Sunday, March 25, 2007

Monday, March 12, 2007

Contributions please


This blog has attempted to pool together any new approaches/activities that teachers have developed when teaching AS/A Level (even IB Diploma) Geography. It is often the case that the traditional approach to teaching post-16 geography is too didactic and lacking in stimulation, largely due to the huge content, and unfortunately the thought-provoking activities developed at KS3 and KS4 are neglected. This blog aims to resolve this problem. But I need your help -please share your ideas (however feeble you think they are) on this blog otherwise my attempt has failed. Send any files or comments you have to me at:
pauliswi@gmail.com
Happy teaching!
Paul

Sand dune succession case study.


This site provides detailed information on the sand dunes of the Sefton coast in North West England.
http://www.sandsoftime.hope.ac.uk/succession/model.htm

Mind maps



Making a lot of use of these to reinforce knowledge at A Level. Here are 2 maps made by my Y13 students. They have been studying the topic of Tropical Environments as part of the CIE International A level Geography specification.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Teaching Urban models















Some tips from Val Vannet:
At the heart of urban models there is the concept that zones within the city have recognisably different characteristics which differentiate them one from the other.

What about giving a photograph of an urban landscape to every pupil in your class? It would depend how many you've got but supposing it's around 25, you'd prepare 5 photos of, say, five different zones and give them each one. Their task is to organise themselves into groups representing the different urban zones. It will require a fair bit of movement, a lot of looking at other people's photos and probably a lot of discussion. At AS level, when they should be bringing some knowledge of urban geography with them, I wouldn't make this too easy. A photo representing inner city redevelopment, for example, should be deliberately ambiguous. Other photos might make pupils think about land use in a historical context e.g. in which urban zones would you not expect to find a crematorium?

Once the groups have got themselves 'sorted', you could get them to check a code on the back of their photo. Who is in the wrong group? What reasons can they put forward for being there. Why did the others in that group accept them?

Could you finish by getting each group to make a display using their photos, highlighting the features of their urban zone?

Saturday, March 03, 2007

ICTZ PowerPoint

Click here

Rural settlements worksheets





Thanks to Gilbert Frith for these contributions:

Social, economic and environmental change in British villages. 1st click below.

Characteristcs of rural settlements. 2nd click below.

Click1 click2

Population links for A level

Rob Chambers alerted me to this site run by the University of Southhampton:
http://www.socsci.soton.ac.uk/socstats/Population_Links/default.php?NavContext=Discipline

Techniques for teaching Nearest Neighbour Analysis


Thanks to Alan Parkinson:

I used the people on a beach analogy - set the mood of the seaside and give them some beach scenarios - where would you sit ? why ?
What if there was a group of lads playing frisbee ? Near or far away ?
Then give some patterns, and a step by step formula
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