Art Of Teaching

Geography is a diverse and inter-disciplinary field and goes far past mountains and rivers and rains and oceans.  it is extremely interesting , and a very “perceptible” field of study and you can effortlessly detect topographical spectacles in daily life.

Geography is a tough subject as it necessitates memorization skills. There are lots of verbiage that can be perplexing and get mixed reactions in your head, especially if you don’t consider it as your favorite subject.

The tricks that will help you to appreciate and study Geography:

1. Build your own memory aid: Memory Aid [Mnemonics] are the design of letters, ideas, or associations that support in recalling something.
For example, while memorizing Himalayan ranges from top to bottom, we can use this trick-
Karakoram
Zaskar
PirPanjal
Dauladhar
Shiwalik
Kal Zarur Jana Padega Desh Se

2. Relate with the environment: Geography is the study of the biosphere and ecosphere around us. Astonishingly, its appearance can be seen in everyday occurrences.
For example, when we are scheduling to move to a different place, we would like to know whether we are going to live near the ocean, a hilly area, a village, a town or a city? What type of public transportation will be available? Are there enough places to buy groceries and types of vegetation and climate conditions? All these questions shall be considered by us when moving to a new place. Thus, if we keep our eyes and ears open, we can relate to Geography universally.

Easiest process of learning Geography and other facts:

Suppose we have read an article about Canada.
So, we know that Ottawa is the capital of Canada.

Now we will be interested to find out what are the different provinces, climate, people, lifestyle, jobs, vegetation, economy, etc.

In this way when we start to read more interesting articles, we try to hunt more about the linked actualities, and we will be able to form an associated web of facts that will be easy to recall and reproduce.

Practical way to study Geography:

• We can take the students on a field trip and study the place being taught as this will be the best way to make geography come alive.
• We can study the maps by taking an outline and practicing repeatedly.
• Another great way to see the world through its pages is the Atlas.
• We can make the students play games based on geographical conditions like crosswords etc.
• Nowadays Geocaching is one of the most useful ways to study geography

What is Geocaching?

It is an outdoor recreational activity, where the participating students will use a GPS receiver or a mobile stratagem and other navigational tools to hide and then seek vessels called geocaches or caches at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.

The Modern Resources available today to make Geography interesting as a subject:

1.Google maps: Whizzing in and out of this can help the students find anything from states to precise roads. They can type the name in the search function and find whatever they want
2.Shepherd Software: is a website planned to help children. The Geography sections offer different maps and quizzes at 9 diverse stages of difficulty. The students can effortlessly modify their education.
Example: They have to simply click on a state to know the capital, or something as problematic as fitting an alternated, resized state into a blank map.
3.Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: It provides great, in-depth knowledge for anything related to geography.
4.The World Factbook: Though this is compiled by the CIA, this website offers a country level interpretation of history/background, geography, people & society, government, economy, energy, communications, transportation, military/security, and transcontinental substances. It is reorganized regularly.
5.Geography Now: This is a YouTube channel that is very good and factual. Each week, a new video is released in a new country. They are generally 10–15 minutes long and contain location, history, physical geography, political geography, and international relations segments.

At the end ……. A small piece of advice for one and all ……….

Merely memorizing the position and capitol of countries is not really learning about it or the correct way to approach Geography. OF COURSE, it will help the students pass a test, but they will forget it soon after the test as it will be a result of rote learning. Instead, students should always try learning more in depth data by understanding and exploration. They may notice facts that will help them remember Geography chapters more easily.

For Example, I was told that Turkey was a dry, arid country but when I tried to find out about Turkey in depth, I found that 25% of all cherries in the world grows in Turkey. So, these types of findings motivate the children to delve more into understanding geography.

Why is study of Physical Geography important?

Physical geography is the subdivision of geography dealing with natural topographies and progressions which includes the study of lithosphere i.e landforms, drainage, relief and physiography, atmosphere i.e its composition, formation, elements, and controls of weather and temperature, pressure, winds, rainfall, climatic types, etc., hydrosphere consisting of oceans, seas, lakes and related features with water dominion and biosphere which are life forms including human being and macro-organism and their supporting mechanisms like the food chain, ecological parameters, and ecological balance. Soils are formed through the process of pedogenesis and depend upon the parent rocks, climate, biological activity, and time.

Therefore, we can say that Physical Geography plays a very vital role in the very existence of human beings. Every student interested in studying about the planet earth should also study Physical Geography as it involves the study of the natural processes of the earth.

Importance of Geography as a subject of study and research:

Geography subject is causative to the understanding and grasping the great amount of information available in these days. Study of Geography is important as additional information inspires and kindle to analyze critically and understand widely.

This can therefore lead to students acquiring a good basis for participating in the development of society, country and globe at large in a constructive manner.

Geography as a subject leads to developing a student’s ability to be tolerant and understanding their global duties.

Therein lies the importance of Geography as a subject. Kudos to the Geography teachers who can kindle interest in the hearts of their students for this difficult but interesting subject.