Cultural Geography Blog

May be of interest to some of you :)

Does anyone know what the UK really looks like? I don't think so.. and I think that's a problem. That's why I've made The #UKin100Seconds . Each second = 1% of what the UK looks like from the air. See the film + join the discussion at @ThePCCLondon Cinema https://t.co/PPKshCXW2w pic.twitter.com/Ev70tdw6pN — Daniel Raven-Ellison (@DanRavenEllison) August 23, 2018 You can order your ticket here. Some excellent speakers as well as the chance to be provoked by Dan. It’s difficult to get a picture of what the United Kingdom really looks like. Imaginations and assumptions can distort decisions that affect our lives. We often hear the idea that there is simply no more room in the country. In reality, just six per cent of the UK is built on. The UK in 100 Seconds is a provocative and thought provoking film that rearranges the United Kingdom's land into 32 categories and divides them over 100 seconds. Each second equates to 1% of what the country looks like fr...

Thanks to Justin Woolliscroft for the tipoff to this site , which has the stories of some of the things we eat (and drink) Thy include fish and chips... The sandwich... And the curry... This will go into the list of resources for my 'You are what you eat' topic...

Via Val Vannet Working out a way to make use of this... Poetry by Tony Walsh  We have collaborated with northern poet Tony Walsh to create this unique short film, ‘Reflecting On The Lakes’. The unique film and poem celebrates what it’s like to live, work and love the National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and will inspire viewers to help us protect and care for this truly special place. The film sets out to shine a light on the real Lake District; celebrating all there is to love about the National Park, and declares: ‘it’s where farming shaped the landscape and where landscape shaped our lives, it’s now honoured by UNESCO with a badge we’ll wear with pride'. ‘Reflecting On The Lakes’, features scenes from across the Lake District which form the backdrop to a passionate piece of poetry written and performed by leading spoken word poet, Tony Walsh.

The first in a new series of coins has been released by the Royal Mint. They represent the letters A-Z. There is a collection card, and you can buy the coins as they are released or hope they turn up in your change... It's called the Great British Coin Hunt. A is the Angel of the North. What landmarks or cultural icons would you choose for your UK A-Z of places and objects? I've used this idea before, and showed some of the designs that are put onto 50p coins, and then provided a blank 50p outline for students to design a coin which represents the landscape of 'The Fens', having spent some time exploring it.

For the last few months I've been working with Tui on some education resources. This has involved some work at KS2 and KS3 level, but my focus has been on the KS2 materials. These have now been made available as  an updated   suite of resources for KS2 pupils , which involves 6 fully resourced sessions.  There is an accent on sustainability, which connects with the company's approach of promoting sustainable tourism. An e-mail is required to download the resource pack , which you should know runs to 274Mb as it includes a range of assets including videos and multimedia, as well as teacher resources to print off. These are fun, and well packaged materials, with nods to social media use, and themes which will be familiar to many young people. The lessons introduce students to a fictional island first, before exploring plastic in the oceans, coral reefs, and the impact of tourism on local communities and people. Say hello to the Better World Detectives, and yo...

‘... to be educated is not to have arrived at a destination, it is to travel with a different view’ (Peters, 1965) Ten years ago, I started working for the Geographical Association , and worked on the team which delivered on the promises in the Action Plan for Geography . One of the outcomes from this was t he GA's 'manifesto' for school geography , which remains influential, and some of the ideas in there are still an important part of shaping the thinking of teachers. It was called 'a different view'. One of the resources that went alongside the pamphlet was a video. There were two versions: long and short, and I made them over a period of months using the Animoto Pro video editing tool. It got its premiere at the GA Conference in 2009. You can still watch the video here: A Different View: Promoting Geography from The Geographical Association on Vimeo . Follow this link to visit the page on the GA's website , which has a whole range of support...

A new blog from Caiti Walter , has launched with an invitation to get involved in a Big Geog Litter Pick. There are some additional tools for the Litter Pick project, which all teachers are invited to get involved with during August. Open up the Survey123 Form that Katie Hall has completed, and you can enter your own findings. #Geographyteacher alert! #TheBigGeogLitterPick2018 is live and happening throughout August! Find out more about how to take part here: https://t.co/V0MdyrZjpi Quick guide - Log your litter picks here: https://t.co/7QlXaHfH6e ? Keep an eye on progress here: https://t.co/FkI2htpqLS — Caiti Walter (@EduCaiti) August 5, 2018 Caiti's blog will share some ideas for sustainable teaching. As she says: I was once told in my PGCE year, “Don’t sit with the moaners in the staff room, find the ‘yes’ people”. This blog aims to be that ‘yes’ person, not by patronising and pretending that all in teaching is rosy, but by simply highlighting the useful, in...

As geographers, we know the value of geography of course, but we need to let more people know this... The Royal Geographical Society has launched a campaign to encourage students to #choosegeography and we can all get involved in supporting it as we move into a new academic year. As it says on the RGS website: There’s no denying it: geographers hold the building blocks to our collective future. That’s why you should choose geography.