670 geography-us-world results | sort by:
return to subject listingExploring Africa - Michigan State University
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
This website is literally a textbook online. Consider using a reading guide tool such as Read Ahead, reviewed here for younger readers. Read Ahead is perfect for introducing any reading passage to struggling readers, special education students, and ENL/ESL learners. The information is ready to go and easy to use. It may not be possible to cover all of the information included in this extensive website. Pick and choose the modules that will be useful in your own classroom. Modules can easily be used independently and include detailed teacher notes, evaluations, printable pages, and more. Many of the a ctivities will work well using technology, though the plans do not specify this. For example: Share some of the maps on your interactive whiteboard or have students draw some of their "preconceived notions" about Africa on the whiteboard as part of the introductory image activities.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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The Africa Guide - africaguide.com
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
What a fabulous tool for online research or student-guided learning. This website presents a wonderful, concise summary of all of the countries in Africa. Why not assign individual students (or groups or 2) a specific country to research. Then the students can create an interactive PowerPoint or other presentation to share on a projection screen. With younger students, use your interactive whiteboard to share the site (turn up the speakers), allowing students to click and guide the class "trip." Music links go to Amazon, and only some have the listening feature available (scroll down the Amazon page to "Listen to Samples"). You will want to check before class.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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What Do Maps Show? - USGS
Grades
4 to 8In the Classroom
Be sure to visit the teacher's guide before visiting the individual lessons for helpful hints. The maps would display very well on an interactive whiteboard. Have students highlight or circle map elements and show with the pens how to find certain places. Since printables are included, you can have those at their seats work on their own copies of the same maps and show you their work, "earning" the chance to do it on the whiteboard.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Maps Home Page - David J. Leveson
Grades
4 to 9In the Classroom
Use this website as review for map skills. Place the link on your teacher web page for students to review at home or find al alternate presentation, especially if they have been absent. If you have quick learners, you may want to allow them to navigate the tutorial at their own speed, learning more than the "basics" while the rest of the class receives direct instruction.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Social Studies for Kids
Grades
1 to 8Note: an annoying audio ad plays when you first enter the site. Turn OFF your sound!
In the Classroom
Use the current events segment as weekly discussion starter or assignment in your social studies class. Share this link on your teacher web page for students to access outside of class. To really build a stronger sense of current events, start a class year-long current events "log" on a wiki and have a differnet student write a "week in review" each week throughout the year, based on the current events provided here or others he/she may know about. Reading teachers may also want to use the articles on this site to teach informational text reading skills on an interactive whiteboard. Reading levels are challenging for grades 1-3. Teachers will need to provide help by reading aloud or partnering readers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The American Experience - Hoover Dam - PBS
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
This website was created to accompany the PBS movie "Hoover Dam", however it can also be useful independently to teach about the history of the Hoover Dam. Don't miss the Teacher's Guide. If you study geography, Hoover Dam is a fascinating study on the impact of WATER on human settlements. Include this as one of several web reources for students to research and discuss human interactions with and adaptations to landforms (in this case, desert).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The National Map - United States Department of the Interior
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Have your students work in cooperative learning groups to investigate the "dynamic maps". Assign each group a topic to explore (there are 7). Have the students research the information using the maps and then report their findings to the class, perhaps displaying examples on a projector or interactive whiteboard. In teaching any of the related subjects, using a projector to share a map will make the content more "real," such as displaying the butterfly layer in the map maker so students can see how the butterfly population their home state compares with other locations.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World News - WN Network
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Share this site with your school's foreign language teachers. Have students do comparisons between English and foreign language versions of the news. If you teach writing, you can find controversial topics as writing prompts for persuasive writing among the articles, as well, and have students find facts to support their positions. Make this site available from your teacher web page for current events assignments. Reading teachers will want to use the articles on an interactive whiteboard to teach main idea and summarizing: highlight key words to use in a main idea or summary sentence you write together below the article.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Endangered Animals in Africa - Africa Conservation Fund
Grades
3 to 12In the Classroom
Once you become familiar with specific naturalist bloggers on this site, you may want to revisit their posts throughout your unit on animals, biodiversity, or the environment. These real world connections would be good lesson starters. Teachers may also use this site when studying world cultures and geography of Africa. Elementary teachers will want to share selected portions of this site on an interactive whiteboard or projector as they teach about animal habitats and adaptations. Since some of the incidents that threaten the animals may be involve violence or be frightening to students, teachers should preview before sharing with younger students. The reading levels are adult, so this is not a good site to suggest for elementary students to use independently.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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World Climate - Robert Hoare
Grades
5 to 12In the Classroom
Use the data along with world maps (or Google Earth) for students to draw conclusions about geographic features and weather or to collect weather data over a time period to compare seasonal differences between northern and southern hemispheres. As part of an Earth Day or climate comparison activity, have students create a color-coded climate data "globe" in small groups, showing major cities and their weather data by color. You can use basketballs and sticky colored contact paper to cut out continents and climate zones, or have students make the map on an interactive whiteboard using a globe projection and highlghter tools in different colors. Older students can use the raw data as part of study of climate and cultural differences, environmental issues, or related topics.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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NationMaster - Luke Metcalfe
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Provide this resource as a link on your teacher web page or in class for supporting data to be used in discussions or debates. In math classes, use the data to create and compare alternate graphical representations of real-world data. In geography classes, use the site tools to see correlations provided for many types of data. World language classes can study and compare the various nations that speak the language they are studying. If you are lucky enough to have an interactive whiteboard, highlight data and create graphs for comparisons on the board using the board tools and spreadsheet software, as well.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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CIA World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency
Grades
6 to 12In the Classroom
Provide this resource as a link on your teacher web page or in class for supporting data to be used in discussions or debates. In math classes, use the data to create and compare graphical representations of real-world data. In geography classes, use the information to draw connections between physical features of a nation and its economy. World language classes can compare the various nations that speak the language they are studying.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Panoramas.dk
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use a projector--or better yet, an interactive whiteboard--to take students atop the Eiffel Tower, to the high Sierras, or aboard a Mars explorer. Allow student to navigate on the whiteboard. Nte that Shift and Ctrl keys alow you to zoom, as well. Be sure to click at the top of the 3D view to Read More about the image. These tours will make landforms real, culture come alive, and science a visual art form. As you introduce terms and place, use images! You could even use a tour as a writing prompt for poetry or descriptive writing. Include the link on your teacher web page for students to "tour the world" outside of class or feature one location a week to broaden class horizons on a classroom desktop.Comments
What a GREAT idea! Thank you. I found one with mountain biking and vistas. I'll put it up early in the period and come back to it in the end and have them write their exit cards about it. Then I will revisit it in a week or two when we start talking about metaphorical language.Shirley, CA, Grades: 6 - 12
I plan to use this as a way to start the school year with my sixth grade G/T kids. I will display a panorama on an interactive whiteboard-- one of mountains with peaks and valleys. I will ask, "Why would I show you this and say that this is our classroom this year?" The students will write down an idea on a slip of paper, guessing why I might use this as an introduction to my class. They will most likely introduce all of the classroom conduct and learning environment issues that I want to touch upon that first day: peaks and valleys during the year, some rugged terrain, studying mountains and geography, some amazing views (everyone's opinions), and more. It will also get them thinking in analogies and allow me to see how quickly some of them do this and how literal others are.Thinking, PA, Grades: 5 - 10
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Interactive World Map - Mr. Nussbaum
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Use this scavenger hunt as a competitive activity on laptops or interactive whiteboard while reviewing world geography. If your require students to learn the world map, be sure to include this link on your teacher web page for review. As an extra challenge, ask students to compose their own questions that may or may not be answered within the information available here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Map of Valley Forge National Historical Park - TeachersFirst
Grades
3 to 8In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today. Share the map on an interactive whiteboard, so you can use the tools to highlight different areas.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Map of Philadelphia - TeachersFirst
Grades
2 to 12In the Classroom
Share this and other sections of the TeachersFirst Colonial America tour as part of your study of the colonies so students can see what these historic locations look like today. Share the map on an interactive whiteboard and use the tools to highlight important aspects of a colonial city.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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St. Patrick's Day - kate.net
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Search this site to find activities relevant to your class. Enhance learning by having students research St. Patrick's Day facts - information about Ireland, St.Patricks Day, dancing, language and more; then, give students a choice of tools for a multimedia projects to finalize their learning using: PowerPoint Online, reviewed here, a slide show, Site123, reviewed here, a blog or webpage, PBWorks, reviewed here, a wiki, Adobe Express Video Maker, reviewed here a video creation tool. Share the videos on a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here, or all presentations on your class webpage or wiki.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Within the Classroom Resources section of this website to look for free lesson plans and classroom activities. The lessons are organized by grade level, so be sure to pass it along to peers in other grade levels. Save this one as a favorite to allow for easy access and retrieval.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Big Wide World Webquest - The Museum of Television & Radio
Grades
2 to 6In the Classroom
Use this Webquest to introduce the connections between major social studies and science concepts. After students work in groups to investigate the different areas, bring the class together to share. Guide a class discussion to show how the different areas are linked and work together. Use the Relationship Wheel (see Teacher Guide) as a bulletin board to support understanding. The site information says it can be used in grades K-4, but non-readers cannot do the tasks without a reader! For independent workers, it is better suited (and quite applicable)for grades 2-6.If you do this at the start of the school year, you can revisit the overarching connections as you begin study of each sub-area so you are connecting to prior knowledge every time. Teachers in later grades could even recall the overarching questions as they continue with the study of these topics. Be SURE to put the link on your teacher web page for students to revisit throughout the year.
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Flash Earth
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use a projector or whiteboard to share a location as art of the background knowledge for a lesson. Be sure to add this link to your teacher web page as a reference tool, as well. Be aware that some world locations have much "fuzzier" satellite images than others. Always preview before your lesson to be sure you can show the features you want students to see. Show elementary students where their "neighborhood" is, perhaps even their streets!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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