Family Activity: Ninth through Twelfth Grades

Geography, Maps, and Current Events

Think about a geography-related event that was widely reported in the news before your children were old enough to follow current events. Examples could be a war, a natural disaster, an invention, or a scientific discovery. Use the guidelines below to discuss the event with your children and encourage them to think about the important role that geography plays in world events.

1. Tell your children about the event that you remember. Explain what happened and the impact it had on you. Have they ever heard of this event? Have they studied it in school? Ask them what, if anything, they know about it.

2. Show your children the location of the event on a map at your home or ask them to locate it on the National Geographic map in their classroom.

3. Ask your children how they think the event that you recounted is related to geography. Do they think geography played a role in causing the event? Might geography have influenced the outcome?

4. Ask them if they can think of any current news stories that have geographical implications or themes. Ask them to go to an online news source such as CNN (http://www.cnn.com) or ENN (http://www.enn.com) to look for relevant news stories or have them read a recent newspaper. They should each focus on one news story.

5. Ask the kids to look at the National Geographic political and physical maps in their classrooms to determine the precise location of the stories. Ask them to consider how political boundaries, topographical features (mountain ranges, rivers, etc.), and climate might contribute to the events. What specific features do your children notice on the political map? On the physical map?

6. Watch a national news program with your children and, together, point out all the geographical themes that come up in the course of the broadcast. Is the prevalence of geographic factors in national and international news surprising to you or your children?

Betsy Hedberg of Curriculum Adventures wrote classroom ideas and family activities for the National Geographic Society’s World Map Giveaway. The American Plastics Council, Kodak, State Farm Insurance, and Subaru of America sponsored the Map Giveaway.

For other great teaching resources, visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education.