Teach geography from perspective of outer space
Think about ... using photographs taken from space to teach geography.
How does this look?
Students learn about the physical geographical features of an area using images taken from space by astronauts on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
Create a master slide of these images of Earth taken from space with the Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation graphics program. Students can then use this master slide along with Earth-bound maps to locate and label physical landmarks on the images taken from space.
Students can learn geography from a perspective they usually don't consider.
This project was created by Mr. Eric Langhorst, a social studies teacher at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, Mo.
Using the NASA Earth from Space Web site
The NASA Earth from Space Web site is a huge database of images with detailed information on each image such as where and when the image was taken, special features, type of camera, and so on. The collection is organized by special categories and location. These images cover the entire Earth and can be downloaded from NASA at no cost for educational use. NASA requests proper citation when using images from this Web site.
Step 1. Download the images from space of the area covered by your lesson. Almost every area on Earth has been photographed from space by NASA.
Step 2. Create a PowerPoint slide template using the images obtained for your area as slide backgrounds. Do not label landmarks on this template.
Step 3. Give students a short text description of the area shown on the image and a list of physical features to locate and label such as towns, roads, rivers, and landmarks. You can also encourage students to identify other landmarks they see that aren't on your list.
Step 4. Students use maps to locate landmarks and use drawing and text tools in PowerPoint to label their slides.
Step 5. Students share their finished slides with their classmates, pointing out the landmarks they labeled.
Academic standards
Earth sciences: Physical geography
Social studies: Geography
ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students
| • | Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. |
| • | Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. |
| • | Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. |
| • | Students use technology tools to process data and report results. |
Examples and instructions
Sample project: Huskers in Space (558 KB Microsoft Word file)
Get Microsoft Office file viewers
Microsoft PowerPoint assistance
Change a slide background
Use AutoShapes to create drawings
Add text to a slide
Apply or draw a motion path
