Middle School Geography of the World: Part I Mapping Skills
Hands on mini-course for students to practice mapping skills & use them to identify patterns in landforms, human geography and political borders across the World, plus a lively Kahoot! *No Prerequisites*Small Classes*Experienced Teacher
Miss Mollie Geography & Social Studies Writing
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(135)
What's included
4 live meetings
3 hrs 20 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students are encouraged to complete a modest independent project after each class. These are designed to give students an opportunity to practice skills we addressed in class. Estimated time for each project: 30 minutes.Assessment
Independent projects and Kahoot quiz at the end of this mini-course will demonstrate mastery. We will also provide a quiz after the last class plus an answer key. This can be used as evidence of the Kahoot in-class quiz, or simply as follow up for review at a future time.Class Experience
US Grade 5 - 8
This multi-day course is designed to help middle schoolers and geography-motivated pre-middle schoolers sharpen their world map skills. After finishing this course, students will be able to interpret political and physical maps as well as a variety of special purpose maps. Students will strengthen their understanding of continents, direction, latitude and longitude. They will be able to identify patterns in political borders by continent, compare these to physical features and draw conclusions. Students can ask geographic questions such as: why do people choose to live where they do; how does the physical environment affect human settlements; how do people organize themselves in country boundaries. The goal of this class is to provide students with skills and challenge them to apply these skills to increase their understanding of the world beyond their own experience. Week 1: Map Features - Introduce/Review basic parts of a map, practice evaluating world maps Independent Project: Create a map . NOTE: A popular class feature, I encourage our students to send school appropriate geography jokes via the Outschool Classroom for teacher review. If appropriate, we share these in class. Week 2: Political vs. Physical Maps - Examine and compare political boundaries to physical boundaries Independent Project: Plan a trip itinerary Week 3: Special Purpose Maps - Introduce and analyze maps that describe human questions such as: population density, climate, literacy , per capita income , or even the location of some of our popular franchises world-wide. Independent Project: Student chooses a special purpose map and analyzes it, using a set of questions provided. Week 4: Latitude and Longitude - Kahoot Challenge on material covered in this course With this small class we are able to present concepts and guide students to apply ideas and draw conclusions about what the maps show them. We love the academic goal of expanding our students' thinking by helping them make comparisons, create questions and evaluate what they learn. This learning will be a good foundation for understanding future middle school geography classes about world continents, cultures, economics and history. We encourage students to complete the independent projects assigned. When possible, students may start their project before the end of class, giving them an opportunity to clarify their ideas and form a good project plan. We will share these at the beginning of the next class to help the class deepen their understanding and improve long term memory through repetition. These projects will also provide artifacts suitable for a student's learning portfolio. Related courses on Outschool, now: Middle School Geography of the World: Part 1 Mapping Skills (4 sessions) Middle School Geography of the World: Part 2 Europe Landforms & Culture (4 sessions) Middle School Geography of the World: Part 3 Russia @ Heart of Eurasia (4 sessions) Middle School Geography of the World: Part 4-Middle East-Land & Culture Regions (4 sessions) Middle School Geography of the World: Part 5 - South Asia Society & Economy (4 sessions) Middle School Geography of the World: Part 6 - China and South East Asia (4 sessions)
Learning Goals
This multi-day course is designed to help middle schoolers and geography-motivated pre-middle schoolers sharpen their world map skills using engaging material, encouraging student academic confidence with positive challenges. After finishing this course, students will be able to interpret political and physical maps as well as a variety of special purpose maps. Students will strengthen their understanding of continents, direction, latitude and longitude. They will be able to identify patterns in political borders by continent, compare these to physical features and draw conclusions. Students can ask geographic questions such as: why do people choose to live where they do; how does the physical environment affect human settlements; how do people organize themselves in country boundaries. The goal of this class is to provide students with skills and challenge them to apply these skills to increase understanding of the world beyond their own experience.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Optional homework assignments are provided to give students an opportunity to apply and practice skills. Students are provided with direct links to factual resources associated with the lesson topic. Students are reminded that best practice is to click only on the provided link, and stay on the linked site. Sites do not ask for personal information. Parents are encourage to review links and supervise student time on the internet. Examples are shown below.
Mr. Nussbaum This is an educational website offering elementary and middle school activities. https://mrnussbaum.com/page/privacy Posted Privacy Policy: MrNussbaum.com does not collect any personally identifiable student data. Some of our educational activities may ask users for a name or code name for the purposes of personalizing a certificate or for a score report. That said, scores are not recorded nor is there a database in which scores could be recorded.
Supply List
A handout will be provided before each session to support student work. Session 1: Blank world map Terms and Definitions Session 2: Comparison Notes - Political Map vs. Physical Map; Student Project Session 3: Selected Special Purpose Maps (with access links); Student Project Session 4: Latitude/Longitude Practice Map After last session: Paper/Pencil Quiz (Kahoot Quiz Questions) provided with answer key upon request
1 file available upon enrollment
Language of Instruction
English
Joined August, 2020
5.0
135reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Maryland Teaching Certificate in Social Studies/History
2 Degrees
Master's Degree from George Washington University
Bachelor's Degree in History from Trinity University of Washington D.C.
I am certified as a Social Studies Teacher in my state, and have taught Social Studies (including World Geography) for over 18 years. My classes have had lots of fun and engagement with creating and evaluating maps, delving into the wonders of special purpose maps, and engaging in Kahoot Challenges.Reviews
Live Group Class
$60
for 4 classes1x per week, 4 weeks
50 min
Completed by 79 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-14
1-6 learners per class
