Conclusion

Conclusion


Geography is a way of thinking, of asking questions, of
observing and appreciating the world around us. You can help
your children learn by providing interesting activities for
them, and by prompting them to ask questions about their
surroundings.

Set a good example, and help your children build precise
mental images, by always using correct terms. Say, "We are
going north to New York to visit Grandma, or west to Dallas to
see Uncle John," rather than "up to New York" or "down to
Dallas." Use words such as highway, desert, river, climate, and
glacier; and explain concepts like city, State, and continent.

Many of the words used in geography are everyday words.
But, like any other field of learning, geography has a language
of its own. (A glossary of basic geography terms appears in the
back of this booklet.)

Expose children to lots of maps and let them see you using
them. Get a good atlas as well as a dictionary. Atlases help us
ask, and answer, questions about places and their relationships
with other areas. Many States have atlases that are generally
available through an agency of the state government.

The activities suggested in this booklet are only a few
examples of the many ways that children learn geography. These
activities are designed to help parents find ways to include
geographic thinking in their children's early experiences. We
hope they will stimulate your thinking and that you will
develop many more activities on your own.


References


Backler, Alan; and Stoltman, Joseph. "The Nature of Geographic
Literacy." ERIC Digest (no. 35). Bloomington, IN. 1986.

Blaga, Jeffrey J.; and others. Geographic Review of Our World:
A Daily Five-Minute Geography Program for Grades 3-11. GROW
Publications. Racine, WI. 1987.

Duea, Joan; and others. Maps and Globes: An Instructional Unit
for Elementary Grades. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar
Falls, IA. 1985.

Geographic Education National Implementation Project. Walter G.
Kernball (chair). K-6 Geography: Themes, Key Ideas, and
Learning Opportunities. National Council for Geographic
Education.

Western Illinois University. Macomb, IL. 1984.

Department of Education and Science. Geography from 5 to 16.
HMSO Books. London. 1986.

Hoehn, Ann. "Helping Children Get Their Hands on Geography"
(unpublished activity guide). Milaca Public Schools. Milaca,
MN. 1988.

Joint Committee on Geographic Education. Guidelines for
Geographic Education, Elementary and Secondary Schools.
Association of American Geographers and National Council for
Geographic Education. Washington, DC. 1984.

National Council for the Social Studies. Strengthening
Geography in the Social Studies, Bulletin 81. Salvatore J.
Natoli (editor). Washington, DC. 1988.

National Geographic Society. Geography: An International
Gallup Survey. The Gallup Organization, Inc. Princeton,
NJ. 1988.

National Geographic Society. "Geography: Making Sense of
Where We Are." Geographic Education Program. Washington, DC.
1988.

National Geographic Society. Geography Education Program.
"Teaching Geography: A Model for Action." Washington, DC.
1988.

Wilson-Jones, Ruth Anne. "Geography and Young Children: Help
Give them the World" (unpublished paper). LaGrange, GA. 1988.


Glossary


altitude

Distance above sea level.

atlas

A bound collection of maps.

archipelago

A group of islands or a sea studded with islands.

bay

A wide area of water extending into land from a sea or
lake.

boundaries

Lines indicating the limits of countries, States, or other
political jurisdictions.

canal

A man-made watercourse designed to carry goods or water.

canyon

A large but narrow gorge with steep sides.

cape (or point)

A piece of land extending into water.

cartographer

A person who draws or makes maps or charts.

continent

One of the large, continuous areas of the Earth into which
the land surface is divided.

degree

A unit of angular measure. A circle is divided into 360
degrees, represented by the symbol *. Degrees, when applied to
the roughly spherical shape of the Earth for geographic and
cartographic purposes, are each divided into 60 minutes,
represented by the symbol '.

delta

The fan-shaped area at the mouth, or lower end, of a
river, formed by eroded material that has been carried
downstream and dropped in quantities larger than can be carried
off by tides or currents.

desert

A land area so dry that little or no plant life can
survive.

elevation

The altitude of an object, such as a celestial body, above
the horizon; or the raising of a portion of the Earth's crust
relative to its surroundings, as in a mountain range.

equator

An imaginary circle around the Earth halfway between the
North Pole and the South Pole; the largest circumference of the
Earth.

glacier

A large body of ice that moves slowly down a mountainside
from highlands toward sea level.

gulf

A large arm of an ocean or sea extending into a land mass.

hemisphere

Half of the Earth, usually conceived as resulting from the
division of the globe into two equal parts, north and south or
east and west.

ice shelf

A thick mass of ice extending from a polar shore. The
seaward edge is afloat and sometimes extends hundreds of miles
out to sea.


international date line

An imaginary line of longitude generally 180° east or west
of the prime meridian. The date becomes one day earlier to the
east of the line.

island

An area of land, smaller than a continent, completely
surrounded by water.

isthmus

A narrow strip of land located between two bodies of
water, connecting two larger land areas.

lagoon

A shallow area of water separated from the ocean by a
sandbank or by a strip of low land.

lake

A body of fresh or salt water entirely surrounded by land.

latitude

The angular distance north or south of the equator,
measured in degrees.

legend

A listing which contains symbols and other information
about a map.

longitude

The angular distance east or west of the prime meridian,
measured in degrees.

mountain

A high point of land rising steeply above its
surroundings.

oasis

A spot in a desert made fertile by water.

ocean

The salt water surrounding the great land masses, and
divided by the land masses into several distinct portions, each
of which is called an ocean.

peak

The highest point of a mountain.

peninsula

A piece of land extending into the sea almost surrounded
by water.

plain

A large area of land, either level or gently rolling,
usually at low elevation.

plateau (or tableland)

An elevated area of mostly level land, sometimes
containing deep canyons.

physical feature

A land shape formed by nature.

population

The number of people inhabiting a place.

prime meridian

An imaginary line running from north to south through
Greenwich, England, used as the reference point for longitude.
range (or mountain range) A group or chain of high elevations.

reef

A chain of rocks, often coral, lying near the water
surface.

reservoir

A man-made lake where water is kept for future use.

river

A stream, larger than a creek, generally flowing to
another stream, a lake, or to the ocean.


scale

The relationship of the length between two points as shown
on a map and the distance between the same two points on the
Earth.

sea level

The ocean surface; the mean level between high and low
tides.

strait

A narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of
water.

swamp

A tract of permanently saturated low land, usually
overgrown with vegetation. (A marsh is temporarily or
periodically saturated.)

topography

The physical features of a place; or the study and
depiction of physical features, including terrain relief.

valley

A relatively long, narrow land area lying between two
areas of higher elevation, often containing a stream.

volcano

A vent in the Earth's crust caused by molten rock coming
to the surface and being ejected, sometimes violently.

waterfall

A sudden drop of a stream from a high level to a much
lower level.

Glossary, in part, courtesy of Hammond, Incorporated


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