My students read USA TODAY to get information about the world, and we'll often read an article to pinpoint the location of an event on a world map. To further apply their real-world geographic knowledge, students have created a Web site:
Tierra Firma Geography is our student-produced and maintained Web site that teaches about geography, environmental and social issues. On the site, Tejas, an imaginary ice planet, is facing danger from asteroids, comets, and global warming. Tejas is surrounded by heartless villains. I play Wamfu,
the Supreme Geography Instructor. Students interact with the site and do as I ask in order to save Tejas. Wamfu sends students on many fantasy adventures, such as saving Tejas from an ecological crisis. This teaches them how to examine uses, abuses and preservation of nature.
