Newsletter Archives

The purpose of this section is to maintain an archive of past Geo-Grams, the NCGA newsletter.

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, upper elementary & middle grades: African Folk Tales (objective: read and understand the elements of folk tales and relate these to Africa's culture and geography)
A Few Good Books for the Global Classroom (suggestions divided by grade level)
Using Science Fiction & Fantasy in the Classroom
A Classroom Strategy: Sponges (i.e. eliminate dead time with self-directed content related activities)
Graphic: Visualizing the US/China Trade Relationship Across the Globe
Canada Trivia Questions
Geography Potpourri Trivia Questions

August 2009

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan: Climate of Europe (purpose: understand how Europe's location impacts its climate)
Back to School in the Geography Classroom (details 2 activities designed to introduce students to the year's areas of study and to each other)
World War One Dump and Clump Activity (vocabulary activity)
A Few Good Books for the Global Classroom (suggestions divided by grade level)
Europe: Odd One Out Trivia Questions

August 2007 (Volume 18, Number 2)

Included in this issue:

Lesson Idea: Seeing the Digital Divide through Mapping Personal Computers (purpose: by mapping personal computers per capita, students will easily see areas of the world that have these tools and those that do not)
Lesson Idea: Asian Superlatives (purpose: students will research superlative characteristics of Asia)
Literature Connections: The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq by Jeanette Winter & Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaly (objective: students will analyze these books for the 5 Themes of Geography)
Asia Trivia Questions
In-Between Geography Trivia Questions

December 2006 (Volume 17, Number 2)

Theme: Oceans; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grades 4-7: Water Cycle Brackets (objective: introduce or review the steps of the water cycle)
Lesson Plan: Distribution of the Earth's Water (objective: show students how much of the Earth's water is fresh water and how much of the water is usable by people)
Seven Princples of Ocean Literacy
Bodies of Water Trivia Questions

September 2005 (Volume 16, Number 12)

Theme: Humans and Land; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grade K-2: Mapping My World (objective: students will learn how to create maps of their familiar surroundings)
Lesson Plan, grades 3-5: Summary Strategy & Geography (objective: students will learn how summarizing helps them comprehend what they read)
Lesson Plan, middle school: What Would it Take? (objective: generate student awareness of how people seek to solve conflict within a nation's borders and in the international community)
Lesson Plan, high school: Laws of Migration: The Push-Pull Effect of Coastal Regions (objective: students will learn how demigraphic changes/shifts in populations are impacted by cultural and economic influences, as well as how these demographic changes are able to visually graphed)
Beach Ball Globe Activities (for elementary school students)
On the Map Trivia Questions

August 2004 (Volume 15, Number 3)

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan: Information Odyssey Project (objectives: become acquainted with the 5 Themes of Geography and their different elements; use different library resources to collect information; produce a quality product with multimedia software)
Lesson Plan: Let's Go to the Olympics! (includes a wide variety of activities pertaining to the Olympic games)
Lesson Plan: Mapping Your Space (objectives: pick a space/place where you spend time and create a map that shows characteristics of that place; compose a short piece of writing that describes this place)
Lesson Plan, grade 4-8: A North Carolina You Can Sink Your Teeth Into (objectives: assess the impact of geography on the settlement and developing economy of the North Carolina colony)
Potpourri Geography Trivia Questions

Spring 2004 (Volume 15, Number 1)

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grade 5: Economic Interdependence, What's That? (objectives: explain how a chosen discovery/invention/innovation might affect economic interdependence; recognize and explain the difference between invention and innovation)
Lesson Plan, grade 5: Natural Resources and Me (objective: compile a list of natural resources of North America, identify the location of these resources, and label these resources on a map)
Geography and Literature: suggestions of books set in South America
Island Trivia Questions

Fall 2003 (Volume 14, Number 2)

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, adaptable to any grade level: Wetland Metaphors (objectives: students will use metaphors to describe wetland characteristics and link natural functions of a wetland to everyday life; students will demonstrate understanding of wetland importance to Earth systems)
World Water Bodies Trivia Questions

Spring 2003 (Volume 14, Number 1)

Included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, adaptable to any grade level: Using Climate Graphs to Understand Climate (objectives: use temperature and precipitation data to construct a climate graph; interpret climate data to determine place location; explain factors influencing climate; recognize climactic differences)
Lesson Plan, elementary school: What Do I Use from the Rainforest? (objective: apply geographic concepts to understanding how the rainforest and its products are part of everyday life)
South America blank map
Geography in the News Trivia Questions

Winter 2002 (Volume 13, Number 1)

Theme: World Heritage; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, middle and high school: The Great World Heritage Race (objective: explore the World Heritage movement and some recognized locations through completed maps, questions, and research lessons)
Geography and Literature: provides suggestions (grouped by region) that correspond either culturally or geographically to the World Heritage movement
Research Report on National Parks (direction sheet included)
World Heritage sites blank map
Public Lands Trivia Questions

Fall 2002 (Volume 13, Number 3)

Theme: Public Lands; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, upper elementary & middle school: Chill Out in the Parks: A Look at Chilean Public Lands (Activity 1: plot locations of National Parks of Chile on blank map; Activity 2: Scavenger Hunt with questions provided; Activity 3: students will create a travel promotions poster of one of Chile's national parks)
Chile National Parks blank map
South America Trivia Questions

Spring 2002 (Volume 13, Number 2)

Theme: National Parks; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grade 5: Canada's National Parks (Activity 1: create a map key identifying Canadian provinces/territories; Activity 2: categorize national parks according to location in province/territory; Activity 3: Scavenger Hunt with questions provided)
Lesson Plan, grades 3-5: Ranger Day (objective: explore the western United States' national parks and monuments)
Geography and Literature, grades K-6: explore the concept of The Wolf: Good or Bad? by integrating the study of public lands into the elementary classroom
Blank Canada map
Western United States Trivia Questions

Winter 2001 (Volume 12, Number 1)

Theme: Europe in Focus; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grade 7: Uses of Geography (objective: interpret a variety of maps in order to analyze the impact of European colonization on Africa, both past and present)
Lesson plan, grade 6: European Travel and Tourism (objective: students will recognize the aspects of a country that entice tourists to visit by taking on the role of a travel agent)
Geography Activity: European Travel & Tourism Poster
Colonial Africa (2014) and Modern Africa (2001) maps
Geography: Past, Present, and Future Trivia Questions

Fall 2001 (Volume 12, Number 3)

Theme: Rivers; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, grade 7: Culture Clash on the Congo (objective: students will learn how to analyze differing cultural perspectives and develop geographic themes of place and region)
Lesson Plan, grades 4-8: North Carolina's Surface Water Resources (objective: students will identify and label the major surface water resources on a North Carolina map)
Lesson Plan, elementary school: Water Comes in Many Shapes )objective: explore a variety of natural water sources on Earth; understand the definitions for various water formations; identify these water formations on models, maps, & photos)
North Carolina Surface Water Features outline map
River Trivia Questions

Spring 2001 (Volume 12, Number 2)

Theme: Mapping; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, adaptable to any grade level: Mapping U.S. Census Data (objective: help students better understand Census information by creating Choropleth maps from an ordered set of data)
Lesson Plan, adaptable to any grade level: Understanding Climactic Regions of North America (objective: introduce students to climographic information and apply this information to the climactic regions of North America)
Literature & Geography: suggestions of children's literature & using book settings as lesson plans that help explore the physical & human geographic characteristics of places (divded by state)
A Geographer's Journal: listing of travel essays and travel books that weave together geography, travel, and commentary on national and international issues
U.S. Regional Geography Trivia Questions

Winter 2000 (Volume 11, Number 1)

Theme: Natural Hazards; included in this issue:

Geography in Literature: The Old Demon by Pearl Buck & The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev (sample activities: have students draw illustrations describing what is told in the stories; compile annotated bibliographies for the subject matter and have students critically evaluate the information they collect)
Lesson Plan, grades 5-8: Natural Hazards (objective: guide students in thinking about natural hazards, especially in where they are most likely to occur, why they occur, and how people deal with them)
Lesson Plan, grades 5-8: Physical Systems in Geography (objective: understand the effects of water on North Carolina's river systems and landforms)
World Volcanic Activity, Blank World Countries, & North Carolina Rivers maps
Physical Earth Trivia Questions
AP Human Geography: Textbook Suggestions

Fall 2000 (Volume 11, Number 2)

Included in this issue:

Geography in Literature: Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (10 lesson plan ideas; examples: map setting of the book; report on novel in context of five geography themes; invite someone who rides horses to speak to class)
Lesson Plan, Grade Level 6-8: Babushka Biomes (2 potential activities: 1) identify a variety of ecosystems located in the former Soviet Union; 2) choose a city in the former Soviet Union & analyze how latitude/longitude affects temperatures)
Random Trivia Questions

Spring 2000 (Volume 11, Number 2)

Theme: European Languages & Religions; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, Adaptable to any Grade Level: Food for Thought (objective: analyze the effects of the unequal distribution of resources; can be either a 10 minute demonstration or an entire lesson)
Lesson Plan, Adaptable to any Grade Level: European Languages & Religions (objective: better interpret and understand the relationship of languages and religions in Europe)
Blank Europe map
Human Systems Trivia Questions
AP Human Geography: Book Suggestions

Winter 1999 (Volume 10, Number 1)

Theme: The World in Spatial Terms; included in this issue:

Lesson Plan, adaptable to any grade level: The World in Spatial Terms (objective: create a Choropleth map from a set of data; emphasizes idea that by mapping, students may discern the spatial patterns, distributions, and relationships among various types of data)
Blank United States map
Place Location Trivia Questions

Summer 1999 (Volume 10, Number 2)

Theme: The African American Experience; included in this issue:

Geography in Literature lesson plan: Follow the Drinking Gourd by F.N. Monjo & Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson (lesson ideas: have students write a narrative from the perspective of an escaping slave; or have students design their own quilt square that includes a hidden message)
Lesson Plan, high school: Where African Americans Live (objective: gain insight on where black Americans live today by interpreting tables & creating graphic representations of data)
Escaped Routes of Enslaved Africans, Percent Black Population 1990, & Black Population Change, 1960-1990 maps included

Spring 1999 (Volume 10, Number 2)

Theme: Places & Regions; included in this issue

Geography in Literature lesson plan: Material World by Peter Menzel (objective: predict types of change, both human & physical, based on research, current events, & prior knowledge of a place of students' choosing)
Lesson Plan, grades 6-8: Literature & Regions in World Geography (objective: understand what regions are & how we interact with regions)
Southern Appalachia blank map
Places & Regions Trivia Questions

Summer 1998 (Volume 9, Number 2)

Theme: World Religions; included in this issue:

Geography in Literature lesson plan: My Friend's Beliefs by Hiley H. Ward (objective: gather information about world religions & present findins to the class through a visual display)
Lesson Plan, grades 7-12: Three Universal World Religions (Buddhism, Christianity, & Islam)
Religious Diffusion maps (Buddhism, Christianity, & Islam)
World Religion Trivia Questions

Department of Geography and Planning

Newsletter Archives