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fluffycrane
08-07-2008, 02:03 AM
I am a new 7th grade teacher. We will be studying Africa, Asia, and Australia. Africa will be first. I am having problems deciding what should be covered the first few days/weeks of school in regards to curriculum. What important aspects of geography need to be covered before we go into Africa?

wig
08-07-2008, 08:00 AM
I always do a review of the five themes of geography at the beginning of the year, plus some basic map skills.

fluffycrane
08-07-2008, 01:23 PM
Thanks, those are great ideas!

Boxcar
08-07-2008, 08:04 PM
I agree with those suggestions. Oh, I'd include map-folding too. That is somehting I never matered!

SS Rocks!
08-10-2008, 01:46 PM
I am a new 7th grade teacher. We will be studying Africa, Asia, and Australia. Africa will be first. I am having problems deciding what should be covered the first few days/weeks of school in regards to curriculum. What important aspects of geography need to be covered before we go into Africa?

I start off the same way wig does. I teach the Five Themes, discuss landforms (especially ones that will apply to what we learn about throughout the year) and work with map skills (latitude/longitude).

Even though this isn't geography, at the beginning of the year I find it helpful to discuss timelines and chronology, and discuss the differences between facts, beliefs, and opinions (helpful when studying religions and mythology).

ms.jodi
09-09-2008, 07:06 PM
check out epals.com for pen-pals. I also got a project going where we got a mascot (a little stuffed animal) and he is travelling to classrooms around the world. One of them is in New Zealand!