Geographic Connection
News of the California Geographic Alliance
September 2014- Vol 6, Issue 8
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Welcome New CGA Members!
| | We're excited that you've joined us. Each month, check your newsletter for resources, professional development opportunities, and travel ideas. Don't forget to Like us on Facebook too!
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CGA Email Address and Phone Number
| Contact us via our new email address at cga@geography.sdsu.edu
Need to get in touch with us by phone?
Call:
619-594-7932
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Kick off your school year with geography resources
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 Now that school is back in session, we've collected a few online geography-related resources to get you started. Check these out and share your favorites with us on our Facebook page.
Are you looking to incorporate more data into your Common Core-aligned lessons? Try using the Population Reference Bureau's 2014 World Population Data Sheet. The PRB has also created lesson plans to go with the data sheet.
Speaking of data, check out Foreign Policy Magazine's Fragile States Index.
Odyssey.js is an open source mapping tool available for classrooms. Check out the overview on the product at Free Technology for Teachers.
ArcGIS is one of our favorite resources. Check out StoryMaps for multimedia maps.
Don't forget to use images as text in your Common Core-aligned classroom. Students could, for example, analyze images from The Guardian's photo essay on people who live on a dollar a day. Poll your class to see how they get to school, then have them examine these images from around the world.
If you teach 8th grade U.S. History, this article and maps on the growth of slavery in the U.S. could be for you.
Check out National Geographic Society's year long feature on Feeding 9 Billion.
Just for fun, check out Comic Book Cartography. John Hilgart showcases maps from current and vintage comics.
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Webinars from NCSS
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From the NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES (NCSS)WebinarsSparking Curiosity - Geography, the C3 Framework and the Inquiry Arc September 3, 2014, 5:00 p.m. PT Join a panel of classroom and content experts as they share how to spark your students' curiosity about the world through geographic reasoning. Learn how to help students apply geography's unique spatial and environmental perspectives to critical social studies content by exploring links between Dimension 2 of the Inquiry Arc and the National Geography Standards. In this engaging webinar for K-16 social studies teachers examples will be shared on how to get your students to think critically, think geographically and think about what it mean to be a geographer. Register for free and gain more information at NCSS.
Mapping the Nation: Making Global Classroom Connections September 18, 2014, 5:00 p.m. PT Mapping the Nation is a new classroom resource that presents economic, demographic, and education data at both the state and county levels to show international connections for every county in the U.S. - from jobs tied to global trade and immigrants with rich linguistic resources, to the billions of dollars contributed to our economy by international students studying here. This webinar will help you utilize this new interactive resource and share tools you can use in your state, building, district, and classroom. For more information and to register for free visit NCSS.
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2015-2016 Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (DA) Program
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From the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Online Application for K-12 teachers!
You may be eligible to participate in a unique international professional development opportunity for 3-6 months through the Fulbright Program! By conducting educational research abroad, U.S. teachers gain new skills, learn new instructional methods and assessment methodologies and share best practices with international colleagues and students. Teachers also have the opportunity to expand their understanding of other cultures and international education systems that will enrich their U.S. schools and local communities with global perspectives.
Teachers may travel to: Botswana, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico, Palestinian Territories, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. *Additional countries are still pending and will be added to the website in the coming weeks.
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ArcGIS Online Organization available now
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ESRI announced let month that ArcGIS Online Organization subscriptions will be available at NO COST to schools around the country. This subscription level service offers much more than the basic public account, including "more control of sharing, access to more data, engaging much more powerful analyses, supporting apps like Collector or Explorer, integrating with ArcMap and Microsoft Office, enabling login to Community Analyst, and lots more."
For more information and to get the latest materials, including the ArcGIS Online Skillbuilder, visit http://connected.esri.com. |
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Share Resources for AP Human Geography
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Are you looking for a place to share resources for AP Human Geography? Do you have questions about the best way to teach certain units in AP Human Geography?
You can also join the APHG 9th Grade Teachers group on Facebook. This group is specifically aimed at supporting those teachers who are working with high school freshmen.
Where else do you go to learn more about AP Human Geography? Let us know on our Facebook page. |
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AP� "Bell-Ringers" Now Offered to Non-Members!
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NCGE's weekly scheduled "Bell-Ringers" will once again resume next week, and will now be offered to non-members. "Bell-Ringers" are daily questions for your Advanced Placement Human Geography classes delivered to your inbox! You don't need to sign up to receive the "Bell-Ringers" if you have previously signed up within the last year. You will be directed to the NCGE online store; click on "APHG Bell-Ringers" in the Featured Products section. You will be directed to the log-in page, and once you are logged in, you will proceed to the "check-out" to complete your registration. Use the link below to get started!
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New CCSS Professional Learning Module Available from the CDE
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The CDE is pleased to announce the release of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) English/Language Arts (ELA): Content Literacy in History/Social Studies, Grades Six through Twelve, online professional learning module. This module provides secondary history/social studies teachers with resources to implement the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy to deepen students' understanding of historical/social studies content, improve critical thinking, and develop literacy. The module contains information, strategies, lessons, videos, and resources to aid teachers in integrating reading and other literacy activities into history/social studies instruction to support all students' success. Additional professional learning modules will be available in the coming months. For more information, please visit the CDE CCSS Professional Learning Modules for Educators Web page. |
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Resources for the classroom
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From the CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT (CHSSP)
Current Context: California Drought
Check out CHSSP's newest free teaching resource, Current Context: California Drought, which includes a short background article, a map, a timeline of important events, and links to more great resources.
From the RONALD REGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
10th Annual Constitution Day Conference: Resources for Teachers, K-12
Saturday, September 13, 2014, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Conference includes:
- A tour of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and
- Museum, the Discovery Center & Air Force One
- Constitution Scholar Series
- Interactive teacher workshop sessions and
- FREE LESSONS from sponsor organizations
- Showcase featuring recipients of the California Civic Learning Award
NON-REFUNDABLE REGISTRATION FEE: $25. Lunch included. Space is limited. Plus...$75 STIPEND for the FIRST 200 Teachers who Register and Attend the Conference! To register, go to http://cms-ca.org/constitution_day_2014.html
From the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Host an International High School Exchange Student Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State The U.S. Department of State invites you to make a difference by hosting an international high school exchange student in your school or home starting this fall. Approximately 2,000 Department of State-sponsored exchange students from over 50 countries, all of whom have undergone a competitive, merit-based selection process, will spend the 2014-15 academic year in communities across the United States. These exchange students live with American families, attend American high schools, and participate in American culture, leadership activities, and community service. Exchange students can help internationalize classrooms and bring foreign affairs to life. They seek host families and host schools from all over the United States. Learn more or submit an interest form at hosting.state.gov and please share this announcement with others. You can also email us at youthprograms@state.gov.
From the CALIFORNIA HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT Current Context Are you looking for a resource that helps you put current events in their historical context for your students? Check out their newest free teaching resource, Current Context, which includes a short background article, a map, a timeline of important events, and links to more great resources. Their recent edition, Boko Haram/Nigeria, is ready for download here. Check back for more resources in this occasional series, and let them know what topics you'd like covered in future installments!
From the CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION (CRF)
Summer 2014 Bill of Rights in Action Available Online
The latest edition of Bill of Rights in Action (Vol. 29, No. 4) is now available online for you to download. This edition looks at issues related to war and the military. The first article examines the Chinese Civil War and how the Mao Zedong's Communists defeated Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists. The second article explores the Cold War, the struggle between Western democracies and the Soviet Union and its Communist allies following World War II. The last article looks at the current issue of women and their role in the U.S. armed services. Download your copy here.
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Reconstructing the history of the CGA!
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The new leadership team at SDSU is extremely excited about our work with the CGA, and we are hard at work creating a revamped website, an electronic version of the California atlas, and plans for the future.
However, we are missing information about the CGA's history that we would like to include on the website. If you have been involved in coordinating the alliance in the past, or you can help us rebuild the sequence of host institutions and coordinators since Kit Salter's creation of the CGA at UCLA, we want to hear from you. Sent Tom Herman an email therman@mail.sdsu.edu with your story. Thanks! |
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Upcoming Events
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California Council for the Social Studies
Annual Conference
Oakland Marriott Convention Center
Oakland, CA
March 6-8, 2015
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General Contact Information
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Operations Manager:
Thomas Herman
Communications Coordinator
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