Overview

Teachers wanting to engage their students in critical inquiry will find Exemplars in Geographical Thinking a valuable resource. It contains eight critical challenges to engage students in thinking geographically about a wide range of regional, national and global issues. The lessons are designed to introduce six core concepts
in geographical thinking:

• spatial significance
• evidence and interpretation
• patterns and trends
• interrelationships
• geographical perspective
• ethical judgment

Written by practising teachers and enriched by input from experienced teachers in the field, this resource contains critical challenges that were field tested in classrooms and have been revised based on experiences with students. The result is a resource that provides teachers with concrete examples to support student inquiry and nurture and develop geographical thinking.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements and credits
Guide to Lesson Format
Critical Thinking and Geographical Thinking
Overviews of Critical Challenges

Critical Challenges

Spatial significance
What’s hidden in a map?

Evidence and interpretation
Has the media convinced me?
What do the numbers tell us?

Patterns and trends
Where’s the pattern?

Interrelationships
What’s Canada’s greatest natural disaster?

Geographical perspective
Which image captures the place?

Ethical judgment
To burn or not to burn?
Whose voice needs to be heard?

Credits