MORE TO EXPLORE FOR EDUCATORS

Activities

Association of American Geographers Career Guide
http://www.aag.org/Careers/Intro.html
Help your students understand the benefits of geography as a career. This site from the Association of American Geographers has career descriptions, a map of U.S. colleges with geography departments, and a contact list.

Geospatial21
http://www.geospatial21.org/
Learn more about geospatial technologies and career opportunities.

GIS Careers
http://www.gis.com/careers/geospatial_career.html
A 2003 Department of Labor report cited Geographic Information Systems as a top-three emerging industry. Help your students learn more about it with this GIS career guide.

National Geographic Children's Books Library World
http://www.ngchildrensbooks.org
Find hundreds of books and atlases for your library or classroom. Search using multiple criteria, such as grade levels, subject areas, and correlations to your own state's standards of learning.

Competitions

National Geographic Bee
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/
Students in grades three through eight are eligible to participate in the National Geographic Bee. Find out how to get your school involved.

Reflections
http://www.pta.org/reflections05/about.asp
This annual PTA program encourages students to create art (literature, music, photos, and visual art) that supports a specific theme.

Field Trips

National Parks Service: Field Trip Center
http://www.nps.gov/learn/fieldtrip_center.htm
Let your class step out of the textbook and experience the past, the natural world, and their heritage, in three dimensions.

Online Field Trips
http://www.thinkport.org/Classroom/trips.tp
Take your students on a virtual field trip. Interactives offer rich multimedia content: stories, maps, games, timelines, audio, and much more.  

Sea World/Busch Gardens
http://www.seaworld.org/
Plan a trip, take a virtual visit, meet animals online, and more.

Virtual Field Trips
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/vft.htm
Get ideas and sources for virtual adventures.

Lesson Plans and Curricula

Asia Society Lesson Plans
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/lessons/
Get lesson plans for all grade levels.

Geographic Resources From the Smithsonian
http://www.SmithsonianEducation.org/MyWonderfulWorld/
Select a continent and find rich online resources that span the globe.

The JASON Project
http://www.jason.org/
National Geographic's JASON Project is a nonprofit educational organization working to inspire in students a lifelong passion for learning in science, math, and technology through hands-on, real-world scientific discovery.

Juicy Geography
http://www.juicygeography.co.uk/index.htm
This site, run by a U.K. geography teacher, includes teaching ideas and resources.

National Geographic Geography Action!
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographyaction/
National Geographic's annual conservation and awareness program is designed to engage students, educators, and communities in taking action to protect the Earth and its people.

National Geographic Xpeditions (Lesson Plans and Activities)
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions
Xpeditions includes more than 500 standards-based lesson plans and activities, an interactive atlas with more than 1,600 printable maps, and a virtual museum for learning and exploration.

Peace Corps: Building Bridges
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/bridges/
Short, adaptable lesson plans and activities designed to build crosscultural awareness, respect, and communication.

United Nations Global Classroom Curriculum
http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=324674
This UN curriculum includes comprehensive lesson plans and in-depth resources.

U.S. Geography Standards
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/matrix.html
See the voluntary national geography education standards in full.

Maps

Google Earth
http://earth.google.com/
Explore the world with this 3-D globe. Type in an address and zoom right down to street-level.

National Geographic MapMachine
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine
Get National Geographic's award-winning atlas maps online, free.

National Geographic Xpeditions Outline Maps
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/
These black-and-white outline maps are perfect for reports, homework, and classroom handouts. Choose the level of detail you want each map to have.

News

Channel One
http://www.channelone.com/
Get U.S. and world news, watch videos, play quizzes, and more.

CNN Student News
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/student.news/
Get CNN news programming created specifically for educators.

National Geographic News
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/news
Get daily news—on animals and nature, science, archaeology, and much more—with a global perspective.

New York Times Learning Network
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/index.html
Keep current with world news, get the word of the day, take a daily news quiz, and more.

Photos

Asia Society Images
http://www.askasia.org/teachers/images/
Search the AskAsia site for photos and other images.

National Geographic Photo of the Day
http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/cgi-bin/pod/archive.cgi
Search or browse National Geographic's archive of hundreds of photos.

National Geographic Photo Galleries
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/siteindex/photogallery/
See collections of photos on topics such as animals, history and culture, and weather.

World Wildlife Fund Photo Galleries
http://www.worldwildlife.org/photogalleries/index.cfm
Flip through photo galleries on animals from pandas to polar bears.

Professional Development

Earthwatch Institute
http://www.earthwatch.org/site/pp.asp?c=dsJSK6PFJnH&b=386443
Head into the field on an Earthwatch expedition, or learn how to get your students involved.

Local Geography Alliances
http://www.ngsednet.org/community/about.cfm?community_id=94
Find and join your local geography alliance, part of a national network of K-12 teachers, university geographers, and others dedicated to improving geography education.

National Council for Geographic Education Institutes
http://www.ncge.org/events/institutes/
Learn about NCGE's institutes, including training for AP Human Geography teachers.

National Geographic Education Network (EdNet)
http://ngsednet.org/profdev.cfm
Learn about national professional development opportunities, get classroom resources, and more.

U.S. Department of State
http://exchanges.state.gov/
The U.S. State Department has links to educational exchange and other programs.

Student Exchange/Pen Pal Programs

ePals
http://www.epals.com/
Find classrooms for pen pal exchanges and cross-cultural learning projects.