Geography Web sites offer teachers and students minds-on -- and often hands-on --opportunities to study Earth's characteristics and inhabitants, and learn how they affect one another. The sites below offer a world of geographical resources and information for the classroom, including fact sheets, maps, lesson plans, interactive games and activities, quizzes, and a variety of visual and audio resources. Included: A baker's dozen of the best geography sites on the Web!
Looking for information on a particular place or country? Online Geography sites are just the place to start. These sites offer a wealth of information and resources about many countries and places that can be incorporated into the classroom curriculum. Teachers can find lesson plans and activities that can be incorporated into the classroom and students can find help with homework as well as online activities to help them learn more about the world or brush up on their mapping skills.
Geographia
This site, formerly known as InterKnowledge, contains a smorgasbord of information about the geography, history, politics, and culture of various areas of the world. The Destinations section offers a thorough discussion of the countries or other geographical designations in Latin America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The Contents and Features sections on the main page provide links to some of the site's newest features, some of which include maps, audio, and visual resources, and other interactive features. This easy-to-read site is easy to navigate and explore.
National Geographic Society Xpeditions
The classroom directed site from National Geographic focuses on information and activities supporting the U.S. National Geography Standards. General resources include an atlas, a virtual museum, forums, and virtual adventures. In addition, the site provides a description of each of the18 standards, teacher lesson plans and family activities for each standard, and an archive of supporting materials.
TerraFly
TerraFly, a site provided by Florida International University and sponsored by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the United States Geological Survey, and IBM, contains a huge database of aerial and satellite images of the entire United States. The site includes a satellite link that serves up images of Earth close enough to identify city streets, parks, and other geographical landmarks. Visitors type in any U.S. address, ZIP code, or city and state for a virtual flyover of the area selected.
Lewis & Clark: The Ultimate Adventure
This site from TIME.com recreates the legendary three-year expedition through the unexplored west led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Visitors can read original papers from the explorers' journals, follow interactive maps to retrace their journey, click names of cities to follow the trail, and view photographs of life along the trail today.
Internet Geography
This site, although created for teachers from the UK, is a rich source of geography resources and information for teachers and students around the world. The GeoTopics section offers excellent informational articles grouped under the different aspects of geography, while the Teacher's page includes lesson plans, activities, geography links, downloadable worksheets, and a teachers' forum. Online student activities, quizzes, and an "ask a geographer" student forum also are provided.
For even more great sites for online reference materials, visit the Reference area of Education World's Site Reviews Archives.
Article by Hazel Jobe
Education World®
Copyright © 2004 Education World
03/17/2004
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