Entry 7

I decide to represent the article, Walking and Talking Geography: A Small-World Approach, with a children’s book, Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney. This story revolves around a young girl who loves to create maps. She draws out maps, which show big locations such as her country and city, and then it gets more specific like her own bedroom. I chose this story because it fits well with the small world approach. We don’t always have to teach maps as looking at the globe or coloring the continents to children. We can have children do mapmaking of their personal environment for geographic knowledge. This story will motivate children to explore their local environment. It also raises awareness of physical and human characteristics that make up their world. A successful geography lesson accesses children’s prior knowledge and common experiences. When teaching maps, allow the students to work with their familiar environment, like their house and community. This small-world approach will allow students to have thoughtful and meaningful reflection of their own experience.