{"id":24033,"date":"2026-05-28T11:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/?post_type=tribe_events&#038;p=24033"},"modified":"2026-05-28T11:31:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:31:37","slug":"beyond-the-map-building-geography-trunks-with-childrens-literature-for-adolescent-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/event\/beyond-the-map-building-geography-trunks-with-childrens-literature-for-adolescent-inquiry\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Map: Building &#8220;Geography Trunks&#8221; with Children\u2019s Literature for Adolescent Inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Summary<\/h4>\n<p>Why do the Five Themes of Geography often feel like a flat checklist of definitions rather than a dynamic lens for understanding the world? Too often, geography instruction in the secondary classroom stops at memorization, leaving students disconnected from the human stories behind the maps. This hands-on workshop seeks to enliven the geographic experience by integrating culturally rich, award-winning children\u2019s literature into adolescent inquiry.<\/p>\n<p>Participants will go beyond simply exploring a curated &#8220;Geography Trunk&#8221;\u2014they will learn the methodology to design and build their own. By analyzing a wide breadth and depth of cultural narratives, attendees will discover how to select texts that offer deep cultural experiences while illustrating how the Five Themes impact us all. Using visual literacy strategies, we will demonstrate how to transform these stories into vibrant tools for critical thinking. You will leave with a curated bibliography, a &#8220;Trunk&#8221; blueprint, and the tools to move your students beyond the definitions and into the heart of global citizenship.<\/p>\n<h4>Session Focus<\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Middle School\/Junior High<\/span> | <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Human and Cultural Geography<\/span> | I<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nquiry<\/span><\/p>\n<h4>Conference Room<\/h4>\n<p>Byrd<\/p>\n<h4>Meet the Presenter<\/h4>\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-24034 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"113\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/KendrasHeadshots-15-1-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 75px) 100vw, 75px\" \/>Kendra Miller<\/strong> is a middle school social studies teacher at Providence Christian Academy and an executive board member for the Tennessee Council for Social Studies. A seasoned presenter, she frequently shares her expertise at national, state, and local conferences within the social studies and education sectors.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Kendra is a PhD student at Middle Tennessee State University studying Literacy Studies with an emphasis on Literacy Instruction and Staff Development. Her work bridges classroom practice and academic research, focusing on the intersection of literacy and social studies education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Why do the Five Themes of Geography often feel like a flat checklist of definitions rather than a dynamic lens for understanding the world? Too often, geography instruction in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":23317,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","_tribe_events_is_hybrid":"","_tribe_events_is_virtual":"","_tribe_events_virtual_video_source":"","_tribe_events_virtual_embed_video":"","_tribe_events_virtual_linked_button_text":"","_tribe_events_virtual_linked_button":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_embed_at":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_embed_to":[],"_tribe_events_virtual_show_on_event":"","_tribe_events_virtual_show_on_views":"","_tribe_events_virtual_url":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[89,116],"tribe_events_cat":[107],"class_list":["post-24033","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-annual-conference","tag-saturday-afternoon-session","tribe_events_cat-conference-sessions","cat_conference-sessions"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/24033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/24033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24035,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/24033\/revisions\/24035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24033"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncge.org\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=24033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}