Teaching Geography Themes What are the basic themes

Teaching Geography

Themes What are the basic themes in our geography standards? Maps & Physical Geography Human/Environmental Impact Human Culture Global education

Maps & Globes Working with maps & globes is a sizable portion of elementary geography standards Types of maps Political maps Climate maps Economic maps Physical maps Topographic maps Road maps

Japanese Geography Activity Let’s brainstorm hypotheses about Japanese physical geography. Then, we’ll look at some maps to support or reject our hypotheses.

Political Map of Japan

Topographic Map of Japan

Climate Map of Japan

Economic Map of Japan

Population Density Map

Geography & Culture How does geography affect culture? Each group will take one fact of Japanese geography and will write down five ways it affects Japanese culture.

What is global education? “education for responsible citizen involvement and effective participation in global society” (Anderson & Anderson, 1977, p. 36) Global educators focus on helping their students to “perceive the world as an interconnected system… [which] leads to the need to understand diverse cultures, cultural interactions, and human conflicts” (Merryfield, 2005, p. 59).

Key Elements of a Global Perspective Perspective Consciousness: the understanding that we have a unique way of perceiving the world, ingrained in us by our natal culture, which may be decidedly different than the way other people perceive the world. State of the Planet Awareness: awareness of what is going on in the world in which we live including such concerns as population growth, environmental issues, international conflicts, and other global matters. Cross-Cultural Awareness: being conscious of the similarities and differences amongst the different groups of people who share this planet, including some realization of how one’s particular culture is viewed by others. Knowledge of Global Dynamics: an understanding of how the world works, and how the actions one takes can cause unintended effects around the world. Awareness of Human Choices: is the realization that we have choices as individuals, societies, and as a species that can potentially alter the course of world development. (Hanvey, 1979)

Interconnectedness Exercise Let’s have a scavenger hunt to find objects made in other countries at our tables. List every item at your table made in a foreign country and the country it was made in. Whichever table has the most wins.

Understanding culture Surface vs. Internal culture Surface culture Internal culture

Elements of Surface Culture Food Clothing Pasttimes Home design Jewelry/makeup Holidays Music

Elements of Internal Culture (Merryfield, 2011; Storti, 1999) Concept of Self (individualist to collectivist) Uncertainty Avoidance (low to high) Time (monochronic to polychronic) Responsibility (universalist to particularist) Importance of Face (little to very important) Degree of Directness (from indirect to direct)

Japan vs. the United States Cultural Element The United States Japan Concept of Self individualist collectivist Uncertainty avoidance low high Time monochronic Responsibility universalist particularist Importance of Face low high Degree of Directness direct indirect

Movie time! Tōkyō Sonata (2008) Drama, Rated PG-13, 120 minutes, Color, Language: Japanese with English subtitles Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Producers: Produced by Wouter Barendrecht, Yuki'e Kitô , Yasushi Kotani, Raymond Phathanavirangoon, and Michael J. Werner; Writers: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Max Mannix, and Sachiko Tanaka Cast: Teruyuki Kagawa and Kyōko Koizumi Tōkyō Sonata tells the story of a Japanese family that disintegrates due to the pressures of the Japanese economic recession of the 1990 s 2000 s. When the father loses his job, he feels he must hide it from his family.

Tips for Effectively Utilizing Film Excerpted from “The Russell Model For Using Film” I The Preparation Stage select film, create lesson plan, obtain permissions, preview film (!) II The Pre-viewing Stage introduce required knowledge, explain purpose, focus questions III Watching the Film Stage view film in entirety or clips, may stop film to highlight key points IV The Culminating Activity Stage provide closure & assess student learning (Russell, 2007)

Film Activity While watching selected film clips… Look for interactions that exemplify the cultural elements we discussed Note which cultural elements is exemplified Consider where on the spectrum the interaction falls Consider whether you believe most Americans would handle the situation in the same way

Film MPAA CS UA T R PG-13 X X X Additional Film Suggestions Gung Ho (1986) X X IF DD X X Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) R Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) PG-13 Mr. Baseball (1992) PG-13 Shall we Dance? (1996) PG X Spirited Away (2001) PG X The Karate Kid Part II (1986) PG X X The Last Samurai (2003) R X X The Ramen Girl (2008) PG-13 X X X Tokyo Sonata (2008) PG-13 X X X X X

Other countries? What other countries do we know about that we can discuss in terms of internal culture? When teaching about other countries, it is imperative to go deeper than surface culture