How Can We Help Children Learn Geography?

A recent survey revealed that one in five Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 could not locate the United States on an outline map of the world. What explains this lack of geographic knowledge? In the United States, geography is not considered a basic academic course. Geography content in the middle grades (5-8) is often integrated into a world history or social studies course, and only one student in seven takes a high school geography course.

Although courses in geography are indeed crucial to geographic understanding, students will derive true knowledge of world geography only if parents and teachers place emphasis on geographic themes through application activities on a day-to-day basis. Maps, globes, and atlases should be daily resources to answer questions about location, regions, climates, movement of people, and the relationship between places and the characteristics of the people that live there. A solid foundation in geography should begin with preschoolers; five- year-olds can construct three-dimensional maps of the classroom to begin to understand symbolic representation and spatial relationships.

What Should Children Learn About Geography?

Geographers and geography educators across the United States have developed five fundamental themes to help children learn geography. These themes have been endorsed by the Association of American Geographers, the National Council for Geographic Education, and the National Geographic Society and have been widely adopted in schools to teach geography. Each theme is listed and described below in conjunction with a question to help parents and teachers focus children's thinking geographically.

	Location -- the positions of people and places on the earth's surface. Where in the world are places located?
	Place -- the physical and human characteristics that distinguish one place from other places. What makes a place special?
	Relationships Within Places -- the interactions of humans with their environments that shape the characteristics of peoples and places. What are the interactions among people and places that explain how we shape and are shaped by our environment?
	Movement -- the human interactions on the earth-people, products, and information-that affect the characteristics of places. What are the global patterns of movement of people, products, and information?
	Regions -- how they form and change. How can the earth be divided into regions to help us understand similarities and differences of peoples and places?

What Can Be Done in Schools To Enhance Children's Knowledge of Geography?

	Increase coverage of geography at every grade level of the school curriculum. Children cannot achieve geographic literacy unless they have ample exposure to the subject.
	Teach geography as a separate school subject. In addition, encourage teachers to infuse the five geographic themes into other school subjects, such as history, economics, and earth science.
	Add depth to studies of this subject. Avoid mentioning many geographic facts while investigating few in depth.
	Use multiple sources and media of instruction, such as video programs, primary documents, computer software, wall maps and charts, globes and atlases, and periodicals with numerous pictures and maps. Avoid reliance on standard textbooks.
	Emphasize active learning by applying knowledge to investigate real geographic problems.
	Use the local community as a resource for examples of the five geographic themes. Involve children in hands-on investigations of nearby places such as farms or parks.

What Can Be Done At Home?

As your child's first teacher, you can have an ongoing impact on your child's knowledge of geography by monitoring and reinforcing lessons presented at school. You can reinforce school learning by doing the following things at home:

	Read stories from or about other countries and books that describe journeys.
	Make different ethnic foods or take your child to ethnic restaurants.
	Give children an opportunity to travel by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot. If available, try other forms of transportation, such as planes, trains, subways, ferries, or horse-drawn carriages.
	Teach your child positional words (above, below) and directions (north, south, east, west) and use these words in your daily conversations.
	Use the library to discover how other cultures celebrate holidays. Discuss customs, dress, and food.
	Invite friends or neighbors who are from different countries or who have traveled or lived abroad to talk with your child about their experiences.
	Use maps and encourage your child to make his or her own maps.
	Encourage family viewing of television programs with geographic content and participate with children in post-program discussions of geographic themes and issues.
	Use pictures from books and magazines to help your child associate words such as desert, volcano, and rain forest with visual images.
	Seek opportunities to examine and discuss geographic themes with your child as you encounter them in daily activities in your home and neighborhood.

The above recommendations are firmly rooted in studies that reveal geography concepts should be taught through concrete activities, begun early, and applied to everyday experiences. Schools certainly have a role to play in developing geographic understanding, but the home is an ideal setting for applying what is learned in practical ways so children will realize the importance of geography in their lives.

Sources

Fromboluti, Carol Sue (1991). Helping Your Child Learn Geography. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. ED 313 316.

Gallup Poll (1988). Geography: An International Gallup Survey. Princeton, NJ: The Gallup Organization.

Geographic Education National Implementation Project (1987). K-6 Geography: Themes, Key Ideas, and Learning Opportunities. Macomb, IL: National Council for Geographic Education. ED 288 807.

Grovesnor, Gilbert M. (November 1989). "The Case for Geography Education." Educational Leadership, 47, 29-32. EJ 398 949.

Hill, A. David (December 1989). "Rediscovering Geography." NASSP Bulletin, 73, 1-8. EJ 400 529.

Joint Committee on Geographic Education (1984). Guidelines for Geographic Education. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers and the National Council for Geographic Education. ED 252 453

Mullis, Ina V.S., Eugene H. Owen, and Gary W. Phillips (1990). America's Challenge: Accelerating Academic Achievement, A Summary of Findings from 20 Years of NAEP. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (1990). The Geography Learning of High School Seniors. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. ED 313 317.

Salter, Christopher L. (1990). Missing the Magic Carpet: The Real Significance of Geographic Ignorance. Princeton, NJ: Education Testing Service.

Stoltman, Joseph P. (1990). Geography Education for Citizenship. Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education. ED 322 081.

Stoltman, Joseph P. and J. Kelli Sweet (February 1986). "The Michigan Experience in Geographical Education." The Professional Geographer 38, 73-34.

For more information on this subject, contact:

ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education
Indiana University
Social Studies Development Center
2805 East 10th Street, Suite 120
Bloomington, IN 47408-2698
(800) 266-3815 (812) 855-3838
http://www.indiana.edu/~ssdc/eric_chess.htm