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GeoLiteracyUsing Geography to
Practice Content-Rich Reading and Writing Skills
Why GeoLiteracy?Why GeoLiteracy?
To increase student achievement on state-mandated tests
To promote geographic education To practice reading and writing skills To maximize classroom instruction time Compliant with No Child Left Behind
Research based (Whitehurst, 2003) - with controlled randomized studies in mixed socioeconomic schools (Hinde et al., 2005)
Based on standards
Why GeoLiteracy?Why GeoLiteracy?
To assist in meeting NCLB and Accreditation goals
To help students with limited English language skills
To create a link between tested language arts skills and geography content
What are GeoLiteracy lessons?What are GeoLiteracy lessons?
K-8 lessons that: Integrate geography
content with reading and writing skills
Improve student skills Motivate student learning Assess student
achievement Winner of the NCSS/Cram
Grant Award
How do GeoLiteracy Lessons How do GeoLiteracy Lessons Motivate?Motivate?
GeoLiteracy lessons motivate students through:
Oral histories Hands-on activities Map making activities Diverse writing projects
such as public service announcements and newspaper articles
How do GeoLiteracy Lessons How do GeoLiteracy Lessons Assess Student Achievement?Assess Student Achievement?
GeoLiteracy lessons assess achievement in reading, writing, and geography by using:
The 6 Trait Writing Rubric The format of standardized
achievement tests Observation assessments Multiple choice tests
Who created the lessons?Who created the lessons?
Teacher Consultants from the Arizona Geographic Alliance
National Board Certified Teachers An Assessment Specialist from Mesa
Public Schools Department of Geography personnel from
Arizona State University
Who funded the development of Who funded the development of the GeoLiteracy Project?the GeoLiteracy Project?
What are some of the 23 lessons for grades K-3?What are some of the 23 lessons for grades K-3?
If These Walls Could Talk: Learning about human features of a community
A Walk Around School: Mapping how to get from one place to another
Catch Me If You Can: Recognizing relative location terms
Me on a Map: Comprehending that homes make neighborhoods and neighborhoods make a community
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, and Save Trees: Conserving natural resources
Sticks, Stones, Sinews and Stuff: Using the environment to meet basic needs
Nina Bonita: Mapping Nina’s world and understanding tolerance
I Am a Rock. I Am an Island: Identifying landforms and water bodies
What are some of the 25 lessons for grades 4-5?What are some of the 25 lessons for grades 4-5?
Westward Ho: Reading fictional diaries and mapping a journey on the Oregon Trail
Birth of a Rocky Mountain Town: Learning how humans respond to natural features
Let’s Travel: Creating a travel brochure of state landmarks explaining why tourists should visit them
Take Me to The River: Recognizing how a dam has affected the humans living in the area
The Mountain Community: Understanding how physical landscapes and economic conditions influence the settlement of people
Maize to Maquiladoras: Tracking the historical movement of people, ideas, and goods from Mexico to the U.S.
But We Need More: Examining pollution and water conservation issues
What are some of the 33 lessons for grades 6-8?What are some of the 33 lessons for grades 6-8?
Over and Through: Categorizing physical geography terms
Is There a Map in That Story? Drawing a map from a written description
Name that Place: Discovering the word origins of place names in the U.S.
Letter from a Leader: Writing a letter as if students lived in an ancient civilization
Who’s a Noodlehead? Examining cultures to find commonalities
Welcome to My World: Learning how being born male or female in some countries can influence a person’s future
Desertification: Determining the causes and effects of desertification
Three Gorges Dam: Analyzing the pros and cons of building a controversial dam
Wow!Wow!
A total of over 80 lessons
Each is classroom ready
Available on CD ROM
05
101520253035
Number of Lessons
K-3 Gr 4-5 Gr 6-8
Lessons Per Grade Level
And Wow!!And Wow!!
Student samples for many of the lessons!
How do I know the lessons work?How do I know the lessons work?
Piloted with over 5,300 AZ students
Piloted by 100+ AZ teachers, in more than 20 AZ school districts
Now used in more than 50 school districts in AZ, MI, North Carolina, NY, South Carolina and more
Rigorous randomized control testing shows statistically significant improvement in non-fiction reading skills in grades 3-7
For example:
How do I know the lessons work?How do I know the lessons work?
Piloted andControlTestedWith DiversePopulations
How do I know the lessons work?How do I know the lessons work?
Piloted andControl-Testedwithdiverse populations
Distribution of Economic Status of Schools in Pilot Program
26%-50%51%-75%
Less than 25%Over 75%
Percentage of Students on Free or Reduced Lunch
Percentage of ESL Students in Pilot Program
89% 11%
English Speaking Students ESL
How successful were the lessons?
Arizona data showed:
85%85% of students scored 80% or higher on the geographygeography assessment 84%84% of students scored 80% or higher on the readingreading assessment 78%78% of students scored 80% or higher on the writingwriting assessment
NCLB Requires Strong Evidence:
Randomized controlled study (Hinde et al. (2005) reveals GeoLiteracy Intervention:
The intervention, that is the teaching of 3 to 5 GeoLiteracy lessons, was conducted by teachers in grades 3 through 8 to their students in economically and ethnically
diverse schools in Arizona and Michigan. The control groups consisted of teachers of the same grade and school as the
intervention groups. The control teachers did not teach any of the GeoLiteracy lessons; they merely continued teaching their regular reading program. All groups
administered a pre and post-test of reading comprehension at the same time. Grades 3-7 showed highly statistically significant
improvement in non-fiction reading (8th grade showed improvement, but sample was too small for statistical testing)
What materials are needed?What materials are needed?
High quality children’s books
National Geographic series: Windows on Literacy
Reading Expeditions Familiar children’s
literature
What are examples of the children’s What are examples of the children’s literature used?literature used?
MANYMANY of the GeoLiteracy materials are in your librarylibrary:
River Ran Wild Ramona Quimby books Gingerbread Man Red Riding Hood The Lorax The Cherokee
Nina Bonita Year of the Ranch Noodlehead Stories Edward and the Pirates Talking Walls Alejandro’s Gift Me on the Map The Desert is Theirs Rosie’s Walk Roxaboxen This is the Tree
Why should you consider creating Why should you consider creating a GeoLiteracy program for your a GeoLiteracy program for your school and district?school and district?
Innovative approach to integrating geography and language arts
Based on your state and national standards Based on your state-mandated tests Controlled randomized testing shows it
increases performance in non-fiction reading And the copyright-free maps you can put on
your district’s server! Wow! The CD you are given is filled with them.
So what can you include in your GeoLiteracy Program?
Lesson plans in easy format
On-line reviews and editing
Contemporary literature
Assessments based on your state’s mandated tests
Student samples Customized maps Rubrics for
grading Updates Links to other
subjects (math)
Parallel Program:
85 more lessons to illustrate the integration of geography and math
Analyzing geographical information using charts and graphs
Measuring using map scale Using stem-and-leaf, box-
and-whiskers, and scatter plots to analyze climate information
Learning about positive and negative numbers using elevation
Learning geometric shapes and making maps
Questions?????
Gale Olp Ekiss, AzGA co-coordinator [email protected] Kuropatkin, AzGA Teacher Consultant [email protected] I. Dorn, AzGA co-coordinator [email protected]
Department of GeographyArizona State University
PO Box 870104Tempe, AZ 85287-0104
