“My Wonderful World” is a website led by National Geographic. It's a fabulous site geared toward parents, educators, and students with facts and information about the geography and what they mean to us. The site emphasizes the importance of understanding the connection between people and places, as it is so important for children to know about world in order to succeed in it. Their slogan is “a national campaign to give kids the power of global knowledge.” As we at Chapman strive to be "global citizens" this knowledge can play a powerful role in our lives. So often students come out of school knowing so little about the locations of the continents and oceans and much less about each of the countries. Personally, having just returned from a trip around the world last spring, geography has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I think children need to be educated about other countries and cultures to broaden their perspectives, as well as their hopes and dreams. This site and the “My Wonderful World” campaign is providing a way for educators, parents, and students to find out about the world through various facts, links and activities. This site is inspirational and an agent for change; if it doesn’t motivate parents and educators about teaching kids about geography, nothing will.
What do you think of this site? Is it something you would use as a resource in the future?
Based on the information from this site as well as others, how can we, as future teachers, incorporate geography into our future classrooms? What are some cross-curricular ways of incorporating geography?
Can you think of additional reasons why knowledge of geography is important in today's world?
Really cool website! It provides a lot of activities and ideas for teachers, students, and parents to apply and use. I know I always had a problem with geography, and i still do, so we need to rethink the way we teach it in schools. It is important for students to have a sense of where they are in the world in relations to others, what is going on in the world around them, and the different cultures, languages, and ideas that are around them. It would be great to do entire unit lessons on one area of the world, diving into their people, culture, ways of life, etc. Even learning what countries our famous mathematicians and scientists who laid the foundations hundreds and thousands of years ago for what we are taught today in the classroom would be a great way to incorporate geography with other subjects. Learning about the people who live in the place will help children remember where it is on a map in relation to them. We need to extend awareness of our world, cultures, and people to our students, and maybe that would help solve problems in the future of war and hate. Children should learn other perspectives and ways of doing things and looking at things that are different from what they are used to in their own communities.
ReplyDeleteI really like that site! You have a very good point when you mention how important it is for children to know geography and various aspects about different countries and cultures. I think I could definitely use this site when I am a teacher and a parent. I think it is great that technology and the Internet are providing such great resources that help educate children. I think that children are definitely more interested in subjects when they are presented to them in a fun way. As a future teacher I will incorporate geography into my classroom by teaching with large maps and having the students not only learn about the different continents and countries, but also about the different cultures. I can also incorporate history lessons into geography lessons by teaching students the most important historical events that occured in different places around the world. Knowledge of geography is so important in this world because it is important for everyone to be educated about the other countries around the world. Learning about geography will provide students with knowledge about different people and places.
ReplyDeleteI think this a great site! It is very easy to understand and navigate through. This would be an awesome tool in the classroom and even out of the classroom. As teachers we need to teach these things to our students because it helps them become more global citizens. The stigma of Americans is that we are so tuck in our own ways, we fail to see the beauty of other cultures. By learning more about geography, students will not only gain a better understanding of continents and countries, but cultures as well.
ReplyDeleteIf there's anything I learned in college, it's that my knowledge about geography is horrible. I don't know how many times Professor Cumiford would ask us where a place is, and no one would know the answer. I know that states in the US usually teach about their own geography while they are in school, but I think that it's great at National Geographic has gone out of their way to create a site like this to help students learn in a fun way. Geography can be incorporated in Social Studies, Language Arts, and also in Science. It is easier to understand how and why some things happen when you know the geography of an area. So much is happening today, and everywhere in the world, and yet we all have so little knowledge of where those places are. It is easy for us to say "the middle east" when we talk about war, but how many people know exactly where that war is being fought?
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