Mental Mapping

One of the goals I have for students throughout the course is for them to leave with a better mental picture of the world.  Skills like being able to recall all the continents, oceans, many countries and even cities throughout the world is a very valuable skill. Geography is all around us.  As a teacher, I try to bring geography to students in many different ways.  Below are a couple helpful hints for parents and students to practice geography skills at home.

Parents - At home there are many simple things that you can do to help your student become more geographically aware.  You can discuss driving routes and directions.  You can talk about current events around the world or country and locate where they are happening on a map.  You can have your student plan a family trip.  You can discuss culture and traditions in your home or visit a place with different cultures/traditions than you practice.  The possibilities are really endless. 

Students - As the year goes on, we will be practicing mapping skills.  An easy way for you to test your own skills is to try to draw a map of the world by memory.  Using just a piece of paper, pencil and your brain see what you can come up with.  What do you remember?  What things do you forget?  This information can help to show your strengths but also areas for improvement.