Geography Introduction: Here’s Why
Drawing a map, like reading, or algebra, is a difficult skill to
learn and if one sets an 8-year-old down with a map of the US and says
“draw this,” the child will be as overwhelmed as if he were confronted
with reading Shakespeare before he could read The Cat in the Hat,
and will quickly abandon it. Sure, a child could understand and
appreciate the story of Hamlet as well as read a map at the age of 8,
but if you ask her to READ Hamlet or DRAW a map, that is
another story. The intellect of a child far outpaces her skills and if
you ask too much too soon from her skills you can forever extinguish a
desire for more.
In this series of books I simply want to introduce children to
geography by giving them a primer in the borders and locations of
states, provinces and countries. By doing so I hope to invite them
further into the beautifully complicated world of geography.
Are these drawings cartoons? Absolutely they are, and in the best
sense of that word. The word “cartoon” originated in the Middle ages and
meant what we would today call a “sketch,” something that the artist
drew as he thought out, or prepared to draw his masterpiece. By engaging
students in drawing “cartoon” maps I hope to give them enough
self-confidence to someday give the real thing a try.
Geography is essential to a child’s education. And basic to that
study is a simple outline of states, countries and continents. In Draw the USA
I have tried to give students an easy introduction to committing the
map of the USA to memory. Through simple, step-by-step instructions,
students learn to draw each state as it connects to its neighbors and,
with a little practice, will be able to draw the country as a whole.
From the back cover…
Any time we discuss a person, place or thing, there is a “where”
about it. Where were they born? Where do they live? Where did it happen?
Where was it made? Geography is a necessary, if unvoiced, lynchpin in
these discussions. A child who knows where Ohio, or China, or Togo is,
gets more out of such discussions than a child who doesn’t. All books
about history, literature and science will become broader and deeper for
children who are familiar with the world around them, who know the lay
of the land.
Education seeks to broaden a child’s mind, to entice him to explore.
Through books, and videos a child can virtually travel to faraway
places; studying geography will augment those travels and his journey
will be that much richer because he knows where he is going.
Some sample Pages:
