GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

See on Scoop.it – History and Social Studies Education

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately talking with teachers and admin types about how the Common Core will impact Social Studies instruction. The conversation has included discussions about…

Over at http://www.socialstudiescentral.com/content/common-core-and-social-studies-classroom there are resources for teachers to know what the common core change will mean for you and your classroom. 

See on historytech.wordpress.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

“Many of the original and innovative contributions to the field of urban sociology came out of the University of Chicago in the early 20th Century. Influenced by the natural sciences, in particular evolutionary biology, members of the Chicago School forwarded an ecological approach to sociology emphasizing the interaction between human behavior, social structures and the built environment. In their view, competition over scarce resources, particularly land, led to the spatial differentiation of urban areas into zones of similar use and similar social groups.

Two of the major proponents of urban ecology were Ernest Burgess and Robert E. Park, professors at the University of Chicago, who together in 1925 published a book entitled The City.” 

Many students struggle with models when there isn’t a corresponding example.  The Concentric Zone Model and Chicago are a great marriage. 

See on thebackyardgeographer.org

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Read more from Slate’s special issue on the future of food. Which counties, states, and countries have the biggest stake in food and its future? Look to these three maps to find out.

Where do most farmers live?  Which countries feed the world?  Which states produce the highest crop value per capita?  This series of interactive maps with data at a variety of scales will allow students to explore these questions.  What to understand the spatial patterns of food production and the geographic factors behind agricultural variation?  They are ripe for the picking. 

See on www.slate.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

An interesting case of identity politics is playing out in New York’s new 13th Congressional District. A Dominican-American state senator is threatening longtime Rep. Charles Rangel in the district, which is now majority Hispanic.

Identity, whether it be be race, religious, color or creed absolutely matters in politics.  Especially local politics where the demographics of a city or district play a major role in the viablity of a candidate.  If the constituency perceives the candidate’s cultural identity as either representing or not representing ‘the people,’ that can play a key role in the election. 

See on www.npr.org

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Matthew Cusick fine art. Painting, collage, drawing, and video work by artist Matthew Cusick.

Oh, the things you can do with maps!

See on www.mattcusick.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

“As we’ve come to depend on a handful of commercial varieties of fruits and vegetables, thousands of heirloom varieties have disappeared. It’s hard to know exactly how many have been lost over the past century, but a study conducted in 1983 by the Rural Advancement Foundation International gave a clue to the scope of the problem. It compared USDA listings of seed varieties sold by commercial U.S. seed houses in 1903 with those in the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory in 1983. The survey, which included 66 crops, found that about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct. More up-to-date studies are needed.”

To show the other side of the issue, include this minor, yet crucial part of the article: “A 30-year-old plant pathologist named Norman Borlaug traveled to Mexico in 1944 to help fight a stem rust epidemic that had caused widespread famine. Crossing different wheat varieties from all over the world, he arrived at a rust-resistant, high-yield hybrid that helped India and Pakistan nearly double their wheat production—and saved a billion people from starvation. This so-called green revolution helped introduce modern industrialized agriculture to the developing world.”

See on ngm.nationalgeographic.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Many consumers don’t know much about the production of their food.  Is your food Genetically modified?  Organically produced?  Learn how to know.   

See on www.plucodes.com

See on Scoop.it – History and Social Studies Education

The Mapping History Project has been designed to provide interactive and animated representations of fundamental historical problems and/or illustrations of historical events, developments and dynamics.  The material is copyrighted, but is open and available to academic users.   

See on mappinghistory.uoregon.edu