A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Geography Updated

Geography is now a core curriculum subject in our schools. Standards for teaching geography to students in K-12 have been developed and are being used by many schools as guidelines to develop their own curricula. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released results from the first full-scale assessment of what America's students know and can do in geography at grades 4, 8, and 12. These are some of the dramatic changes that have occurred in the study of geography since Helping Your Child Learn Geography was released by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement in 1990.

In light of these changes, OERI-in cooperation with the Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey and the National Geographic Society-updated Helping Your Child Learn Geography. The updated booklet still contains simple activities and games for parents to do with their children to help them learn about the world in which they live. New features include a checklist from the standards called "What Does Your Fourth Grader Know?" and an expanded resource section that includes materials on standards, as well as geography software and Web sites.

To order Helping Your Child Learn Geography send your name, address, and 50 cents for each copy to Department 372D, Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009. If you have access to Internet, see the Department's home page at www.ed.gov (look for Publications for Parents). To order Geography for Life: National Geography Standards, call the National Geographic Society at 1-800-647-5463.
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