This years theme for the annual GGA postcard contest is “Fresh Water”. Click here to see the rules and requirements for entries.
There is an important Bill working its way through the US Congress. This is the “Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act” (TGIF). If passed, it will improve geographic literacy among K-12 students by supporting professional development for teachers, as offered through institutions of higher education. It would rectify the problem that Geography was the only discipline not funded by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Please email your Representatives and Senators to voice their support of this Bill. The House Version of the Bill is HR 1240 “Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act.” You may find your House Representative’s email at http://www.house.gov/ . The Senate version of the bill is S-749 “Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act.” You may find Senators Chambliss’ and Isakson’s email addresses at http://senate.gov/
Thank you in advance for your support.
The GGA in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Education has created a Video on teaching geography entitled “Where We Live Matters“.
Geography Awareness Week and Postcard Contest
November 15-21 is Geography Awareness Week. One activity you might consider for this week is participating in the annual GGA postcard contest. Artwork must incorporate the Geography Action! Theme “Mapping Europe”. Winning students will pick their own prize from shop.nationalgeographic.com. See the attached flyer for more information. For more ideas for Geography Awareness Week, go to GAofGeorgia.org and click on teacher resources or go to MyWonderfulWorld.org.
More Lesson Plans!
We have recently uploaded hundreds of lesson plans to our website that were created by teacher consultants of the GGA when it was directed by Dr. Truman Hartshorn. There are also numerous publications available that were created under Dr. Hartshorn’s leadership such as The Georgia Geography Guide: A Resource for Teachers, The Geography Resource Guide for Middle and High School, and Suggested Daily Classroom/School Activities for Geography Awareness Week. There are also publications with teaching ideas and lesson plans for past Geography Action themes. We would like to thank Dr. Hartshorn and all those who worked with him to create such valuable resources.
DC Summit
National Geographic Student Expeditions seeks teachers to participate in the first-annual DC Summit, a series of weeklong programs for middle school and high school students and their teachers in Washington, DC. Learn more at the National Geographic Student Expeditions: DC Summit website. Teachers interested in the spring 2010 DC Summit are invited to apply to attend the free, expenses-paid DC Summit Teacher-Leader Conference, October 23–25 in Washington, D.C. For more information and to fill out an online application, please click here.
NCSS
Since NCSS is holding its Annual Conference in Atlanta this November, we will not be having a fall Geofest. Instead we are offering three scholarships for the Conference. The deadline for applications is October 1st. For more information, go to GAofGeorgia.org and click on GCSS.
Giant Map of Africa
The GGA and the KSU Department of Geography and Anthropology will be hosting National Geographic’s Giant Map of Africa during Black History Month from February 8th to February 18th. For more information or to make a reservation go to GAofGeorgia.org and click on Giant Maps.
For directions to KSU and a campus map, click here. The Geography Bowl will be held in Building 5 The Geofest will be held in Building 22. Park in either the West Deck or Visitor Parking (Lot A).
Thank you to all of you who participated in the postcard contest. The winners are listed below. If one of the winning students is in your class, please give them the attached form to fill out so that we can send them a check. First place winners will receive $50, second place winners will receive $30, and third place winners will receive $20.
In order to pay the winners, we need them to fill out this form. Completed forms can be faxed to 678-797-2443, emailed to Nicole@GAofGeorgia.org, or mailed to:
Georgia Geographic Alliance
KSU Geog. Dpt. MD 2203
1000 Chastain Rd.
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Elementary School
1st Place - Johnson Jin, Kindergarten, Mt. Bethel Christian Academy
2nd Place - Stephen Tyler, 5th Grade, Holy Spirit Prep School
3rd Place - John Radosta, 4th Grade, Holy Spirit Prep School
Middle School
1st Place - Birmel Guerrero, 8th Grade, Palmer Middle School
2nd Place - Savannah Hartley, 7th Grade, Wheeler County Middle School
3rd Place - Courtney Anderson, 6th Grade, Lost Mountain Middle School
High School
1st Place - Elizabeth Wakefield, 9th Grade, Peachtree Ridge High School
2nd Place - Casey Ussery, 10th Grade, Wheeler County High School
3rd Place - Lakena Meminger, 9th Grade, Wheeler County High School
We are currently working on the first edition of the GGA Newsletter, and we need submissions. If you would like to submit an article or see some ideas for submissions, click here.
The Georgia Geographic Alliance invites all Georgia students to participate in a postcard contest. This contest is designed to promote Geography Awareness by challenging all students to illustrate a postcard using this year’s theme,†Mapping the Americasâ€. Grand Prize – The first place winners for each division will compete for the grand prize of $100. For more information, click here.
We are honored to extend you an invitation to the Georgia Geographic Alliance 2009 Spring Geofest to be held Saturday, April 18 from 9AM to 3PM at Kennesaw State University. We will be offering one PLU for this event. The registration system will be on the website very soon. The deadline for presentation applications is January 9th. The deadline to register for the Geofest is February 6th. We will be offering one PLU for this event.