Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Social Studies

TITLE:   Making an Illustrated Dictionary with Geographic Terms  

AUTHOR:  Anita M. Scanga  

OVERVIEW:  Students do not realize a complete understanding of new
geographical terms by simply writing out a definition for each word
in a list.  

GRADE LEVEL AND SUBJECT:  Appropriate for grades 5-8 and may be used
for all Social Studies' curriculums.  

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this activity is to acquaint students, through
left and right brain activities, with the new geographic terms that will be
used during the course of study.  If the activity is used in the beginning of
the school year, it can be used as an "icebreaker" activity and to promote
cooperative learning methods in the classroom.  

OBJECTIVES:  As a result of this activity, the student will be able to apply
geographic terms in describing and understanding the specific places of
study in the world.  

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:  Student dictionaries, glossary in Social Studies
book, printed list of terms, paper, markers, colored pencils, book binder
(optional, but students become more excited when they can produce a book
of their own). An example I use is GEOGRAPHY FROM A TO Z by Jack
Knowlton, Thomas Y. Crowell, N.Y., 1988.  

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:  Students will work in small groups (2-4) to
produce an illustrated dictionary of specific geographic terms. Each
student should have their own finished copy (either by a copier or each
student makes enough copies of their pages for everyone in their group).
Be sure to have each group share their finished products with the rest of
the class.  

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  Students will have  a personal copy of their
illustrated dictionary to use during the year. Combining illustrations with
written definitions of a word enhances the ability of the student to apply
these terms to their studies.

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