Accio Geography!

Ah, Geography!  I actually hated that word until last semester.  My elementary and secondary school teachers had always focused on map coloring and memorization aspect of geography.  Then, taking a college geography class, I learned that it included much more than simple tasks.  Geography includes location, place, region, movement, and human-environmental interaction.  This allows for discussion of culture, environmental issues, and more.  Here are some helpful websites for geography teachers:

• The CIA World Factbook provides a wealth of geographical information about regions and countries of interest.
• National Geographic Magazine is an absolute necessity when discussing geography.  Its website also includes a detailed page of information, lesson plans, and more for teachers.
• Many geography classes study the book and/or movie Guns Germs & Steel to learn about regional differences and the geographic roots of worldwide economic disparities.
• If students do memorize parts of maps as part of their class (I'll admit, it does help), there are online games to help with practice.  I found them to be a lifesaver when preparing for weekly map quizzes.
• For teachers giving map tests, World Outline Maps has blank maps for the tests themselves.
• Finally, no list of geography resources is complete without reference to Google Earth.  The program is indespensable in its many layers of resources: historical maps, labels of all sorts, links to informational web articles, and more.