Starter Activities in Geography 2014 MAPPING AND FIELD WORK
1. http://video.about.com/geography/Latitude-and-Longitude.htm- latitude and longitude
2. http://video.about.com/geography/How-to-Read-a-Map.htm-how to read a map
3. Site full of interactive maps
http://www.ammap.com/
4. This is a power point that explains the ins and outs of latitude and longitude. Is simple and easy to follow
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/k9mod/Mapskill/mod3fl5.swf
5. A fabulous video clip from West Wing that explores the problems of the mercator projection. Be a great start to the year for why we study geography.
http://www.upworthy.com/we-have-been-mislead-by-an-erroneous-map-of-the-world-for-500-years?c=ufb2
6.Connected with this is a great map to emphasis the true size of Africa to the students:
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/africa-is-much-much-bigger-than-you-think/
7.Next is a 10 minute video looking at Planet Earth and what we are really seeing. The first part is slightly scientific but if you hold out it moves into some awesome info on map projections and the ins and outs of them and shows the different size of countries using different projections. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lR7s1Y6Zig&list=UU6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA&safe=active
8. Also on a map theme is a great starter to maps using Winnie The Poo. While it is very basic you can ask some great questions around it such as 'are maps really accurate?".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3JYfbu8BiA
For those that are more able you can follow it with this one:
http://nasaesw.strategies.org/2013/11/read-good-map/
2014 Term 1
9. A great little resource idea on how to explain contour lines using your fist.
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/geography/comments/contours-teaching-visual-learners
10. For those of you trying to find maps of any region of the world is this site http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/map/?ar_a=1&map_types=55
11. Here are 2 great sites looking at map projections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lR7s1Y6Zigand https://www.jasondavies.com/maps/transition/
12. For those of you who like interactive maps you may be interested in this site.http://mapdesign.icaci.org/tag/mapcarte/This is the company who produced the TVC interactive map I sent last year. They provided this information on it. "In 2014 we will be publishing a short daily blog post titled ‘MapCarte’ to showcase examples of map design that we feel represent some of the very best in classic and contemporary cartography. The intent is to build a repository of 365 maps that cover the breadth of cartographic practice to illustrate and emphasize the importance of map design. We believe there is no other similar repository".
13. A wonderful British site for GSCE which has brilliant tips on every type of field trip you may wish to do. Well worth a look.http://www.geography-fieldwork.org/
14. 2 resources on Latitude and Longitude. The first is a rap that is well worth showinghttp://youtu.be/-0c1idtn3e8.
The second is a more traditional song that has more information and with a karaoke version also athttp://youtu.be/MjDqhLUzCpE
15. This is a site with all the materials needed to create a latitude resource. While a little juvenile for our needs it could be used well by structuring some great questions around it. For example would loveto see students use it in conjunction with an atlas having to then identify 5 countries that lie along each line!3.
http://thewisenest.com/circles-of-latitude-interactive-sheet.html#comments
16. This is another English field work site that has some great ideas on it such as field sketching and coastal ,river and tourist impact studies http://www.rgs.org/OurWork/Schools/Fieldwork+and+local+learning/Fieldwork+techniques/Fieldwork+techniques.htm.
2014 Term 2
17. This is an NZ Herald resource looking at the most deprived parts of NZ .http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11254032
18. A great site that looks at different map projections and how it affects the way we look at the worldhttp://www.viewsoftheworld.net/?p=752
19. This map should provoke some interesting discussion – especially why NZ is the closest to both the West and East coast of Argentina!
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/if-youre-on-the-beach-this-map-shows-you-whats-across-the-ocean/
20. This is another good one looking at the problems of using different map projectionshttp://www.pratham.name/mercator-projection-africa-vs-greenland.html
21. This is a great resource for those schools who may be wanting to test out ARCGIS but aren't sure, it looks like they have made available the books that have all the starter activities, 'Mapping Our World' etc, online.http://edcommunity.esri.com/Resources/Collections/mapping-our-world?WT.mc_id=EmailCampaignb40304
22. This is great for getting students to understand what the term 'equinox' means. Try scrolling down to the second video showing the equinox from spacehttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=52248&src=fb
23. A neat graphic showing which parts of the world are doing what at this time of the dayhttp://xkcd.com/1335/
2014 Term 3
24. Phil Hornblow at Macleans alerted me to this new site for keen cartographers! It allows you to create your own maps and is well worth investigating.http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/22/wikia-maps
25. If your students have ever jokingly asked what would happen if an international border went through the middle of your classroom this answers which country you are actually in!http://www.radiolab.org/story/how-cross-5-international-borders-1-minute-without-sweating_kw/#.U_JvS4M5J5o.facebook
26. This video is a great follow on to that complex border dispute I introduced you to last week. This looks at the most complex borders in the world! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtLxZiiuaXs
27. Another fascinating border is this satellite image between China and Kazakhstan http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84199
28. Students love those fascinating questions like 'If a baby is born on an airplane mid flight what is their nationality?" This article answers that for you.http://www.radiolab.org/story/if-youre-born-sky-whats-your-nationality-airplane-puzzler-kw/
29. With discussion heating up with the Scottish independence vote threatening and talk of having to rewrite the maps it is timely to consider the extent to which Europe's borders have changed in history. This video looks at just thathttp://www.viralforest.com/watch-1000-years-european-borders-change/.
30. If you wanted to show students what is possible with GIS this video is idealhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVbKqns7FSw&feature=youtu.be
31. Lovely video about the explorer Humbolt who put in place many of the geographic ideas we have todayhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzakQuKqBeQ
32. This is information on a new app for use in fieldwork
http://www.giscloud.com/apps/mobile-data-collectionhttp://www.giscloud.com/apps/mobile-data-collection
33. A great map showing all the countries that have gained independence from the UKhttp://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/united-kingdom/140915/map-formerly-united-kingdom-independence-from-britain
2014 Term 4
34. This looks like a sign of what we can expect in future from maps showing amazing clarityhttp://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/gorgeous-high-res-map-shows-earth-wind-patterns-amazing-detail.html
35. This site has some great ideas on how to interpret satellite photos with exampleshttp://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ColorImage/
36. I have not tried this myself but the skill of being able to map features looks awesome. This video explains how to do this using batchgeohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiGSw9VccOo
37. Another resource around the geography of language – this comes with some awesome maps to usehttp://www.vox.com/2014/11/17/7082317/language-maps-charts
38. This fabulous resource of interactive maps was sent on byRobyn Gillies and Mary Ann Ward at Roncalli College, Timaru that they gained from the google earth blog. Well worth a look.http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/10/my-reading-mapped-interactive-maps-of.html#.VHjUNdKUeSo
39. We have had this before but is always worth a second look. Thanks to Andrew Lessard for the reminder - it shows the importance of cartography through a clip of the West Winghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVX-PrBRtTY
40. This last one is more for the teachers as it is a little 'naughty' but as it's the end of the year am sure they will produce a gigglehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2842938/From-Great-Butts-Shaggie-Burn-Marvellous-Map-Great-Britain-highlights-silliest-rudest-place-names.html