Portraying the Earth

Gr 7 Up—In this introduction to the eight-part DVD series, host Alexander B. Murphy's enthusiasm is contagious as he teaches his audience to see the world from a geographic perspective. Map making is traced back to Mesopotamian clay tablets. The equator, prime meridian, longitude and latitude lines are explained in their historical context as well as being the groundwork for our contemporary global positioning system (GPS) and online direction-finding websites. Specialty maps have such diverse purposes as revealing land forms, land use, earthquake zones, volcanoes, political boundaries, natural resources, languages spoken, or the dominant religions practiced. Viewers see how map separates are made and compiled to form one map with multiple features. The teacher's guide contains lesson plans for introducing, developing, and summarizing each unit. Worksheets can be printed out from this PDF file. The series shares a wealth of information in an engaging fashion sure to stimulate critical thinking and discussion in classrooms.—Mary Lee Bulat, Harwinton Public Library, CT