I found an incredible site (from the UK) this morning, while googleing for "SmartBoard" and "Geography".

Welcome to Oxfam- Mapping our World .

Mapping our World is a whiteboard teaching product for 8 to 14 year olds.

It explores the relationship between maps and globes, and how different projections influence our perception of the world. It challenges the idea that there is one ‘correct’ version of the world map.

Lesson 1: The three activities below introduce pupils to maps and the globe.

1. The globe unwrapped
   What does the globe look like? What’s the relationship between a map and a globe? And how do the shapes of continents change when you flatten a globe into a map?
2. What on Earth
   What does the Earth look like from space? How much detail can you see? And can you see everything on Earth at once? Look at our planet from an alien’s point of view.
3. Holey Moley
   If a mole dug right through the centre of the Earth, where would it end up? What does the ‘other side’ of the Earth look like? And can you predict what’s opposite where?

Lesson 2: The three activities below introduce the idea of projections. They present some of the most popular examples and analyse their similarities and differences.

1. Chat Show
   Who were Mercator and Peters? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their projections? And how do their projections affect our view of the world? Mercator and Peters explain all in the Chat Show.
2. Map Merging
   Map Merging makes it easy for teachers and pupils to compare the Mercator, Peters and Eckert IV projections. What are their similarities and differences? And how do they measure-up to country area statistics?
3. Which Map is Best?
   This activity explores the idea that there is no perfect map of the world, just different maps that are useful for different purposes.

Lesson 3: The three activities below investigate how different projections and orientations affect our view of the world.

1. Find the right place? Are you sure you know what the world map looks like? Can you match each country with its flag? And can you do it ‘upside-down’?
2. How many times?
   Do countries look their true sizes on all projections? How many times can Britain fit into Africa? And would the answer be the same on every projection? Find out why size matters.
3. Walk the plank
   How well can you recognise the features of different projections? Do some countries look ‘more important’ than others? And how does this affect our perception of our place in the world?

Every lesson comes with a .pdf file for teachers’ notes that include:

• Aim of the resource
• Key objectives
• Using the resource
• Useful information

I have several globes hanging from the ceiling in my classroom. I even have one hanging "up side down" which I am readily available to argue with anyone "Who says that it is up side down". I loved that this site makes it a priority in pointing out that that would depend on your perspective what you consider up and what you consider down and what is in the center of a map and what is not.
Ask yourself: Am I able to find countries if the map is "up side down" or "off centered"? In one of the games you are asked to place the flags on the corresponding countries on different maps. This will be a great resource to use with or without a SmartBoard.

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Posted: 31. May, 2008 at 10:57 am. Filed under: Elementary School, Geography, Global Awareness, SmartBoard, Social Networking.
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