I was just informed that our proposal to receive a Giant Traveling Map from National Geographic was accepted! Two years ago we had the South America map come to Rhode Island, and last year the Giant Traveling map of Africa came to the Ocean state and many schools found it to be a way to make an event of it. We’ll be receiving the map of North America that comes with an excellent set of resources on how to interactively teach, explore, learn and play with this specific map as a part of your curriculum. This map will soon be coming to Rhode Island; it will be available for schools and teachers to use from March 21st to April 19th.  The Alliance wants to make this accessible to as many RIGEA members as possible. For schools with 4 RIGEA members, this map can be rented for a free of charge for two days (if you are interested in more days, let me know). Remember that it’s free for teachers, administrators and parents to sign up to become RIGEA members—consider this your chance to recruit them for a good cause for your school AND the Alliance. For schools without 4 RIGEA members, they can still rent the map for $200 per day, but I have faith in your recruiting skills.

SCHEDULING THE MAP:

For those interested, please send your request to rigea@ric.edu with the following information

1. Include the subject line “Scheduling Giant Map”
2. Select day(s) on or between March 21-April 19 that you would like to schedule the map with at least two alternative dates.
3. List the names of Alliance members (or future Alliance members) at your school. This can be a “work in progress.”  You can sign them up yourself (with their consent of course).
   
4. The name and address of your school.  
5. Contact information for the person who will be responsible for transporting the map to the subsequent school (phone and email).

The borrowing school must transport the map and trunk to the next school on the list. The map is VERY large (26′ x 35′) and rolled into a 10′ long transportation tube that can transported by a large van with the seats removed or a pick-up truck. Loading and unloading is NOT a one-man job (it’s possible in a pinch, but it’s a serious workout for me).  Please view this video for instructions on how to correctly and efficiently prepare and pack the map for shipping:

Although this is logistically very cumbersome, it is amazing to see students light up while on the map.  Logistically what should you expect? If you have more questions, read here.

NORTH AMERICA GIANT MAP RESOURCES:

The Giant Traveling Map of North America brings geography home in a big way for American students. On this 26’ x 35’ map, students traverse the continent from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to the Panama Canal and from Iceland to Baja. Along the way they use their bodies to represent physical features, go on a westward journey to track population growth, and play an action-packed game of Simon Says. Older students looking for a challenge compare U.S. state carbon dioxide emissions and explore major watersheds of the continent. Like all Giant Traveling Maps, this map comes with a trunk of rich activities, games, props and educational resources.

Activities

Explore the continent with your students using these educationally powerful and fun activities:

Activities Overview
Journey Into North America
Simon Says…Explore!
Let’s Get Physical Features
Cardinal Capture
People on the Move
A Tale of Twenty Cities
To What Degree?
A Watershed Moment
Color Me Green
Additional Activities