"Race Around the World" Margret Henies, Caldwick Middle School: Ohio

"Pull down a large World Map and have students come up to locate countries, cities, bodies of water, etc. You can make this into a team competition by having students race to locate places that you call out."

"How do I get home?" Karla, Elementary Teacher

"A fun way to for students to learn geography is to have students plot a course for a given location back to their home. I start this activity with an introductory set. I have students individually plot a course from our school to their homes. Next, I have them plot a course from a major county landmark to their homes. Local shopping centers seem to work well.

After students grasp the general concept, I place them in cooperative groups and have them plot courses to school from other neighboring states. By the end of the year, I have students plotting courses from different countries to our school. This activity really helps them with their map skills."

"How a bill becomes a law." Nancy, 6th Grade Teacher

"This is a great activity for demonstrating our government at work. It can be adapted to a variety of grade levels.

I start this activity by having students write a brief essay on why they should be elected the class President. After reviewing the essay with my colleagues, I nominate five candidates. The class then holds a secret ballot election. The student with the greatest number of votes is elected president. The remaining four candidates become the leaders of groups.

Group one proposes legislation. Group two decides the pros and cons of the bill and the issues that need further debate. Group three represents the Senate. Group Four represents the House of Representatives. Group three and four debate the issues identified by group 2.

All students then vote for or against the bill. If the bill fails, the bill is amended and we start the process over. If the bill passes, it goes before the President. If the bill has 2/3 support or greater, the President will pass the bill. If this level of support is not met, the President will veto the bill."

The Latest Teaching Idea That Worked! Speed Through The States Jenny Wilkes, Elementary Teacher

A great method to help students learn their 50 States is to use a blank map of all 50 states and then give them 6 minutes to complete it. I review the correct answers with them. The next day, we do it again. We reduce the time to 5 minutes. We continue this until it takes only 2 minutes for them to identify all the States. This works great!