Human Interest

On to geography...

Questions...

This Mental Floss video is an entertaining rapid-fire hodgepodge of map trivia with some important educational content nicely nestled in there.  This 99 Percent Invisible podcast is another 'ode to maps,' but this one is more poetic about the value of cartography and personal in how it explores the qualities they possess.  Enjoy them both!  

Tags:  mapping, trivia, cartography.

Maps are awesome - need I say more! This clip actually covers a significant amount on the power / influence of maps through history.

Very USA centric but entertaining and makes you think about the taken-for- granted use of maps. We do believe them!!

An absolutely great and fun way to learn and explore different geographic locations.  Anytime learning can be made fun or turned into a game is always a win-win.  I found myself screwing around with these mini games and before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed, and I was not as good at Geography as I thought I was.  I will be back to play/learn more!

This is an interesting way to learn geography in a more interactive way. This link provides many different games that allow you to not only play a game but learn while you do it! These games can test capitals, rivers, monarchies, countries, regions, peninsulas, battles, etc. All of these relate to Europe and can provide different learning techniques for anyone who is interested in them.

This Toporopa is a great interaction games for people who are interested in geography. Europe has a rich history dates back to colonial times and there are many interesting facts that a lot of people does not know about it. It is fun and entertaining way to train your brain and a great review to see what you know about the world.

This is really good fun - I got gold (14/15) not sure how many miles though!

An interesting way to get anyone interacting with Google Maps...

APHG-MAPS

locational geography test your knowledge and challenge yourself!

We ought to know something about where our food comes from...

Unit 5

Some  of these maps are easy to guess, such as cotton being grown in the south, but what about others like pigs being raised in the mid-west and North Carolina??? We are so used to having only to make a quick stop at the nearest grocery store to grab our weekly essentials that we don't always think about where it naturally comes from. Also preservatives have come so far as to keep things fresh for long periods of time that where it originates is not a problem because it can be shipped in a refrigerated truck with still time left for it to sit in your fridge for a few days. 

This 12 question quiz is a great way to introduce students to spatial patterns of agricultural products in the United States.  Sometimes just knowing regional stereotypes can be helpful, but being able to make an educated guess about where an agricultural product is comes from requires a basic understanding of economic and climate patterns.  This quiz is a good way to test that knowledge and introduce them to these spatial patterns.    

Tags: trivia, spatial, regions, food, economic, food production, agriculture.

I love interactive maps like this.  These are the best way to learn where things are in the world geographically.  Africa is the toughest, for myself, continent in the world to be able to locate and identify where certain countries are.  This is in part because Africa has so many countries and also Africa is a part of the world that is not often taught in school, therefore you have limited thoughts and ideas about these types of areas.

I have always been fascinated with Africa and its history. Through its history one can understand why Africa is the way it is today. Its a shame that Africa does not have more of a focus in the Public School Curriculum. Its played a huge part in developing western civilization, whether it be in ancient Alexandria providing grain for the Roman Republic or the coltan extracted through inhumane means in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa is a continent that has been raped and torn in a repetitive manor under a variety of foul experiences brought upon by western countries. These are the same western countries that are held of high interest and regards in subject manor instituted in the Public School System. Africa has also been apart of amazing developments of human civilization, for example the Trans Saharan Trade Route which linked Kingdoms such as Ancient Ghana to dynasties far in the Middle East. It is also the birthplace of man (no big deal). In either case there needs to be a stronger push on teaching/molding "Africa" (yes, I know... broad) into the curriculum. It is important in both understanding the history of the world, specifically western civilization and how it coined itself  “civilized.” Through introducing basic aspects, history, and dilemmas (both old and modern) it could inspire more interest and an expansion of knowledge from student to student. School is and will most likely continue to be Euro-centric and have large flares of Americana and other “themes” of North America.