For a few years I taught a seventh grade geography class. When I first got my students they had no idea where most states were located unless they were near where they lived or where they had lived in the past. Unbelievably, I found the best way to teach them these locations was to let them color in maps. Of course I had a few rules for this coloring project. Students had to color neatly, they had to locate the capital in each state and the part that really made it stick out. None of the states that touched each other could be the same color. That sounds easy enough until you really look at how the map is set up. By the time we were ready for the test the kids told me they would just remember the colors of ‘their’ state map and for the most part the names of the states came flooding back. You’d think by seventh grade kids wouldn’t be interested in coloring anymore or that they wouldn’t learn from coloring. Not so. I’d say that was my most successful geography lesson that year. The kids ‘got it’ and had fun. How great is that?
Photo Credit: Laffy4k
September 4th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
I’m thinking about having some remodeling done around the house and have recently had contractors coming over to look over the job and give me quotes. Now, I should tell you that I live in a rural area but by no means the middle of nowhere. Yes, there are woods all around me but there is also a McDonalds about five minutes away. I guess I figure if a McDonalds is that close a GPS should be able to find me, right? Not so much.
I offered to give all of the contractors directions to my house based on really easy landmarks. Turn right at McDonalds, left at the church, right onto my road. About half of them listened to me and wrote down the directions the other half told me they had a GPS and would be find. Want to guess which group found my house with no trouble every single time? That’s right, the landmark guys. About half of the GPS guys got totally lost because there are two similarly named streets in the area and they didn’t listen to my directions.
I’m going to chalk this up as a win for traditional directions. Stay tuned for the next epic geography battle.
Photo Credit: Are you my rik
August 19th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
I’ve lived in Florida my entire life and there is one universal truth about the rest of the country, heck even the rest of Florida, that I’ve come to understand. People have trouble with time zones if it messes with their sense of geography. What do I mean by this? Easy, most people think time zones are placed on the boundaries of states. This is so not true and it isn’t just Florida that has multiple time zones.
Yes, Florida has two time zones. It’s ok, I know you are shocked. Most of Florida is in the Eastern Time Zone but a little (relatively) portion of the panhandle is actually in the Central Time Zone. You wouldn’t believe how often I have to explain this. When I worked in an insurance our main branch was in central Florida and they were always getting irked because we weren’t ‘open’ when they were. Let’s not even go into how difficult it was to get someone insured after 4p.m Central because everyone at the main branch was long gone.
So the lesson for today is, time zones and state lines don’t always go together. I state has many different kinds of borders, no matter what you were taught in 7th grade Geography.
Photo Credit: Skirsner
August 3rd, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Geocaching is a great way for families to have fun together. Not only is it an inexpensive adventure it is also an ideal way to bring real world application into the study of geography. For those unfamiliar with the activity, it is kind of like an advanced form of treasure hunting. Typically people will hide items in a location and mark it on one of the geocaching websites with the GPS location for other people to find. Who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt, right?
If your area doesn’t have an active geocaching group parents can always hide the treasure themselves. Speaking of treasure, it really can be anything that is stored in a waterproof container and includes a log (if used by people other than the family) so the progress of other trackers can be kept. If parents are planting the geocache they can use a GPS locator or they can use longitude and latitude and a map so the children learn to use mapping skills.
I wish I had thought to use this tool when I was teaching seventh grade geography, I’m sure the children would have enjoyed it and my mapping lessons would have been infinitely more enjoyable. As it is, I’m looking forward to being able to geocaching with my son and husband in a few years. Geography lesson and fun all rolled into one, you can’t beat that.
Photo Credit: Perpetual Plum
July 6th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
A GPS (global positioning system) is being offered in many newer vehicle models. Is this something that we really need, or is it just another electronic toy that we think we need to have?
I guess that depends on our driving habits and where we need to go. I can see someone wanting to use a GPS when they are traveling to a remote location that may not have a lot landmarks. Since most of us are traveling to and from work or staying relatively close to home, it does seem like a luxury that a lot of people could do without.
People did travel, sometimes over long distances, without needing a GPS in the past. I’m not suggesting we go back to navigating by the stars, but a good-quality map or a set of detailed directions should be enough for most people to get to where they want to go. If we come to depend on technology to help us do things that we can do for ourselves, where would we be if we couldn’t access that technology?
Do yourself a favor and learn how to read a map properly. Save the GPS for an expedition to somewhere exotic; that’s what they were made for.
Jodee Redmond
October 10th, 2008 by admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
Why are the street signs for city streets printed so small? With the size of the text currently being used, you are almost on top of the street sign before you get a chance to read it. If you are not familiar with the neighborhood you are driving in, you need to be able to read the signs from a distance. That way, you can change lanes or make a turn, as necessary.
I have been wondering whether the small size of the letters in street signs are responsible for traffic accidents in cities. I realize that whoever orders the signs wants them to be uniform in appearance and that it probably costs less for a smaller sign, but if this is affecting public safety, then I think cities should find the money somewhere and start replacing the existing signs for larger versions.
We have heard the news media talking about our aging population and, sooner or later, the signs are probably going to have to be replaced to make them easier for seniors to read. If we know that is going to happen anyway, why not just bite the bullet and do it now? It just makes good sense and if it means that city streets are a bit safer, then that is a good thing too.
Jodee Redmond
October 10th, 2008 by admin | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
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