This LibraryQuest was designed for middle school Geography students as part of the Adventure of the American Mind Northern Virginia Partnership (AAMNVA), a federally funded professional development program to assist educators in using Library of Congress primary resources to support student learning.
It is designed as a way for students to learn more about different types of maps and how they can be used in the study of geography. Students will be asked to examine and use a variety of maps primarily from the digital collections of the Library of Congress in order to hone their geographic skills. By completing various assignments and tasks students will earn points. When the ten geographic activities are completed, students will be awarded a passport to become a “virtual tourist”. Then they will plan a trip (complete with a series of maps) to the city, town or country of their choice. Finally they will make a presentation to a group of “travel agents” to whom they will pitch their city, town or country as the ideal destination for a school trip.
Unit Number: Unit II: Geographic Skills
Standard WG.1c The student will use maps, globes, photographs, and pictures in order to create and compare political, physical and thematic maps.
Enduring Understanding(s): A map is a visual representation of geographic information.
Conceptual Unit Questions:
What makes Geography “the science of place?”
What are the major types of thematic maps?
What are ways that maps show information?