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© Gail Underwood Parker

Monday, February 28, 2011

School Bell: Maps and the News

This past week there were a lot of news stories from the other side of the world.  This is a great time to start mapping the news with your teens. Get an inexpensive world map and tack it up on a wall in a hall or stairwell or in the kids rooms.  I even put one up in the den one time to have it more convenient. Then you grab some push pins and each time you have dinner you try to figure out what news stories you can add to your map.  This past week you could have added Libya, Egypt, New Zealand, Oman, and Somalia. England is a sure thing, at least from now until the royal wedding.  But, the challenge is finding news stories of significance about more obscure countries.

See if you can get all the continents, all the countries in one region, etc. You would be surprised how inspired to study current events your kids may become.  You can work as a family team or if it works better use colored push pins to show which person located a story about which location.

If you have younger kids use a United States map and see if you can get all the states.

Image credits:  fhswolvesden.wikispaces.com, epa.gov

2 comments:

  1. :) We are about to get maps going big time in our house. When my adoptive daughter from Vietnam looked at her lifebook and the map of Vietnam, she said, "Where's North Carolina?" (we had been on vacation.)
    That's when I realized one map of vietnam, and one of the usa in the house were NOT enough lol

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  2. I know what you mean! And how great that you keep that part of her life accessible! Yea for you.. and for her!
    Gail

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