Tag: maps

3-12, Education, Geography, Social Studies, Websites

Weekly Map

Terri Eichholz

Leslie Fisher (@LeslieFisher) tweeted out this link to Weekly Map yesterday.  The concept is similar to the “What’s Going on in this Graph?” feature that appears in the New York Times the second Tuesday of every month – except, of course, that this a weekly challenge.  Each Monday brings a new map, and a hint is given each weekday including Friday.  A link is also provided on Friday to the answer.

So far, the site has archived 65 Weekly Maps, and they are labeled with difficulty ratings.  This is a great way for students to practice deductive reasoning and geography skills, as well as vocabulary. (I had no idea what a choropleth map was until I looked at this site.) The “Lessons” part of the site is under construction, so maybe if we give them lots of love that will happen faster!

Choropleth_Map.png
image of choropleth map from Wikipedia
Art, Creative Thinking, Education, Fun Friday, K-12, Websites

Upcycled Art

Terri Eichholz

For today’s Phun Phriday post I want to share a few links with you that I’ve collected in my Phun Phriday Flipboard magazine that show some very unique ways to use unusual materials to create works of art.

First we have the Boeing 777 Jet designed by Luca Iaconi-Stewart out of manila file folders.  I’m thinking, as we move to more and more cloud storage, this young man is really on to something…

image from: Huffington Post
image from: Huffington Post

Next up, we have these amazing collage paintings made out of miscellaneous objects by Jane Elizabeth Perkins:

image from: DesignCloud
image from: DesignCloud

Of course, one could always choose more organic materials, like food, as Caitlin Levin and Henry Hargreaves do in their maps of the world:

image from: Neatorama
image from: Neatorama

Or perhaps you might find the geometric shapes of tangram maps by Ryan Arruda more appealing:

image from: Laughing Squid
image from: Laughing Squid

And, finally, I don’t like the thought of books not being read, but I think I will make an exception in the case of these remarkable book sculptures by Jodi Harvey-Brown!

image from: My Modern Met
image from: My Modern Met

 

 

 

 

 

 

3-6, 6-12, Creative Thinking, Depth and Complexity, Education, Geography, Research, Social Studies, Teaching Tools, Websites

Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World

Terri Eichholz

Twisted Sifter has a great article that includes pictures of “40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World.”  Not all of them are appropriate to show students, but some of them would be great to use for incorporating some Depth and Complexity into the classroom.  Here are a few, and some suggestions.

included in 40 Maps
included in “40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World” on TwistedSifter.com

Big Idea – What general statement could you make about this map?

Change Over Time – How has the metric system been accepted throughout the world since its invention?

Multiple Perspectives – What are the pros for using the metric system?  What are the cons?  Who might benefit from its adoption by the U.S.?  Who would suffer if it became our only method of measurement?

included in "40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World" on TwistedSifter.com
included in “40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World” on TwistedSifter.com

Rules – How are the laws about driving different in countries that use the left side than the ones that use the right?

Details – What other aspects of life are effected by driving orientation?  (For example, car manufacturing, and street signs.)

Unanswered Questions – What does this map not tell us about driving orientation?  (For example, is one way more safe than the other?)

included in "40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World" on TwistedSifter.com
included in “40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World” on TwistedSifter.com

Big Idea – What conclusions can you make from this map?

Patterns and Trends – What similarities do you see?  Are there other things that the regions of the same color may have in common?

Ethics – What arguments or controversies might people have about these results?

And finally, this map sparked a little creative thinking from me.  How would the world be different if it was rearranged?

included in "40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World" on TwistedSifter.com
included in “40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World” on TwistedSifter.com

 

 

Education, Geography, Independent Study, K-5, Research, Social Studies, Teaching Tools, Websites

KBears

Terri Eichholz

I stumbled across KBears when I was in the middle of hunting down some not-so-intimidating sites for geography research for my younger students.  I have not investigated all of KBears, but I was immediately attracted to the geography portion as a potential resource for my 1st and 2nd grade Gifted and Talented students.  The site is very “cute”, making it attractive to the primary kids.  It is also fairly easy to navigate.  There is still some big vocabulary, but it is not overwhelming.  With printable maps, world music, and geography games, this is a great site to add to my teacher toolbox!