Why be geographically literate

At National Geographic, we call people who are prepared to make these decisions geo-literate. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Background Info Questions Vocabulary.

What is geo-literacy? Geography is clearly more than just dots on a map. So, what is geography? Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Text Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Related Resources. Why is Geo-literacy Important? View Video. Another way to categorise the literacy elements that are most relevant to geography education is:. Literate practices are embedded in the aims of the Victorian Curriculum: Geography. The curriculum aims to make sure students develop:. The literacy demands of Geography draw on the inquiry skills embedded in the critical and creative thinking capabilities.

Students develop their disciplinary knowledge by. The Geographical Concepts and Skills strand emphasises the subject-specific nature of language and literacy requirements as part of a geographical approach. Within Geography, students draw on literate practices of reading and viewing, writing, and speaking and listening to:. Students apply these literate practices to develop and communicate their understanding of the content covered in the Geographical Knowledge strand.

Literacy learning progression and Geography. Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. Balderstone, D. Secondary Geography Handbook. Sheffield, UK: Geographical Association. Butler, J. The literacy of Geography. Interaction , 42 2 , 37— Geographical Association. A different view: A manifesto from the Geographical Association.

Victorian Curriculum Foundation Geography. Yet her teenage daughter can make the longest trip of her driving career without knowing east from west. While map-reading skills may seem irrelevant in the smart-phone world, geographic literacy is vital to understanding the world around us. National Geographic defines geographic literacy as "the ability to use geographic understanding and geographic reasoning to make far-reaching decisions. The military needs them for strategic planning.

Commercial real estate planners hire them to decide where to build stores. Transportation departments, city and environmental planning departments - all are in need of geographers. There is hope for concerned parents like Kuhn. Efforts to include Geography funding in the reauthorization of the "No Child Left Behind Act" failed in the previous Congressional term, but appear to be back on the table with the currently re-branded " Every Child Achieves Act of And your kid probably can't either.

Typical world maps badly misrepresent the size of countries; a new web app shows their true scale. Using data from Microsoft, the New York Times has published an online map showing the placement of every building in the country, in a simple black and white format. K geography proficiency has not improved since October 21, - Association of American Geographers.