How should we organize a geography class?
Some people seem to think
that it is crucially important
to make an early decision
about how to organize a class.
Should the units be organized
regionally, or topically:
Regional – Africa, Europe, South Asia, etc.
Topical – environment, population, economy, etc.
We suggest that the overall organization of a course
does not matter very much, because
if you organize a class topically,
you have to include regional examples,
or it’s “just science, not geography”
and
if you organize the class regionally,
you have to add topical explanations,
or it’s “just a packet of postcards”
Here are some draft materials to support a discussion about course organization –
- z 1 Regional or Topical presentation a brief summary from Teaching Geography
- z 6th Michigan GLCEs and Regions Matrix plan activities for 6th grade world geography
- z 6th MCCC Topics and Regions matrix plan activities to mesh with MCCC outline
- z 6th Regional course unit titles “cover” all the GLCEs with a regional class organization
- z 6th Topical course unit titles “cover” all the GLCEs with a topical class organization
- z 7th broad topic and region matrix plan activities for 7th grade
- z 7th chronology and region matrix world geography and history
For convenience, this website is organized regionally –
but after we have “populated” it with activities,
presentations, and other teaching materials,
we will offer at least three pacing diagrams:
A regional class schedule will have
just a short introductory unit
to provide global context.
A topical class schedule will use big themes
such as environment, population, culture,
movement/trade, and conflict.
A blended class schedule will focus on big themes
for the first 6-8 weeks, followed by a regional
“tour of the world” to extend the examples,
and then a capstone activity or two
for the last 4-6 weeks.