National Council for Geographic Education

THE GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
NEW ARTICLE ALERT FROM AN UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE

The upcoming issue of The Geography Teacher is a special issue emphasizing the importance of mapping and map analysis as a gateway to geographic thinking and our sense of place in the world. Each of the contributed articles highlights exemplary work of geography education leaders in one state to design, create, and make available a student atlas. These atlases are often but not always a collection of state maps. In every case they are carefully aligned with state content standards and artfully produced instructional resources.

The Online Atlas of Illinois has been used by educators and students in a variety of grade levels and subject areas for over a decade.

🔓OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE🔓
The Online Atlas of Illinois: Teaching the Geography of the Land of Lincoln
by John C. Kostelnick, Jill Freund Thomas, & Amy M. Bloom

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19338341.2026.2672050

Illinois Geographic Alliance, LLC Illinois Geographical Society Illinois State University

THE GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
NEW ARTICLE ALERT FROM AN UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE

The upcoming issue of The Geography Teacher is a special issue emphasizing the importance of mapping and map analysis as a gateway to geographic thinking and our sense of place in the world. Each of the contributed articles highlights exemplary work of geography education leaders in one state to design, create, and make available a student atlas. These atlases are often but not always a collection of state maps. In every case they are carefully aligned with state content standards and artfully produced instructional resources.

California's student atlas has gone through several iterations and developments, and it's still a printed book that supports 4th grade social studies standards and develops multiple literacies (with regard to text, data, and geography).

The Ongoing Evolution of a State Atlas for California Students
by Thomas Herman

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19338341.2026.2671377

California Geographic Alliance California Department of Education

THE GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
NEW ARTICLE ALERT FROM AN UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE

The upcoming issue of The Geography Teacher is a special issue emphasizing the importance of mapping and map analysis as a gateway to geographic thinking and our sense of place in the world. Each of the contributed articles highlights exemplary work of geography education leaders in one state to design, create, and make available a student atlas. These atlases are often but not always a collection of state maps. In every case they are carefully aligned with state content standards and artfully produced instructional resources.

If you didn't know, Tennessee has a Digital Atlas that is ready to be used in any classroom.

Mapping Our Home: Engaging Students in the Creation of Tennessee’s Digital Atlas
by Mayra A. Román-Rivera

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19338341.2026.2671380

Tennessee Geographic Alliance University of Tennessee, Knoxville

THE GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
NEW ARTICLE ALERT FROM AN UPCOMING SPECIAL ISSUE

The upcoming issue of The Geography Teacher is a special issue emphasizing the importance of mapping and map analysis as a gateway to geographic thinking and our sense of place in the world. Each of the contributed articles highlights exemplary work of geography education leaders in one state to design, create, and make available a student atlas. These atlases are often but not always a collection of state maps. In every case they are carefully aligned with state content standards and artfully produced instructional resources.

To start off, let's celebrate what's been achieved in Michigan!

The Michigan Clickable Map Project, by Philip J. Gersmehl & David A. Johnson

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19338341.2026.2671378

Excited to see how Kimi Waite is contributing to science education and bringing her love for geography along with her. Check out this upcoming event and new book on Science Teaching for Social Justice.

Science Teaching for Social Justice Book Launch and Celebration Join Science Teaching for Social Justice editors for a book launch and celebration! Learn how to center social justice in science classrooms.

Let's use the wayback machine to go to the time when the NCGE President sent a letter on American Association of Geographers letterhead to the President of the American Geographical Society. True inter-organizational respect and support! Thanks for the partnership then and now.

BTW, $100 in 1917 = ~$3,000 in 2026

Source: UW-Milwaukee Special Collections https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/custom/mirador?manifest=https://collections.lib.uwm.edu//iiif/info/agsny/32716/manifest.json

An article to appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geography is now available online!

Geography and Interdisciplinary Research: A Case Study from Singapore

by Tricia Seow, National Institute of Education, Singapore

Geography is widely recognized as a synthesizing discipline that bridges multiple disciplinary areas. This paper examines how and why geography contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations in education research, particularly amidst current trends toward constructivism and inquiry-based learning. Using two case studies from the Singapore context, it illustrates how geographical thinking through concepts and geography’s methodologies strengthened research contributions and partnerships with science and literacy education researchers. The paper also highlights enabling conditions for successful interdisciplinary endeavors like shared epistemic and conceptual frameworks.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221341.2026.2675543

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Geography and Interdisciplinary Research: A Case Study from Singapore Geography is widely recognized as a synthesizing discipline that bridges multiple disciplinary areas. This paper examines how and why geography contributes to interdisciplinary collaborations in ed...

Free and self-paced introduction - perfect starting place for a teacher wanting to use maps in classroom instruction.

Want to use digital maps in your classroom? 🗺️🎒

Explore this FREE, beginner-friendly web course for teachers: "Use a Map for Classroom Instruction."

🔹 ~4 hours, self-paced
🔹 No prior GIS experience needed
🔹 Uses free, login-free web tools
👇https://ow.ly/sW8v50Z9Isu

OPEN ACCESS: An article from an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geography is now available online.

Why Does Geography Matter? The Politics of the Geography Curriculum

by John Morgan

We often are told that ‘Geography matters’. This paper - which comes from the British school of Geography Education, argues for a ‘political theory of the curriculum’ and explores how this might be understood in three national traditions – the UK, New Zealand, and the United States. These cases indicate that the representation of national space in geography teaching is always open to contestation, and that geography teachers are involved in acts of cultural critique. The concluding part of the paper identifies some common features and speculates on the implications for teacher development in geography.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221341.2026.2672300

University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau

Why Does Geography Matter? The Politics of the Geography Curriculum We often are told that ‘Geography matters’. This paper - which comes from the British school of Geography Education, argues for a political theory of the curriculum ‘political theory of the curricu...

OPEN ACCESS: An article from an upcoming issue of The Journal of Geography is now available online.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221341.2026.2667321

Students’ Strategies of Familiarisation with a General-Reference Map of an Unknown Area

By David Trokšiar, Lenka Krajňáková & Martin Hanus
Charles University

This study investigates the strategies used by 20 upper-secondary students to familiarize themselves with an unknown general-reference map. A one-minute familiarization phase during an eye-tracking experiment, followed by a questionnaire, examined how students processed key map elements. Students focused mainly on textual labels, particularly settlement names, while devoting less attention to structural features such as terrain or rivers. They also verified familiar legend symbols, indicating deliberate and controlled attention. Although their behavior showed intentionality, students tended to overlook structural relations within the map, suggesting a need for instructional guidance and more intuitive map design beneficial to both educators and cartographers.

Students’ Strategies of Familiarisation with a General-Reference Map of an Unknown Area This study investigates the strategies used by 20 upper-secondary students to familiarize themselves with an unknown general-reference map. A one-minute familiarization phase during an eye-tracking...