Geography: The Key to Our Global System of Agriculture

Conference Room: Lewis

Summary This workshop explores the critical role of geography in shaping agricultural production and its impact on food, clothing, and shelter. Participants will connect these concepts to the Big Ideas of AP Human Geography (APHG)—Patterns and Spatial Organization, Impacts and Interactions, and Spatial Process and Societal Change—and gain strategies for engaging students in analyzing geographic […]

Nurturing Curiosity with Earth Observation Day Games

Conference Room: Winnebago

Summary Earth Observation Day (EOD) is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and outreach event AmericaView participates in annually to celebrate the Landsat program. Since 1972 the Landsat program has maintained a collection of satellites that provide a continuous space-based record of the Earth’s surface and its changes. Scientists, researchers, farmers, forest managers, […]

Teaching the Middle East and Global Migration Through Graphic Novels

Conference Room: Clark

Summary This interactive workshop introduces secondary geography educators to graphic novels as powerful pedagogical tools for teaching spatial concepts related to human migration, geopolitical borders, and transnational movement. Drawing on GW's Middle East Studies research collection curated by Dr. Amal Cavender, participants will explore how graphic narratives can transform complex geographic theories into accessible spatial […]

Inquiry into Pre-War Jewish Life as a Study in Cultural Geography

Conference Room: Nebraska

Summary This session will focus on the outcomes shared in the forthcoming chapter, "Inquiry into Pre-War Jewish Life as a Study in Cultural Geography," that is part of the University of South Carolina’s release, Teaching Holocaust Geographies in Middle and Secondary Schools. Participants will hear about approaches to this topic and experience hands-on activities that […]

Why Are There So Few Black Farmers in America? A Look At The History Of Racism In Rural Land Use

Conference Room: Clark

Summary Participants in this session will examine the history of racism in US rural land use and farm systems, attempting to answer the question, “Why are there so few Black farmers in America today?” It wasn’t always this way, so how did we arrive here? This session aims to develop educators’ content area knowledge and […]

Mundane Magnificence: Artifacts, Food, and Everyday Objects in Geography!

Conference Room: Iowa

Summary Mundane Magnificence: Artifacts, Food, and Everyday Objects!! Get ready for this fast-paced and engaging session. Leave with ready-to-use strategies and resources for your K-12 Geography classroom. This session is designed to engage and challenge participants by exposing them to out-of-the-box teaching strategies for teaching both physical and human geography. During this session, participants will […]

Empowering Geo-Inquiry: How the Science of Reading Can Strengthen Secondary Student Participation

Conference Room: Nebraska

Summary In 2022, our nation’s 8th graders scored at mere 29% proficient readers. 71% of our 8th grade students are below reading level and yet we know as Educators that a strong Geography based curriculum revolves around the ability for students to learn to independently access knowledge. Geo-Inquiry not only opens students to the possibilities […]

If You Give a Teen a Nuke…Geographic Scenario Gameplay in the Classroom

Conference Room: Flannigan

Summary Inspired by our favorite educational philosopher, Ms. Frizzle, I sought an immersive way to engage my teenage students in the global issues we explore in class. Simply showing pictures of immigration, war, or international relations can only go so far before these topics begin to feel distant and abstract. Enter Geo-Strat!, an online strategy […]

Art, Dance, Theatre, Oh My! Using Arts-Methodologies in the Geography Classroom

Conference Room: Winnebago

Summary Come explore how art, dance, theatre, and other creative methodologies can deepen student understanding of geography! In this session, participants will engage in hands-on activities that bring historical narratives, social movements, and global issues to life through tableau theatre, protest art, and cartographic storytelling. Attendees will walk away with ready-to-use lesson ideas, creative assessment […]

Beltrami on Expedition: Exploring Minnesota in 1823 in search of the Headwaters of the Mississippi River

Conference Room: Lewis

Summary Throughout the 1800's, as the United States expanded north and west after the Louisiana Purchase, there were numerous explorers who came to northern Minnesota searching for the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Though the mouth was well known and much of the lower and middle river well charted, it proved to be difficult to […]

Globalizing the ‘Yellow Peril’ and Anti-Asian Racism with Human Rights Education

Conference Room: Iowa

Summary This presentation examines how human rights education (HRE) can help teachers frame and globalize themes related to anti-Asian racism. This session will demonstrate how human rights concepts can help teachers identify stereotypes and discrimination faced by Asian people across the globe, and promote citizenship that interrupts these forces. Following a brief overview of HRE […]

Beyond the Hype: Critical AI Literacy for Geography and Social Studies Educators

Conference Room: Clark

Summary The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has sparked both optimism and unease within education. For geography and the broader social sciences, GenAI tools such as ChatGPT promise efficiencies in curriculum design, data analysis, and feedback, yet they also produce errors, false citations, and cultural oversimplifications. The use of large language models poses […]