Celebrate Geography Awareness Week (November 16-22, 2008)

Next week is Geography Awareness Week! The celebration, launched in 1987 by presidential proclamation, is held the third week of each November and promotes the importance of geography education in the United States (click here for more background on Geography Awareness Week). Today's world seems much smaller than it did 20 years ago. The internet and other forms of mass media connect people who live thousands of miles from each other. Many people find themselves traveling around the world for work, to visit family, or just to see someplace new. My son had a passport before he was a year old. I didn't get one until I was in my twenties. The world is becoming interconnected, and geography Awareness Week is about helping to prepare our children for participation in this global community!

The Geography Awareness Week website outlines activities and ideas to explore with your children over the course of the week:

Monday - Human Geography/Cultures
Human geography features people and their activities on Earth. It explores where people live and how they got there. Human geography also examines how people interact with and shape natural environments to create unique places in distinct spaces.

Human geography includes many facets of our lives here on Earth—culture (religion, language, ethnicity), conflict, population dynamics, movement of people and goods, natural resources, land-use, economic and political systems, globalization, and international development.

Tuesday - Physical Geography/Environments
Physical geography includes the patterns and processes of Earth's natural features. Physical geography studies how environmental phenomena—climate, landscapes, soils, oceans, environmental hazards, and the distribution of plants, animals, and natural resources—change over space and time.

Wednesday - Geotechnology
Geospatial technology involves the use of tools, like global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS), to organize, analyze, and display information that is "georeferenced" or linked to specific locations.

If you've ever used Google Earth to look at your house, then you've had experience with geospatial technology. You might also have used a hand-held or car-mounted GPS device to help find your way, or seen a remotely sensed image taken by a weather satellite. Geospatial technologies help us visualize and navigate our space on Earth.

Thursday - Global Hotspots
Global hotspots are places where conflict or change—in environments, cultures, politics, climate, or population—have created new pressures and uncertainties in today's world. Geography can help us understand these challenges and why they occur. With this knowledge, we can work to reduce or solve them.

Friday - Careers
Geography is something you can study, like math, science or history, but it's also a set of skills you can use in many different careers. From doctors to shipping experts, teachers to traffic consultants, a wide range of professionals all use geography in their jobs.

The website also offers a lot of great information for parents, teachers, and children to explore. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to introduce your children to the world. Celebrate Geography Awareness Week!