100 (or 1000!) fab geography teaching ideas...

[Victoria]

Following on from Rob and Tony's comments on a different thread...  How about a place to collect simple but fab ideas?

To get the ball rolling...

-mystery feely box/jars a la Noel Jenkins - variety of mystery objects connected to the new topic to be studied, either all together in a big box, or in separate plastic jars (useful for things like water, soil)... students have 10 seconds to feel around and try to identify the topic

-Google Earth trip a la Ollie Bray - box/tub/bucket full of slips of paper, each with a world city, landmark or destination... first student to pack away gets to pick out a slip of paper, and you fly there as a class in GE

-countries/capitals register - instead of "yes miss/sir" students answer the register with a  country and its capital city... British Isles ones are banned, there can't be repetition, and when the class get used to doing it, they can be timed (competition against themselves and other classes)...

[David Rogers]

The geography of cheese and toast 

Use photo orienteering getting pupils to explore their local places http://daviderogers.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-site-fieldwork-part-1.html

or Doorstep Geography - lots of simple ideas designed to get your pupils out and about http://doorstepgeography.blogspot.com

[Blue Square Thing]

Hmm, here's an idea. No idea if it works, but I think there might be mileage in it (it might also be an old idea I just haven't come across before...).

Start from somewhere - ideally your house. Walk for five minutes - not 4, not 6, but 5. When you get whereever you get to, stop and take a photo of whatever it is that's there. Whatever it is.

As a way of understanding local geography it's interesting, perhaps. Photos could be mapped, individually or in a class, or using some sort of mapping software (dunno what). I imagine it can be done for a school as well - send groups of kids out with a digi camera to walk (five minutes, three hours - you decide ;-)) and take photos. Or as an interesting homework, perhaps. Assuming they have cameras (on phones?).

As I say, no idea if it'll work, but here's four that I took earlier heading in different directions from my house:

[David Rogers]

BST - like it!

[Plene]

David - I really like the photo orienteering  and using the satellite image
 

[Dannyoc]

using DUMPR http://www.dumpr.net/sketch.php turn photographs into sketches

[aberrantbee]

Using Freemind a lot in revision http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download

[Tony Cassidy]

I've started a Google Docs presentation to collate these ideas

http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dfc7f644_3f5bwqcgv&skipauth=true

The nice thing about Google Docs is they can be downloaded as a pdf and ppt.

Please email/pm/twitter dm me with your email address, so I can add you to the collaborators and you can edit the document. Very easy to do, just like PowerPoint, but you will have to sign up for a free google account. Hopefully it could make a stunning document with a bit of selfless collaboration.

I hope the presentation reflects the ideas above/their origin. Dave I thought you would be happy to summarise your ideas on the presentation. BST- is this a correct summary of your idea?

[Noel Jenkins]

Hey - great idea Tony and others.
The presentation can also be embedded in blogs/web pages to spread the word.

[Tony Cassidy]

Hopefully people will contribute and we can have a creative document.

[Paul]

I dont know if this is simple enough for this list!

I get pupils to use www.screentoaster.com to record their GIS work from Googleearth or other software. The website software works online so now downloads are needed, is not blocked at school, and all videos made can be embedded on blogs. Here is an example  http://www.thegeographer.co.uk/showcase/?p=41

Paul

[Tony Cassidy]

Sounds good to me. Paul, please add it to the presentation.

[aberrantbee]

Create an alter ego in twitter, ask to children to follow you and tweet revision facts daily.  I have promised one per day for a topic but I may tweet more than one per tpic if it is successful. New Idea so we'll see how it goes.  working on the theory that as it accessible by phone they may read when commuting to school and I can get aroun the issue of twitter being blocked.  I can, of course, also add my own tweeets by phone.

[Tony Cassidy]

Great idea on the revision twitter- are you going to add to the presentation?

[ValVannet]

Adopt a webcam!  Users of this forum have long been familiar with my favourite one http://www.sgisland.gs/index.php/%28h%29South_Georgia_webcam?useskin= which, strangely, is masterminded from here in Dundee.  Regular 'visits' to the same location give pupils an excellent impression of the changing seasons and a real familiarity with distant location.  I have just 'been' to South Georgis this morning - seals and penguins are gone, the snows have started and it is a glorious autumn day there.  It certainly beats the bundle of marking in front of me!!