This week we were asked to think about which atlas we would purchase now if we could. I really love looking at print atlases because they are so nice to browse and by flipping through the pages it helps to put all the pieces of the world together. Online maps are great for looking at details and zooming out to look at the big picture as well but I also love a print atlas for allowing me to mentally put it all together.
I agreed with Brenda that the Children's World Atlas looks like a good resource. Another Atlas for middle grades students that looks good is called the National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers. It is not as current (2007) but it does have links in the book to interactive websites for more added information about various countries. These include games and videos. It comes from a reliable publisher. It has good information about types of maps and how to read maps as well. It uses good graphics and would appeal to students.
I also love Google Earth and love how you can zoom in and out to see different perspectives. This reminds me of the book called, Me on the Map by Joan Sweenie where a girl shows herself on a map of her room, and then her house on her street, her street in her town, etc until she is showing a map of the world.
I also came across a fun little game for using atlases while I was browsing the internet. The idea for the game is nothing new but I think the students would have a lot of fun saying, "By George, I think I've found it!" You can check out the game at:
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/3901.html
Brenda mentioned that she also plays an Amazing Race game with her students when using atlases. This sounds like a great game and I would love to give it a try!
I've been doing a lot of genealogy lately and have created a historical map the addresses of where my ancestors lived on Google maps. It's fascinating because of how geography was such a limitation in the past.
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