Outdoor Classroom Day is May 18! Get ready with these great ideas from Nat Geo Educators! 1. Gardening Becky Collins, a teacher at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, created a gardening program for her kindergarten students, teaching them about where food comes from and how it’s grown. Through this project, Becky has convinced her pickiest eaters to try broccoli, and in the process she has … Continue reading 10 Ways to Take Your Classroom Outside!
Ryan Lipford, this week’s Educator of the Week, challenged his students to create three-dimensional maps using data that interested them and household materials as cartography tools. Ryan teaches World Geography and Cultures to 7th graders and Modern World History to 10th graders at Edmund Burke School in Washington, D.C. How would you describe yourself as a teacher, or what is your teaching philosophy? I tend … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Mapping with Household Materials
Mike Presser, this week’s Educator of the Week, inspires his students to see geography in their everyday lives and to see themselves as agents of change. Mike teaches AP human geography, world history, and U.S. history at Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, California. Learn more about Mike by reading his blog or checking out his capstone project from the Nat Geo Educator Certification Program. How … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Mapping Community Diversity
The following post was written by Kailyn Bettle, an undergraduate research assistant for the Geographic Alliance of Iowa at the University of Northern Iowa. Katie Shelton, this week’s Educator of the Week, works to show students that they can appreciate and advocate for the environment around them. Katie serves as the naturalist for the Blackhawk County Conservation Board in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she heads … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Dirty Hands for Inspired Hearts
Kelly Woodard, this week’s Educator of the Week, taught her students mapping skills using pop culture, emerging technologies, and perspective-taking strategies. She teaches 6th grade social studies at CREC Public Safety Academy in Enfield, Connecticut. You are the first teacher I’ve spoken to from a public safety academy. What is it like to work at a school with this particular focus? What’s really special … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Pop Culture as a Gateway to Mapping
