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Showing posts from August, 2014

Geography Review Magazine

Geography Review magazine is one of the most useful resources that 6th form geographers (and GCSE students who want to push themselves) can have access to. It was started by my undergraduate tutor Tim Burt , his wife and colleagues back in 1986 , just after I finished my degree, and just before I started teaching in 1988. I was a subscriber from the start, and have used articles and ideas in my teaching ever since. I have paper copies of the first 15 volumes or so, and since then the school copies have taken over, and more recently, some electronic support materials to increase the usefulness of each issue. For example, check the extras for the September 2014 issue here.   Also the other recent issues. The magazine has now moved to Manchester , from Durham University, and has a new editorial board. There are the usual experienced authors writing for the magazine, and there's always something of interest in every issue. The first issue from the new team is now out. Details

Tors

Click for biggery... Tor taken last week on Dartmoor Characteristic of granite landscapes

Norfolk coast from the Air

Some great images from Ian Ward of the Norfolk coast taken from the air... Particularly like this one of Wells next the Sea - coming soon to a coastal resource near you... Copyright: Ian Ward - and used here with permission...

Limestone landscapes

Working on a resource today for Digimap for Colleges , which launches later in the year. One aspect of it is the identification of limestone landscapes... How would you identify limestone landscapes on an OS map ? Image: Val Vannet

Blood swept lands and seas of Red

Yesterday, I visited the Tower of London , after a meeting in London earlier in the day. I wanted to see  'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' , the installation of poppies which is slowly filling the dry 'moat' at the Tower of London... Each poppy represents a casualty of the First World War, and when it is finally finished, there will be 888,246 of them. I have already pre-ordered mine, as a momento of an amazing artwork... and to support the related charities and the work that they do. This is an example of a place that is being 're-made' with the addition of a (temporary) art work. I've also been to other places that have been (re)presented in this way, such as the beach at Crosby, where Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place ' was installed (originally for a short time, but now permanently...) Where else is art changing the landscape, or the way that people view a building ? There are some obvious places of course... Images: Al

Sailing through the Scottish Highlands - a new project now live

In 1844, Hugh Miller : a geologist and preacher (amongst many other skills and abilities) embarked on a voyage through some of the islands of the Hebrides.  He was a self-taught geologist, writer and editor of a key Edinburgh newspaper in the lead up to the tectonic changes in the Scottish church that culminated in the Disruption of 1843. Miller was one of Scotland’s outstanding geologists, one of the first of many Scottish ‘citizen scientists’ and stands beside the greats of Hutton, Lyell and Murchison. The Cruise of the Betsey took place the year after the Disruption, when 450 ministers broke away from the Established Church. Miller joined his boyhood friend the Rev Swanson, a keen supporter of the Disruption, who had been removed from his Small Isles parish and his manse on Eigg. Swanson used the Betsey as his ‘floating manse’ so that he was still able to serve his parishioners. The cruise was to visit Tobermory, Eigg, Rum, Glenelg and Isle Ornsay on Skye. Miller’s accounts re

New resource on Sand Dunes

Thanks to Emily from Millgate House Education  for getting in touch about a new resource they have produced. It makes use of Concept Cartoons , which have previously been used for teaching a range of subjects, but this is the first time they have been used to teach Geography.  Concept Cartoons have been used successfully in classrooms internationally to teach maths, English and science.  We have recently started producing bespoke sets of Concept Cartoons focusing on smaller subject areas. Concept Cartoons encourage students to discuss their ideas in a real life context and often lead into individual or group investigations. They are particularly valuable for highlighting common misconceptions in learning. This new resource was developed to support students undertaking fieldwork on Talacre dunes   in North Wales, but is now being made more widely available... You can download a sample of the resource from the website to see whether it looks like it might be useful for the pu