Here Today, Here Tomorrow

A Geographic Focus on Conservation

Geography Awareness Week

November 12-18, 2000

This fall, millions of teachers and students will celebrate Geography Awareness Week by focusing on conservation -- what it means, and what it means to them. Join them! Dozens of conservation activities can be found on the National Geographic Societys web site, at <www.nationalgeographic.com/gaw> or on the Geographic Alliance of Iowa web site, at <www.uni.edu/gai>.

The issues of today are pressing. The number of people on the planet is increasing, as is the demand for resources -- drinkable water, food and energy. Geography can enable students to understand the interdependence between people and the environment. Looking at issues through a "geographic lens" can help students grasp complex issues such as land use, natural-resource management, and environmental stewardship.

Issues that involve conservation can include one, two, or all of these aspects:

• Preservation (preserving habitats for endangered species; protecting the integrity of ecosystems; establishing parks and wilderness areas).

• Restoration (rebuilding historic landmarks; reclaiming wetlands; helping endangered species make a comeback).

• Sustainability (wise use of renewable and non-renewable resources; recycling).

For the first time, the Society will deliver activities for the week via the Internet. Activities are grouped into four themes: Population, Biodiversity, Fresh Water, and Oceans. Teachers can conduct the activities on - or off-line. In addition, they can find a wealth of classroom ideas and ways to take action locally. Students can link to interactive, educational, fun activities that supplement the classroom activities.

Teachers can also encourage parents to celebrate the week at home. Families will find hands-on activities that will allow them to explore the world through "Family Xpeditions", at <www.nationalgeographic.com/familyxpeditions>.

Teachers could also conduct the Family Geography Challenge, a program that trains families to read or watch the news together and discuss it from a geographic perspective. Find out how to conduct the Challenge in your school at <www.nationalgeographic.com/challenge>.

Best of all, teachers and students have an unprecedented opportunity to share the results of the results of their activities online! Log onto <www.nationalgeographic.com/gaw> and register. Conduct the activities with your students before or during the week. Log on again to find tips and resources from other teachers. Most importantly, post your results online.

Students will be faced by conservation issues throughout their lives. The activities for the week have been designed to increase students awareness of conservation issues. Its just a start. Hopefully, students will become better stewards of the planet. Then maybe the things that are "here today" will be "here tomorrow."

Save Our Wildlife

GAW Contest Winner

In celebrating this year s Geography Awareness Week, the GAI offered a contest open to K-12 students to encourage them to explore their own communities and the rest of Iowa in a creative way. This year s winner was Wesley Ohrt. He created a postage stamp that portrayed a scenic Iowa view with deer. Wesley s focus was upon saving the present wildlife in Iowa. His entry is being displayed at the University of Northern Iowa in Sabin Hall. Wesley, a fourth grader at East Marshall Elementary School in Ferguson, Iowa, has been awarded a National Geographic Society Alexander Graham Bell Science Activity Kit. His teacher, Dianne Avery, has also been awarded a prize. We thank Wesley for sharing his artistic talents with us, and for providing encouragement to geography teachers across Iowa. Keep up the good work!

Geography Awareness Week 2000

Reporting form for the Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Everyone who completes and submits this form by Monday, December 1, 2000 will be entered in a drawing for fabulous geography prizes!

Please contact other teachers (all subjects K-12) to ensure complete reporting.

Thank you!

Teacher(s): ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Grade Level (s):___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

School District: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

School Building: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

School Phone: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY OF YOUR GEOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK ACTIVITIES:

(Speakers, field trips, etc.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY OF ANY MEDIA COVERAGE:

(Include any copies of news clippings, audio, or videotapes.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Approximate number of students that participated in Geography Awareness Week activities: _______________

Summer Geographic Institute 2000 Andrea Liljegren

A group of Iowa educators now have a better understanding and appreciation for the men and women who toil the soil, raise our food and enrich our lives: farmers. This simple title is not enough to describe what they do. There must be a better word, but maybe not. Farming is not an occupation, it is a way of life. Just like teaching.

This summers Geographic Alliance institute was centered on agriculture. D.A.M. AGRICULTURE comes to mind. No, I am not swearing. It means we DEPEND on it, ADAPT it and MODIFY it. Each participant created and presented a lesson connected with agriculture. This interesting lesson was the brainchild of one of the participants. There were lessons on soil conservation, mapping out a 160-acre farm, the five themes of geography, slavery and on and on. Each lesson was useful and interesting. I was amazed at the knowledge that these lessons represented. The old saying, "The mind can absorb what the seat can endure," held true for this institute although I never felt bored, just tired. It was a good tired that comes from learning.

Dr. Rex Honey, from the University of Iowa, provided the cultural and social aspects of geography. His insights and knowledge of the world around us added a great deal to our education. The field trips to Kalona, the Amana colonies and across northern Iowa gave us a firsthand look at the Iowa countryside and the people who live in this beautiful area. Did you know there is a place in Decorah, Iowa where you can find seeds from Russia and seeds only found in the hill country of Kentucky?

The information gained from this institute was endless. The highlight of the two weeks came from a forum for local farmers. We sat around on hay bales, talked, listened and learned. These people took time away from their busy lives to share with us what it is like to be a farmer. They projected their concerns for the future and the uncertainty of farming, but most of all they shared their love of their way of life.

The institute wasnt all work and no play. If you can imagine diverse group of teachers attempting to square dance in an old barn during a thunderstorm then you have a good idea of the fun we had. Thanks go to all the TCs and to Dr. Kay Weller for all the time and energy they put into making the institute a success. Thanks should also go to the participants who made it great. If you missed this one, dont miss it again. P.S. Dont eat the chicken. See what you missed!!!!!

The GAI is extremely grateful that state funding will be available for further professional development opportunities for Iowas teachers during 2000-2001. The Gai is appreciative to all those who were instrumental in securing this funding for us.

As a result of this increased funding, the GAI is offering additional programs in June 2001. Mark your calendar for a unique summer opportunity June 14-15. Participants of "The Geography of Mark Twains Mississippi" will travel the mighty Mississippi River aboard the elegant Riverboat Twilight departing from Le Claire, Iowa, on to Galena, Illinois, and return. Andrea and Roy Liljegren will serve as staff for this special riverboat workshop, and one hour of credit will be available. This will be followed by "Timely Technology in the Geography Classroom" from June 17-22, 2001. In addition, the GAI will offer advanced institute for Teacher Consultants entitled "Conserving Iowa's Wetlands" tentatively planned for June 24-29, 2001. Both of these one-week workshops will offer two hours of undergraduate or graduate credit. Additional information will be available in our spring Geography News newsletter.

As your school district and AEAs make plans for programming, remind them that GAI trained Teacher Consultants (TCs) are available to help provide workshops as needed. Being an active participant in AEAs and districts will strengthen our network. Should any AEA or school need help planning a workshop, please contact the GAI office at 1-800-601-3899. We will gladly work with you to make arrangements for a TC to conduct workshops for you.

Again this year, the Society's Education Foundation is offering Teacher Grants of up to $1,250 to TCs. The grants were originally designed to help TCs conduct the teacher training they have been prepared for by the ASGI. Naturally, the grants have expanded to also include classroom-based and school, district, and state projects.

Each year since the programs inception, approximately 25 grants have been given. In 1999, two of our own TCs from Iowa received such a grant. Cynthia Oldenkamp and Kim Daughetee, of Dubuque, received a grant for $1,250. Their proposal was "The Geography of Sacred Places".

They are using the money to fund a mixed group of general and special-education students who are working with local historical, cultural, and environmental organizations to locate and research "sacred places" within the community. Students are developing brochures and multimedia displays of these areas, emphasizing the use of geography as a multidisciplinary subject for the improvement of English language and writing skills.

We encourage TCs to apply. Information on the Teacher Grants is available on the Societies new education site. Teachers can visit: www.nationalgeographic.com,

•select "education" from the yellow button bar
•select the "maps & geography" tab on the education home page
•scroll down to "get help from the Foundation" and select "win a grant".

Applications are due March 15, 2001.

Carmen Nieto Carmen Nieto was born in Cantas, Zacatecas. She was educated at the University of Mary HardinBaylor, and then went on to receive her masters degree from the University of National Louis in Illinois. Beginning her teaching career in Pearsall, TX, she has continued dedicating herself to education. Over the past 32 years, she has taught in Copperas Cove, TX, traveled overseas to the Department of Defense Schools in Schwinfurt, Germany,and then to Bamberg Germany where she now resides.

Carmen has taught high school Spanish and world history, middle school social studies, and grades first through seventh. She loves to teach in her own language of Spanish while incorporating geography. "It makes it fun when my students begin to make the connection in language and geography of the world and how that language brings its influence," Carmen commented.

At the present time, Carmen is teaching Spanish immersion, which also includes geography and the German culture. Due to all her commitment and effort, in August 2000, she was awarded the NCGE Distinguished Teaching Award.

Carmens hobbies include reading, traveling around the world, and learning about the many cultures and foods. She has one son, Robert, and three grandchildren who speak perfect German and English and are also learning Spanish.

 

Rob Shadwick 2000 marks Rob Shadwicks 32nd year as an educator. His only employer has been teaching for the Decorah Community School District. His first job was teaching 8th grade Earth Science. It was not until 1972 that he got a chance to teach geography. At first it was only a semester course of 9th graders. Later the curriculum was changed and it included a full year of 8th graders. Rob has taught geography, American history, and earth science at the Decorah Middle School. He really likes geography because he is able to incorporate other disciplines into the geography curriculum. The five themes of geography fit in very well with physical features and movement of people throughout history.

Geography really came alive for Rob when he attended the National Geographic Society's and Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Educators summer institute in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1988. At that time, Iowa had no alliance and Minnesota was the closest active state alliance. From that time on, he has worked to promote geographic education. As soon as Iowa founded the GAI, Rob became an active member.

Since that first institute he has served in several capacities such as summer institute presenter, resident TC and field trip organizer. In 1993, Rob was selected to attend the Instructional Leadership Institute in Washington D.C.

Rob feels very fortunate to have worked with past Co-coordinators Jim Hantula and Murray Austin as they established the first Iowa Summer Institute in 1993. During that time, Rob began working with Kathy Sundstedt, Don Peterson, Louise Thurn and Wayland Bauer. "What a great group of people to share ideas and establish new goals for geographic education in Iowa. I thank them for keeping the flame alive in Iowa," Rob comments.

In August 2000, Rob received the NCGE Distinguished Teaching Award. In Chicago he was recognized by the NCGE for all of his hard work and dedication to teaching.

Rob hopes to actively continue the support of geographic education in Iowa regardless of his teaching status.

 

Rhonda Shaw Rhonda is a 1982 graduate of Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, having received a BSE in Elementary Education. She dove right into the teaching field at the State of Iowa Juvenile Home, teaching Chapter One Math and Reading to female juvenile delinquents. She also held many other responsibilities while there, including working with councilors, social workers and parents to determine the best educational placement when students left the facility.

In 1987, Rhonda moved to Kansas City where she was an Educational Assistant for the North Kansas City School District. She assisted in the teaching of all subjects to children at a diagnostic clinic for behavioral disorders in grades K-5.

Rhonda made yet another move to Iowa in 1988. For two years she lent herself to substitute teaching in a variety of elementary and middle school positions fcr local South Tama Community Schools as well as Beaman -- Conrad Community and Grinnell -- Newberg school districts.

Rhonda settled into a position as a sixth grade teacher for South Tama Community School District in 1990. She continues her career at Tama today teaching Social Studies to sixth grade students. At South Tama, she follows through with duties such as: team teaching with Resource Teacher for one section, the design and implementation of district curriculum and assessments, and working in a five member sixth grade team to offer cross-disciplinary education. She also participates in a building level advisory team to improve teacher voice in administrative decisions with the goal of improving teacher and student performance.

However, this is not the only workload Rhonda carried. While teaching and devoting herself to bettering education, Rhonda again put herself into the shoes of a student. In the spring of 2000, Rhonda graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Masters Degree in Geography.

After dedicating herself to education for eighteen years, Rhonda Shaw was recognized for her excellence in her field. In October 2000, Rhonda was awarded the ICSS Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year award at Living History Farms. Rhonda has not only dedicated herself to teaching, but has also dedicated herself to increasing her knowledge and continues this life-long process.

Advanced Placement Geography Class Institute
Gary Birdwell

The Geographic Alliance of Iowa (GAI) sponsored its first ever "Developing an Advanced Placement Geography Class for your High School" institute this past June at the Starlite Village Motel in Waterloo. This one-week, intensive residential institute walked participants through the step-by-step process of implementing an advanced placement class in geography.

The AP institute was under the expertise of TC Wayland Bauer of Pleasant Valley High School, Bettendorf. Six teachers participated in training to enable them to teach human geography in greater depth in the classroom.

While the instruction was topnotch, the close format served as a roundtable discussion on curriculum requirements for AP geography. The participants shared their personal experiences in dealing with higher level students in regular geography classes, and how the implementation of AP would benefit all served.

Since AP geography is still in its infancy in Iowa, the ultimate results of the institute will be felt in the future. However, the participants left with a definite sense of purpose towards implementing the next generation of AP level courses in the state of Iowa and beyond.

The National Geography Bee is a nationwide contest for schools with any grades four through eight. It is an educational outreach program of the National Geographic Society. With a first-place prize of a $25,000 college scholarship--and other prizes in additional scholarships, cash, and classroom materials--the Bee is designed to encourage the teaching and study of geography. Students from schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Pacific Territories, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools take part in the Bee.

Principals of eligible schools must register their school to participate. There is a minimum requirement of six students from any of the eligible grades to hold a competition. The deadline for this years competition was October 15, 2000. However, if you did get registered for the 2001 Bee, look for your packets in the mail sometime in mid-November. Please notify the Bee office by November 27 if you registered by October 15 and have not received a packet. Be sure to allow plenty of time for your school to conduct the Bee and to administer the written qualifying tests to the Bee winner. To be accepted, the qualifying test must be postmarked by January 16 and received by the National Geographic Society by January 31, 2001.

The following is a list of the 2000 Iowa Geographic Bee Finalists.

Web Site Launch

The Energy Literacy Project, Inc. (ELP) is happy to announce the launch of its web site, <www.energy-literacy.org>.

The ELP is a 501 © (3) educational and informational corporation whose goal it is to achieve a cultural change in how society views energy.

The belief at ELP is that energy literacy must be based on the inseparable nature of Energy (BTUs, or in the refined form KWHrs, from any source), the Economy (energy is the fuel that drives the economy), and the Environment (the quality of life). It is this balance among the 3 Es that brings credibility. The 3 Es are an excellent means to teach subjects such as history, geography, economics, earth sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and political sciences, etc.

The energy industry and various associations and organizations have designed and are promoting hundreds of educational and informational programs on the various Es. Much of this material is very good. However, we find teachers overwhelmed by the sheer volume of this material. They also express frustration from the lack of information regarding:

• The lack of balance
• The absence of a discussion of alternatives
• Whether or not these programs meet educational standards

The ELPs plan is to develop such balanced programs from much of the very good material already in use. In the meantime, listed on the web site is considered to be the best programs available. This list will be continually updated.

For further information, contact:
John C. Tobin, Executive Director
The Energy Literacy Project, Inc.
P.O. Box 3994
Evergreen, CO 80437
(303) 674-7083

US Community Atlas

The 2000-01 version of the US Community Atlas project is now open and able to receive submissions! Teachers and students interested in creating Community Atlas projects can find full details (including a model project from last year) and find the doorway to the submission site by going to <http://www.esri.com/communityatlas>.

The US Community Atlas project is an opportunity for classes in grades K-12 to put together a group project about their community, using HTML documents and GIF or JPG maps, and post this project on the web. Students must define the bounds of "their community" and prepare either a general profile of a focused look at a local conservation issue (great for science classes and the theme of this years Geography Awareness Week). Projects must include 1,000-2,500 words of analysis, and 10-20 maps. The maps can be produced using either GIS software (such as freely available ArcVoyager Special Edition) or online mapping engines. Schools submitting complete entries will earn free GIS software from the Environmental Systems Research Institute.

The Great Wall, the Silk Road, the Dunhuang Caves, Lhasa-the "Roof of the World," the Potala Palace, the Terra Cotta Army, and much more, including an optional cruise through the spectacular Yangtze gorges.

Five major cities: Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Shanghai! Encounters with the worlds oldest civilization, in its furthest reaches! Images to last a lifetime! Join a Travel/Learn tour planned and led by

Dorothy Drummond. Accompanied throughout by Dr. Sun Hong, a Chinese scholar trained in the United States.

Academic credit can be arranged.

Dorothy Drummond has spent a lifetime of doing this for herself and with others, through teaching, writing, and traveling. On previous tours in China -- lasting three to five weeks -- she and her companions have gathered rich images of crowded eastern China, and Inner Mongolia.

This time her group of adventurers will start in Beijing, then travel the Silk Route to reach wondrously preserved frescoes in the caves of Dunhuang, see the lush Turpan oasis, and meet Muslim Uighurs in Urumqi and Kashgar. Returning from the west, the group will pause in Xian, site of the Terra Cotta army and nearby Tang tombs. Then they will head for Lhasa and other sites on the high plateau of Tibet, where a culture is at risk. In ancient, fecund Sechuan province, the group will visit Chengdu, site of the world-famous Panda Institute, and rapidly changing Chongqing, the great inland port city.

A trip like this takes time for absorption and reflection. The people who will go on this tour are educators and others who want to learn while they travel, have fun in the process, and share what they have learned when they return. Get out your atlas and see for yourself the blank spaces to be filled on this unique itinerary in China.

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I want to learn more about the China travel/learn tour June 30 -- July 25, 2001, described in this preliminary announcement. I especially want to know what to expect as we travel the Silk Route to the far western border of China, as we reach the Roof of the World in Lhasa, and (if I choose) as we cruise downriver on the Yangtze. I understand that the size of the group will be kept about twenty, and that the tour may fill rapidly.

Name ___________________________________________

Address __________________________________

Phone email __________________

_____ I am enclosing a check (made out to Drummond Tours) for $300.00 to reserve a place on this tour ($100 non-refundable).

_____ I am interested in this tour, but I need more information to help me decide.

Send this form to Dorothy Drummond, 3 Fairhurst Court, Terre Haute, IN 47802. Or initiate a Rapid Response via phone (815-299-3760) or email dd2@indstate.edu