Before viewing the video programs for Workshop 4: Latin America, please read the National Geography Standards featured in this workshop. You may read the standards here on the Web, in your print guide, or in Geography for Life. We encourage you to read Geography for Life in its entirety as you move through the workshops. It contains further background on the National Standards, numerous examples and rich illustrations aiding interpretation, valuable tools for strengthening and developing lessons, and additional insight on geography's significance to our daily lives.
The National Geography Standards highlighted in this workshop include Standards 4, 7, 9, and 15. As you read the standards, be thinking about how they might apply in lessons you have taught.
Also, prior to attending the workshop, you should explore the associated Key Maps and Interactive Activities and read the Video Program Overviews below, paying close attention to the Questions To Consider.
North Africa/Southwest Asia is a region characterized largely by a hot, arid climate but also by the predominance of Islamic religion. In the region's center lies the State of Israel, an enclave of Jewish culture amidst Islamic State. Despite being a holy place, Jerusalem has been the site of almost constant conflict since Israel gained statehood in 1948. Our case study looks at the spatial distribution of religious culture on the landscape of Jerusalem. How will the organization of space help to determine the future of a city divided not just between Muslims and Jews, but Christians as well?
Following commentary on regional and human geography by Gil Latz and Susan Hardwick, we see Ungennette Brantley Harris lead her class in an investigation of what life is like for Palestinians living in Israel's occupied territories. Her students explore what it means to be a refugee and work to address the living conditions in refugee camps.
Objectives
Participants will be able to:
Questions To Consider:
Ms. Ungennette Brantley Harris, ninth-grade world geography teacher,
West Point High School, West Point, Mississippi
Ungennette Brantley Harris has been teaching for the past 28 years in the
West Point School District, having received her BS from Jackson State University
and a Masters of Education from Mississippi State University. She was selected
teacher of the year in 1989 and 1999 and received the Bronze Award from
Junior Achievement for Outstanding Service in Enterprise Education. She
is a member of the Mississippi Geographic Alliance, the Mississippi Council
of Social Studies, and both the Mississippi and National Associations of
Educators. A teacher consultant for the National Geographic Society Education
Program, she is featured in our program leading a lesson on issues related
to refugee camps.
In Egypt, the loss of farmland to urban development combined with the
need to feed a fast-growing population places increasing pressure on the
Nile's water. In this case study, we learn about the various efforts to
sustain an increasingly urban population by irrigating Nile water to previously
infertile areas and the complications in doing so. We explore the government's
response in encouraging larger, more efficient commercial farms and the
deliberations of countries in the Nile watershed regarding how to approach
their limited water supply. Although Egypt strives to coordinate water
use projects, the future of its relations with upstream neighbors remains
in question as demands on the Nile increase. Relating Egypt's geographical
issues to those of other areas, we can begin to understand the implications
of urbanization and population growth on a larger scale.
Following commentary on regional and human geography by Gil Latz and Susan
Hardwick is a classroom segment featuring teacher Cynthia Ryan. She leads
activities in map-making and role-playing to help her students understand
the gravity of present day competition for resources in the nation of Egypt.
Objectives
Participants will be able to:
Questions To Consider:
Ms. Cynthia Ryan, seventh-grade world geography teacher, Barrington
Middle School, Barrington, Rhode Island
For nearly a decade, Cynthia Ryan has been teaching seventh and eighth
grade world geography at Barrington Middle School in Rhode Island. Prior
to that she spent nine years with the public elementary schools in Yonkers,
New York. In 2000, she completed a workshop with Environmental Systems
Research Institute (ESRI) and is working to incorporate GIS into her classroom.
She also attended a development workshop for the Mission Geography curriculum
developed by GENIP and NASA at Texas A&M University. She is a member
of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance and, in our program, is
featured leading her class in map making and investigating resource issues
in the Nile River Valley.