Message from sbaker

A web source that I use in my World History class is the PRI’s The World – Geo Quiz. I subscribe to the Podcast and play it in my class. It is a simple step to download from there site. The archives are full of interesting stories from all parts of the world. I believe that many teachers could use this in many different ways.

The format of the show is simple. It gives some basic information of a place in the world and asks can you name that place. The program returns shortly with the answer and much more. The answer coincides with a story about an event in that location. The topic of the story varies, human interest, political, and sometimes funny. The time varies between 4 to 8 minutes long. The many stories are class friendly.

I actually use it as a quiz in the class room. I play it during the beginning of the week and have the students research the answer. If the topic relates to the chapter being studied then I require more information. The extra information could be maps of the place, Almanac related information, or pictures. At the end of the week the class shares the information or guesses the location. After that I play the rest of the show for the class. Discussions always seem to follow the story, the students give their opinion if it was good or bad story.

The Asian connection, well there are many, in fact Podcast 167 was about Taiwan. Apparently there were once pygmies on the island and were wronged some how, so the locals perform a certain ceremony to appease the spirits of those pygmies. (Ancestor Worship). Earlier stories dealt with China and its attempt to correct the inaccurate signs in English before the Olympics. Dig through the archives and find one for your class