Summary report of a three-day event in which teachers participated in both classroom instruction and a field experience that focused on urban geography topics such as city models, resiliency in the midst of climate change and deindustrialization, climate justice, and 21st century urban renewal projects.

This lesson takes students through the examination of the poem Remember and its use of figurative language to set the stage for considering how the physical world around us has changed in the past 50 years. Students research a specific local plant, animal, or element of weather and how it has changed over time, and then use Twine to represent their research in a digital story. This lesson culminates with the discussion of whether or not we are doing a good job of listening to Virginia’s natural elements over the past 50 years. This lesson was created through a partnership between CodeVA and the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium (VTEC). 

The Renaissance is known as a rebirth of culture that began on the Italian Peninsula. Many crusades had their points of departure from this region. The interaction with the Middle East resulted in increased trade and diffusion of ideas. Students identify the benefits of geographic location for the northern Italian city-states in terms of their local conditions (site) and the developing trade connections throughout Europe and the Middle East (situation). Key questions: How did land and sea routes connect people and places? How does location influence the ability to interact with the rest of the world?

For a quarter century, the federal government provided funding for cities large and small to raze "blighted" or "slum" neighborhoods. Though improved housing opportunities was the ostensible goal, over time, cities used federal funds to stimulate commercial and industrial redevelopment. Through these programs, cities displaced hundreds of thousands of families from their homes and neighborhoods. Renewing Inequality visualizes those displacements and urban renewal more generally.

This National Park Service website offers links to a variety of articles about the history and politics of Alaska. Users can download PDF articles about World War II in Alaska, the Alaska Goldrush, and national historic places. The site also features links to educational resources such as teachers' guides to teaching about historic places and culture.

Pieces together the story of the James Robinson family from artifacts found in archaeological excavations around the house where they lived for nearly a century. An African American born free in 1799, Robinson worked in a Virginia tavern earning nearly $500 to purchase 170 acres of land near Bull Run. There he built a log cabin, and his family turned the land into a prosperous farm, making him one of the wealthiest African Americans in the Manassas area in the mid-19th century.

explores the city's history and shows how it continues to shape the city's life today. It uses residential, commercial, industrial, and religious locations to create a tour of 37 properties that documents how past and present come together.

Slides describing the site and situation of Southside VA as well as a discussion of the political, economic, and cultural evolution of the region from a geographical perspective.

Summary of three-day event centered on Southside Virginia that involved both classroom instruction and a field experience focused on curriculum topics such as regional cultural identity, sense of place, economic development models/approaches, and agritourism ; skills such as formal observation, data collection, landscape analysis, speculation and spatial analysis; and processes such as cultural diffusion, migration, deindustrialization, economic restructuring, and globalization. A field guide was developed by academy co-coordinator Shannon Castelo to provide teachers with materials and examples of teaching activities they can incorporate into their classroom instruction.

Summary of three-day event in which teachers participated in classroom instruction and field experiences that focused on regional cultural identity, folk cultures, language and dialects, economic development, mining and resource extraction, environmental determinism, possibilism, and human development indicators; skills such as formal observation, data collection, landscape analysis, speculation and spatial analysis; and processes such as cultural diffusion, migration, deindustrialization, economic restructuring, and globalization. Many links to resources.

Lecture notes on Southwest Virginia economic and human health. This region has high unemployement and is in transition from an economy centered on coal. There are a number of obstacles including remote location and decline of the coal industry in the United States.

The students will gain an understanding of the sources of information used by geographers and apply what they have learned to analyzing primary sources and secondary sources and synthesizing what they have learned into a secondary source of information.  

This primary source activity seeks to introduce and/or reinforce concepts of Virginia living in the Early American Republic by exploring the dichotomy of rural and urban life through the experiences of John Marshall and Patrick Henry between 1771 and 1795, and by extension, the realities of urban and rural slavery in the post-colonial era.

uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom. Lesson plans turn students into historians as they study primary sources, historical and contemporary photographs and maps, and other documents, and then search for the history around them in their own communities.

This lesson will provide information about the impact technology has on human activities and lifestyle.  It should provide students with an understanding of how the traditional impact of the environment on humans is altered in today’s society by technological advances which allow humans to live beyond the limitations of the environment.  Students will brainstorm and provide prior knowledge to lead discussion while the teacher will respond to student input by correcting and adding information as needed.  Students will also draw plans for a city and indicate how technology will improve life for the residents.    

tells the stories of three cities established after the Comstock Lode discovery in 1859 brought a reverse migration from California. The stories, told by this travel itinerary of 57 places, feature the mining and agricultural city now known for gaming, the remarkable collection of 19th-century buildings created with wealth generated by the Comstock Lode, and the state capital.

Students will review the immigration data set and draw conclusions regarding changes in immigration from the 1800s to the early 1900s. Some students may find it easier to compare two decades while others may be able to compare ranges of decades from each century. Once conclusions about changes in immigration have been made, students should identify the reason for the change.
Students will review the immigration data set and be able to identify where in the world most immigrants came from during specific time periods in history.

Students will review the immigration data set and draw conclusions regarding changes in immigration from the 1800s to the early 1900s. Some students may find it easier to compare two decades while others may be able to compare ranges of decades from each century. Once conclusions about changes in immigration have been made, students should identify the reason for the change.
Students will review the immigration data set and be able to identify where in the world most immigrants came from during specific time periods in history.

tells the story of the first road built with federal funds. Construction of the 632-mile road from Cumberland, Maryland, to Vandalia, Illinois, began in 1811. The aim was to improve trade between the east and the emerging western frontier and to avoid losing western trade to England in Canada or Spain in the Louisiana Territory. The website tells how the road was built, how people traveled on it, accommodations they found along the way, and more.

Browse samples of USGS maps that are popular with educators. Order paper copies through this site. Where available, links are provided to pdf versions that can be freely downloaded. (Navigate to this site on your own by going to the USGS Store and clicking on "Education Products")

Use these sites to find A map!

Education "Map Catalog"-Browse USGS paper maps that are favorites with educators.

Free Digital Topographic Maps-Download free digital maps or purchase paper maps

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)-Database of all Federally recognized names of geographic features

This Dynamic Planet-World map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact craters, and plate tectonics — our most popular map!

A Tapestry of Time and Terrain-Ages of rocks combined with elevation — an excellent teaching tool

National Geologic Map Database-Search for geologic maps

The National Map-Create and download your own high-resolution maps — best for advanced students

Geospatial Data and Mapping Websites-A PDF with links to the best USGS sources for geospatial data