Session One (Fall 2019)

[Dennis O'Connell]

As an elementary school teacher, I am always trying to find ways to adapt what I am learning to a classroom of 7 and 8 year olds.  During Session One, I found several ways to bring the geographical information into my classroom.  Showing students a map of East Asia and identifying where the different nations are in relation to each other and in relation to California is extremely helpful.  I liked the idea of superimposing the maps of various nations on that of the United States to talk about the differences in size of the natiions as well as the climate changes as one moves from north to south.  The exercise we did counting the border countries of China could also be adapted to an elementary school classroom.  A discussion could be had regarding the difficulties that arise when you have more and more neighbors.  I look forward to future sessions and how I can bring East Asia alive for my students.