya. Vasco da Gama sailed from Europe around Africa to the Orient and
returned to Portugal, securing valuable trade routes for his country. Includes a foldout
map of his journey. (Gr. 3–5)
Mental Maps
Anno, M. 1983. Anna’s U.S.A. New York: Philomel. This wordless book, illustrated by the
author, records a traveler’s journey from the West Coast of the United States to the East.
Anno places his character in both historical and fictional scenes as he stops in villages,
towns, and cities. Great for diverse students (LD and English language learners). (Gr.
K–3)
George, L. B. 1996. Around the Pond: Who’s Been Here? New York: Greenwillow. While pick-
ing blueberries on a summer afternoon, two children see signs of unseen animals includ-
ing footprints, a dam, and a floating feather. Other books in this series include: In the
Snow: Who’s Been Here? and In the Woods: Who’s Been Here? (Gr. K–3)
Keller, L. 1998. The Scrambled States of America. New York: Holt. A humorous tale of the time
that Kansas got bored and invited all the states to the biggest party ever. When all the
states then decided to switch spots, they discovered there is no place like home. (Gr. 1–3)
482 Chapter Eleven

Lessac, F. 1984. My Little Island. New York: Harper & Row. A young boy goes with his best
friend to visit the little Caribbean island where he was born. (Gr. 1–3)
McClintock, B. 2006. Adèle & Simon. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Adèle and her
younger brother meander through the streets of Paris on their way home from school.
Endpapers trace their route on a map of Paris from 1907. (Gr. K–2).
Sage, J. 1991. The Little Band. Illus. K. Narahashi. New York: Margaret K. McElderry. A lit-
tle band of children from various cultures marches through a town and brings joy and
music to the people. (Gr. 2–3)
Williams, V. B. 1981. Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe. New York: William Morrow.
Two children and their mothers spend three days on a river, experiencing and observing
nature around them. (Gr. 2–4)

Using Literature to Teach Mapping Skills

Banks, K. 2013. City Cat. Illus. L. Castillo. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. A stray cat stows
away with a family on a European vacation, and then using various modes of transpor-
tation follows them on their travels. (Gr. 2–4)
Berger, M., and G. Berger. 1993. The Whole World in Our Hands: Looking at Maps. Illus. R.
Quackenbush. Nashville, TN: Ideal Children’s Books. Explains what maps are and how
to use them, discusses map symbols and their meanings, and includes maps of a house,
community, city, state, country, and the world. (Gr. 2–4)
Bredeson, C. 2002. Looking at Maps and Globes. Chicago: Children’s Press. One of the many
titles in the Rookie Read-About Geography series to help students understand maps.
(Gr. K–2)
Carey, H. H. 1983. How to Use Maps and Globes. New York: Watts. Explains how maps and
globes are designed and how to get the most out of them, including special-purpose
maps. Discusses how maps can be used to make written and oral reports more interest-
ing. (Gr. 3–5)
Clouse, N. L. 1990. Puzzle Maps U.S.A. New York: H. Holt. Introduces the 50 states and their
shapes, showing the states in various configurations aside from their normal arrange-
ment. (Gr. 2–4)
Dewey, J. O. 2001. Finding Your Way: The Art of Natural Navigation. Photo. S. Trimble. Boston:
Millbrook. Stories of how real people use natural navigation to find their way back are
shared in this picture book. (Gr. 2–4)
Fanelli, S. 1995. My Map Book. New York: HarperCollins. A collection of maps provides a
childlike view of the owner’s bedroom, school, playground, and other places farther
away. (Gr. K–2)
Hartman, G. 1991. As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps. Illus. H. Stevenson. New York:
Bradbury Press. A look at different geographical areas from the perspectives of an eagle,
rabbit, crow, horse, and gull. (Gr. K–2)
Holling, H. C. 1991. Paddle to the Sea. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. This book maps the journey
of a toy canoe named Paddle, beginning in Canada north of Lake Superior through the
inland waterways across the continent to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and finally across the
Atlantic Ocean. (Gr. 2–4)
Knowlton, J. 1985. Maps and Globes. Illus. H. Barton. New York: Harper & Row. A brief
history of mapmaking, a simple explanation of how to read maps and globes, and an
introduction to the many different kinds of maps that exist. (Gr. 2–4)
Leedy, L. 2000. Mapping Penny’s World. New York: Holt. Lisa and her pet boxer, Penny,
discover maps and their parts—the key and symbols, labels, scale, and more. (Gr. K–2)
 Geography 483

Lye, K. 1991. Measuring and Maps. New York: Gloucester Press. Discusses the science of
geography as measured by globes, maps, latitude, longitude, and map symbols and pre-
sents related projects. (Gr. 4–6)
McLerran, A. 1991. Roxaboxen. Illus. B. Cooney. New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books.
Marian and her playmates build an imaginary town on the hill, complete with houses,
stores, and playfields. This book is based on true events in the childhood of the author’s
mother. (Gr. 3–5)
Marshall, J. P. 1989. My Camera: At the Aquarium. Boston: Little, Brown. Young readers visit
different sea creatures in this book by using a map of the aquarium marked with the
photographer’s footprints. (Gr. 2–4)
Oleksy, W. 2002. Mapping the World. New York: Watts. This book covers the history of car-
tography from the ancient world to the use of modern day computers. It includes a time
line. (Gr. 4–6)
Rabe, T. 2002. There’s a Map in My Lap: All about Maps. Illus. A. Ruiz. New York: Random
House. The Cat in the Hat introduces readers to different kinds of maps (city, state,
world, topographic, temperature, and terrain); their formats (flat, globe, atlas, puzzle):
the tools needed to read them (key, symbols, scales, grids, and compasses); and funny
facts about places (“Michigan looks like a scarf and a mitten! Louisiana looks like a
chair you can sit in!). (Gr. K–2)
Ritchie, S. 2009. Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills. New York: Kids Can. Sally
and her friends search for her missing pets across land, sea, and space. (Gr. 1–4)
Sammis, F. 1998. Measurement. New York: Benchmark. From a series of books entitled
Discovering Geography, this book explains and gives suggested activities for measur-
ing distance on maps through the use of scale bars, color keys, and contour lines.
(Gr. 2–5)
Sweeny, J. 1996. Me on the Map. New York: Crown. This book describes a child’s global
address beginning with her room and ending with her universe. (Gr. 1–3)
Weiss, H. 1991. Getting from Here to There. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Discusses various
aspects of maps, including direction, distance, symbols, latitude and longitude, how
maps are made, and special-purpose maps and charts. (Gr. 2–5)
Treasure Maps
Donnelly, J. 1984. True-Life Treasure Hunts. Illus. C. Robinson. New York: Random House.
Compelling stories of pirates, sunken treasure, the Sacred Well at Chichén Itzá in the
Yucatán, and King Tut’s tomb in Egypt get children interested in hunting for treasure.
Includes US lost treasure maps showing where sunken ships and other loot are report-
edly hidden. (Gr. 5–7)
Fleischman, S. 1989. The Ghost in the Noonday Sun. Illus. P. Sis. New York: Greenwillow.
Twelve-year-old Oliver tries to escape from pirates, who take him to an island to find the
ghost and treasure of Gentleman Jack. (Gr. 5–8)
Hobbs, W. 1997. Ghost Canoe. New York: Morrow Junior Books. Fourteen-year-old Nathan,
fishing with the Makah in the Pacific Northwest, finds himself holding a vital clue when
a mysterious stranger comes to town looking for Spanish treasure. (Gr. 5–8)
Reid, S. 1997. The Children’s Atlas of Lost Treasures. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. This
book surveys lost treasures around the world, including pirate loot and treasures lost in
wars and natural disasters. (Gr. 4–6)
Places and Regions—A Primary Unit about Native American Regions
Bruchac, J. 1998. Many Nations: An Alphabet of Native America. Illus. R. Goetzl. UK: Bridge-
water Books. Illustrations and brief text present aspects of the lives of many varied
native peoples across North America. (Gr. 1–4)
484 Chapter Eleven

de Paola, T. 1988. The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. New York: Putnam. Little Gopher
is not like the rest of the boys in his tribe. He will never be a great warrior or hunter,
instead, he records events in brilliant colors on animal hides. (Gr. K–3)
George, J. C. 2010. The Buffalo Are Back. Illus. W. Minor. New York: Dutton. A historical
overview of how the killing of the buffalo led to creating the dust bowl of the 1930s and
how their numbers have been restored to over 200,000 today. (Gr. K–5)
Krensky, S. 1991. Children of the Earth and Sky. Illus. J. Watling. New York: Scholastic.
Depicts traditions and lifestyles in five different tribes of northern Native Americans
through vignettes set almost 200 years ago, when they still had much of the continent
to themselves. (Gr. 4–8)
Martin, R. 1992. The Rough-Face Girl. Illus. D. Shannon. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. In
this Algonquin version of the Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl and her two beauti-
ful but heartless sisters compete for the affections of the Invisible Being. (Gr. 1–3)
McDermott, G. 1974. Arrow to the Sun. New York: Puffin Books. An adaptation of the Pueblo
myth that explains how the spirit of the Lord of the Sun was brought to the world of
men. (Gr. K–2)
Mott, E. C. 1996. Dancing Rainbows: A Pueblo Boy’s Story. New York: Dutton. A young Tewa
Indian boy and his grandfather prepare to take part in the tribe’s feast, which will include
the special Tewa dance. (Gr. 1–3)
Waters, K. 1996. Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times. Illus. and Photo.
R. Kendall. New York: Scholastic. An authentic informative glimpse into a day in the
life of a Wampanoag boy. (Gr. 1–3)
Physical Systems—How Climate and Weather Affect Our Lives
Anderson, L. 1974. The Day the Hurricane Happened. Illus. A. Grifalconi. New York: Scrib-
ner’s. On the Caribbean island of St. John, a family experiences the drama, danger, and
destruction of a hurricane. (Gr. 4–6)
Branley, F. 1988. Tornado Alert. Illus. G. Maestro. New York: Crowell. The often-asked ques-
tions of what causes tornadoes, how they move, and what to do if you are near one are
all handled in a dear and unsensationalized fashion. (Gr. 2–4)
de Paola, T. 1975. The Cloud Book. New York: Holiday House. Introduces the 10 most com-
mon types of clouds, the myths that have been inspired by their shapes, and what they
tell about coming weather changes. (Gr. 1–3)
Fowler, A. 1997. It Could Still Be a Desert. New York: Children’s Press. Describes the charac-
teristics of deserts, the animals and plants that live in them, and their constantly chang-
ing nature. (Gr. K–2)
Geisert, B. 2001. Desert Town. Illus. A. Geisert. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. This story shows a
small town in a desert area over a one-year span and how it is connected to the changing
seasons and physical environment. (Gr. 1–4)
Gibbons, G. 1996. Deserts. New York: Holiday House. An introduction to the characteristics
of deserts and the plants and animals that inhabit them. (Gr. K–3)
Herman, G. 1997. Storm Chasers: Tracking Twisters. Illus. L. Schwinger. New York: Grosset &
Dunlap. A short chapter book that describes the behavior of tornadoes and how mete-
orologists track these powerful storms. (Gr. 2–3)
Lichtenheld, T. 2011. Cloudette. New York: Holt. Cloudette is a little cloud with big dreams.
(Gr. K–2)
Llewellyn, C. 1997. Wild, Wet and Windy. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. Gives infor-
mation about all types of storms and weather, includes a true/false question on every
page. (Gr. 2–3)
Murray, P. 1996. Tornadoes. New York: Child’s World. Full-color photographs and clear text
help to explain the fascinating phenomenon of tornadoes to children. (Gr. 2–4)
 Geography 485

Petty, K. 1998. I Didn’t Know that People Chase Twisters and Other Amazing Facts about Violent
Weather. Illus. P. Roberts and J. Moore. Brookfield, CT: Copper Beech Books. Provides
interesting information about violent weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, light-
ning, blizzards, monsoons, and sandstorms. Includes glossary and index. (Gr. 2–5)
Rockwell, A. 2008. Clouds. Illus. F. Lessac. New York: HarperCollins. Rockwell describes each
cloud type, its location in the sky, and the type of weather associated with it. (Gr. 2–3)
Ruckman, I. 1988. Night of the Twisters. New York: Harper & Row. A fictional account of
the night that freakish and devastating tornadoes hit Grand Island, Nebraska, as experi-
enced by a 12-year-old, his family, and his friends. (Gr. 5–8)
Shaw, C. 1947. It Looked Like Spilt Milk. New York: Harper & Row. An imaginary look at
clouds and the shapes that they form. (Gr. K–2)
Steiner, B. 1996. Desert Trip. Illus. R. Himler. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books for Children.
As a young girl and their mother hike through the desert they discover the rich variety
of life that thrives in the dry desert heat. (Gr. 1–5)
Human Systems—Westward Expansion in the United States
Bloch, L. M. 1983. Overland to California in 1859: A Guide for Wagon Train Travelers. New York:
Bloch. This book includes quotes from sources actually used by pioneers, especially
Marcy’s The Prairie Traveler, which tells routes, tracking and pursuing Native Americans,
deer hunting, rattlesnake bites, and much more. An excellent background book for stu-
dents who are writing their own short stories or diaries about traveling West. (Gr. 4–8)
Brenner, B. 1978. Wagon Wheels. Illus. D. Bolognese. New York: HarperCollins. Three young
black brothers follow a map to their father’s homestead on the western plains to take
advantage of the free land offered by the Homestead Act. (Gr. 3–5)
Coerr, E. 1986. The Josefina Story Quilt. Illus. B. Degen. New York: Harper & Row. An easy-
reader book about Faith, who leaves in May 1850 on a covered wagon from Missouri to
California. Faith brings her pet chicken, Josefina, even though it does not lay eggs and is
too tough to eat. Faith keeps a record of her trip by sewing a quilt. (Gr. 2–4)
Harvey, B. 1988. Cassie’s Journey: Going West in the 1860s. Illus. D. K. Ray. New York: Holiday
House. A picture book that contains a first-person account of a girl who travels by cov-
ered wagon from Illinois to California and encounters buffalo, terrible weather, illness,
snakebites, and death. (Gr. 2–4)
Leeuwen, J. V. 1992. Going West. Illus. T. B. Allen. New York: Dial. Follows a family’s
emigration by prairie schooner from the East across the Plains to the West. (Gr. 2–5)
McGowen, T. 1998. African Americans in the Old West. New York: Children’s Press. Describes
the important role of freed slaves and other African Americans in the settlement of the
West. (Gr. 4–8)
Schlissel, L. 1982. Women’s Diaries of Westward Journey. New York: Schocken. Contains
diaries of three women. Also includes a table that lists the characteristics of women who
traveled west between 1851 and 1859. (Gr. 5–8)
Scott, L. H. 1987. The Covered Wagon and Other Adventures. Lincoln: University of Nebraska.
The author tells of her family’s trip by wagons from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Thermopo-
lis, Wyoming, in 1906 and a later trip to Oregon. (Gr. 5–7)
Stefoff, R. 1996. Children of the Westward Trail. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. Describes what
life was like for those children who were uprooted from their Midwestern homes and
transported by their families across the frontier in wagons and on horseback. (Gr. 3–6)
Turner, A. 1997. Mississippi Mud: Three Prairie Journals. New York: HarperCollins. Amanda
and her two brothers share their hopes and fears in their journals as they travel west.
Each entry is written in the form of a poem. (Gr. 4–8)
Waddell, M. 1984. Going West. Illus. P. Dupasquier. New York: Harper & Row. This book
contains nine-year-old Kate’s diary of a trip across the United States in a covered wagon.
(Gr. 3–4)
486 Chapter Eleven

Whelan, G. 1987. Next Spring an Oriole. Illus. P. Johnson. New York: Random House. Ten-year-
old Libby travels west by covered wagon with her family for two months and one thousand
miles from Virginia to Michigan in 1837. When the family befriends a Potawatomi child
with measles, the Native Americans repay the family’s kindness by helping them survive
the winter with gifts of corn and smoked meat. (Gr. 3–5)
Wright, C. C. 1995. Wagon Train: A Family Goes West in 1865. Illus. G. Griffith. New York:
Holiday House. This book tells the story of Ginny and her African American family as
they travel from Virginia to California using the Oregon Trail. (Gr. 1–3)
Environment and Society—Protecting Our Earth
Baker, J. 1987. Where the Forest Meets the Sea. New York: Greenwillow. A boy remembers the
past inhabitants of the fantastic forest on a beautiful island but wonders if it will all be
lost to land development. (Gr. 3–4)
Base, G. 2006. Uno’s Garden. New York: Abrams. Uno’s forest slowly disappears as a city
takes over. (Gr. 2–5)
George, J. C. 1995. Everglades. Illus. W. Minor. New York: HarperCollins. A Seminole sto-
ryteller narrates this story of the river and its vanishing inhabitants. A pictorial symbol
chart of vanishing species in the Everglades is included. (Gr. 1–5)
Hiaasen, C. 2002. Hoot. New York: Knopf. A young teenager fights a large developer to
prevent the takeover of a wildlife area that is home to tiny burrowing owls. (Gr. 6–8)
———. 2005. Flush. New York: Knopf. Noah and Abbey gather evidence to prove that a
casino boat was illegally dumping raw sewage into the ocean. (Gr. 5–8)
Jenkins, S. 2006. Almost Gone: The World’s Rarest Animals. New York: HarperCollins. In this
Caldecott Honor Book, readers learn about 21 different endangered species. (Grades 1–3)
McDonald, M. 2004. Judy Moody Saves the World. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. In Judy’s
third adventure she tries to convince her family and her classmates to be more environ-
mentally conscious. (Grades 1–3)
Peet, B. 1970. The Wump World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. The spunky, pudgy wumps live hap-
pily on a lush green planet until the Pollutians come from outer space to take over. (Gr. 1–3)
Suess, Dr. 1971. The Lorax. New York: Random House. A sadder but wiser Onceler tells how
he exploited and ruined the local environment in spite of the warnings of the Lorax.
(Gr. 1–6)
Van Allsburg, C. 1990. Just a Dream. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. A nightmarish trip into a
polluted future motivates a boy to be concerned for the environment. (Gr. 1–6)
Wallwork, A. 1993. No Dodos: A Counting Book of Endangered Animals. New York: Scholastic.
A simple picture book illustrating endangered animals. The endnotes provide detailed
information about the threats to the featured animals. (Gr. K–3)

Teaching Resources

Book
Fromboluti, C. S. 1990. Helping Your Child Learn Geography. Washington, DC: Office of
Educational Research and Improvement. This publication is filled with good ideas for
parents and educators of young children.
National Organizations
National Council for the Social Studies
8555 16th St., Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
http://connected.socialstudies.org/ncsscommunities/viewcommunities/groupdetails/
 Geography 487

?CommunityKey=0f362ec5-ee07-4a67-be56-ed41ee55fa31
NCSS has a Geography Community that provides a network for teachers of geography
for sharing information.
National Council for Geographic Education
1101 14th Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005-5647
http://www.ncge.org/
NCGE is the only organization for teachers that is exclusively devoted to improving
geographic education. NCGE produces the Journal of Geography and distributes geogra-
phy education materials published by the Geographic Education National Implemen-
tation Project (GENIP), a coalition of geographical organizations. GENIP publishes
geography education materials free of charge for teachers, which can be accessed at:
http://genip.tamu.edu/
National Geographic Society
1145 17th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036-4688
In an effort to improve geography awareness and education, National Geographic has
instituted the Geography Education Program, which offers teacher training and assis-
tance through workshops and model classroom experimentation. Curriculum guide-
lines and suggestions and a quarterly newsletter inform teachers of classroom ideas
and techniques. For to see their National Geography Standards and Skills, excerpted
from Geography For Life: National Geography Standards go to: www.nationalgeo-
graphic.com/xpeditions/standards

Related Technology Tools

Technology Resources
Five Activities for Teaching Geography’s Five Themes
www.education-world.com/a_lessonnesson071.shtml
This site contains ideas for teaching the geography themes of location, place, human/
environment interaction, movement, and region. Includes geography related lesson
plans, such as one for online mapping.
Future State: US Department of State for Youth
http://future.state.gov/educators/online/geography
The Unites States Department of State developed this site to help teachers not only
explore geography, but also learn about US policy and interaction with countries
around the world.
Software and Videos
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (Encore Software) (Mac/Windows)
Expands students’ knowledge of world geography and cultures as they travel to 50
countries, gather clues, and take guided tours through scrolling landscapes. Designed
for grades 4–8. Also available Junior Detective Edition for grades Pre-K–3 (University
Games. Both are available from www.amazon.com.
Just the Facts: The Great American State Quiz (Cerebellum Corp.)
Available from www.amazon.com. This fun DVD offers stimulating, interactive quizzes
to help students learn state facts, sites, monuments, and geography.
GeoCycle USA. (EdVenture Software)
Available from www.amazon.com. Learn geography as you experience our country’s
famous cities and landmarks firsthand.
488 Chapter Eleven

United States Geography (Fogware Publishing)

Available from www.amazon.com. Trace the paths of pioneers and patriots, and wit-
ness a country as vast and varied in climate, topography, and natural resources as any
place on earth. Ten CDs feature various regions, such as the Northeast, Southwest,
and West.
WebQuests
Map Adventure (Gr. 2–4)
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=153392
Explore Australia (Gr. 6–8)
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=157157
Native Americans in the Natural World (Gr. 5)
http://schools.nycenet.edu/Region6/ps52/A_fifth_grade_Social_Studies_WebQuest.
htm#Intro
South American Countries (Gr. 3–5)
http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=94773
Web Sites
USA City Link
http://usacitylink.com/
This site is a comprehensive listing of WWW pages featuring states and cities. It’s
easy-to-use format provides students with information about various cities including
what to see, what to do, and how to find out more information about the city. It would
be helpful in creating travel brochures.
Virtual Tourist
www.virtualtourist.com/vt/
This site offers general information, tourist guides, and pictures for thousands of
places.
Earth Day
www.care2.com/channels/ecoinfo/earth
This offers links to environmental information and projects for the classroom.
The Globe Program
http://classic.globe.gov/
This site is full of resources for students, and students from 111 countries can link to
this site to gather information and participate in projects, like helping scientists record
climate changes.
GORP—National Historic Trails
www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-hiking-sidwcmdev_068970.html
Students can access this site to find maps and detailed descriptions of the old pioneer
routes such as the Oregon Trail.
MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.com
Get customized maps for places all over the world using this interactive atlas.
National Geographic
www.nationalgeographic.com
The National Geographic site includes several world-class projects on the environ-
ment, wildlife, and preservation.
National Geographic Society Maps
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps
This site offers options when students need a quick map, want to play map games, or
tap into other map-related resources.
 Geography 489

References
Ballock, Ellen, and Ashley Lucas. 2013. “Going Beyond Maps and Globes: Exploring
Children’s Literature Using the Five Geographic Themes.” Social Studies and the Young
Child 26(1): 15–16.
Bednarz, S., and R. Bednarz. 1994. “The Standards Are Coming!” Journal of Geography
93 (4): 194–196.
Boehm, R. G., and J. F. Petersen. 1994. “An Elaboration of the Fundamental Themes in
Geography.” Social Education 58 (4): 211–213.
Committee on Geographic Education. 1984. Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary
and Secondary Schools. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers and
National Council for Geographic Education.
Common, D. L. 1986. “Students, Stories and Social Studies.” The Social Studies 77 (5): 246–248.
de Blij, H. J., Peter O. Muller, and Jan Nijman. 2012. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts.
15th ed. New York: Wiley.
Freeman, D. E., and Y. S. Freeman. 1991. “‘Doing’ Social Studies: Whole Language Lessons
to Promote Social Action.” Social Education 55 (1): 29–32, 66.
Geography Education Standards Project. 1994. Geography for Life: National Geography
Standards. Washington, DC: National Geographic Research and Exploration.
Gregg, M. 1997. “Seven Journeys to Map Symbols: Multiple Intelligences Applied to Map
Learning.” Journal of Geography 96 (3): 146–152.
Harvey, S. 2002. “Nonfiction Inquiry: Using Real Reading and Writing to Explore the
World.” Language Arts 80 (1): 12–22.
Hayes, D. A. 1993. “Freehand Maps Are for Teachers and Students Alike.” Journal of
Geography 92 (1): 13–15.
Hollister, V. G. 1994. “Arriving Where We Started: Using Old Maps in a Middle School
Social Studies Classroom.” Social Education 58 (5): 279–280.
Kapp, B. M. 1991. “A Magic Carpet Trip to Learning Geography.” Journal of Geography
90 (4): 174–178.
Laminack, L. L., and Wadsworth, R. M. 2006. Reading Aloud Across the Curriculum.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Lin, L., C. Widdall, and L. Ward. 2014. “Improving Critical Thinking with Interactive
Mobile Tools and Apps.” Social Studies and the Young Child 26 (4): 10-14.
Louie, B. Y. 1993. “Using Literature to Teach Location.” Social Studies and the Young Learner
5 (3): 17–18, 22.
Maxim, G. W. 2002. Social Studies and the Elementary School Child. 8th ed. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
National Council for the Social Studies. 2008, May. NCSS Position Statement. “A vision of
powerful teaching and learning in the social studies: Building social understanding and
civic efficacy.” http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/powerful.
———. 2013. College, Career, and Civic Life: C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/c3/
C3-Framework-for-Social-Studies.pdf.
Oden, P. 1992. “Geography Is Everywhere in Children’s Literature.” Journal of Geography
91 (4): 151–158.
Petry, A. K. 1995. “Future Teachers of Geography: Whose Opportunity?” Journal of Geog-
raphy 51: 487–494.
Rand McNally. 2009. Goode’s World Atlas. 22nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Rocca, A. M. 1994. “Integrating History and Geography.” Social Education 58 (2): 114–116.
Schoenfeldt, M. 2001. “Geographic Literacy and Young Learners.” The Educational Forum
66 (1): 26–31.
Sunal, C. S., and M. E. Haas. 2000. Social Studies and the Elementary/Middle School Student.
Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.