 | October 2010 Newsletter
| | Geography Awareness Week is less than one month away, and I am ecstatic to report a number of new developments just in time for the big event. First and foremost, the Geography Awareness Week website is up and running! Visit GeographyAwarenessWeek.org for activities, games, tips and multimedia to learn about, read about, interact with, protect, and host an event about FRESHWATER! Check out the blog for news about additional projects, including local Geography Awareness Week events. And don't forget to tell us in the poll what you are most excited about!
—Sarah Jane Caban, My Wonderful World editor |  | | | Halloween Harvesttime | |  Halloween Harvesttime
It's the peak of the fall season, which means it's time to take advantage of flamboyant foliage and hearty harvests in many parts of the United States—and of course it's time for Halloween! Here are some tips, for making the most of the season, geographically.
Forage for Foliage
Although New England is famous for having some of the most magnificent foliage, vibrant orange, red, yellow, and brown hues can be spotted all over the country. Check out this interactive map from The Weather Channel that shows stages of foliage in nine different regions. Ehow.com also offers a simple guide for viewing fall foliage. Ever wonder why leaves turn different colors in the fall? An expert from the National Arboretum explains the science of color in autumn leaves.
Host a Harvest Feast
Celebrate the bountiful harvest by picking your own apples, pumpkins, and other seasonal foods. Epicurious.com offers an interactive map of seasonal produce across the United States to help get you started. Select a month and a region to find out what's fresh near you, and get recipes and tips. Find a local pick-your-own apple orchard or a pumpkin festival and then put all those apples and pumpkins to use! Visit the blog for some of our favorite recipes.
Happy Halloween!
Do you know the history behind the Halloween holiday? It's pretty shocking! Visit the History.com Halloween page for videos, photos, games, and fun projects. Why not dress up like a famous explorer this year, such as George Mallory, who climbed Mount Everest? | | | | | Campaign Ticker | |  |  | | Reader Poll |  | | | Editor's Pick |  | New Ocean Portal
Okay, I know we're focused on freshwater for Geography Awareness Week this year, but National Geographic's new ocean portal is too cool to miss. As a pescetarian (fish-eating vegetarian) and longtime public-awareness campaign advocate, my top picks are the Seafood Decision Guide and the I Am the Ocean campaign. | | | | | | |  |  Introducing GeographyAwarenessWeek.org
Explore freshwater, one of the most critical issues of the 21st century, November 14–20, 2010. National Geographic and partners invite families, teachers, and students to visit the GeographyAwarenessWeek.org website for games, activities, and lessons about freshwater.
Try your hand at a water footprint calculator to determine how much water your family uses—and find ways to conserve. Teachers can access a wealth of lesson plans about fresh water, including featured activities for use with new National Geographic Mapmaker Kits. Educators and parents alike will find valuable lists of recommended books and films, as well as crossword puzzles and other family-friendly games.
The GeographyAwarenessWeek.org website also features free downloads of National Geographic digital edition (April 2010, Water: Our Thirsty World), opportunities to participate in a blog-a-thon, a "Where's that Water?" quiz, and tips for how to host a local Geography Awareness Week event, such a freshwater trivia night or 3.7-mile walk for water. | | |  | | |  |  Fall Geography Events
It's been a busy fall for geography educators! Last month we gathered for the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) annual conference, the largest conference for K–12 geography educators in the nation, held in Savannah, Georgia. Next month, many of us will travel west to the National Council for Social Studies conference in Denver, Colorado—just in time for Geography Awareness Week.
Speaking of Geography Awareness Week, National Geographic Education hosted a training/pep rally for our GAWeek coordinators at the NCGE conference. We were excited to hear about the ambitious activities they have been planning. More than 100 of these grassroots coordinators will host local events across the country throughout the month of November. Contact your state's geographic alliance to find out what's going on in your area and how you can participate. | | |  | | |  |  Geography Awareness Week Website
This is the LAST CALL to register for the Geography Awareness Week Blog-a-thon. If you would like to participate, email Sarah Jane (scaban@ngs.org) by the end of this week, October 24. Submit a post about anything related to geography or freshwater: Share a lesson plan or field trip idea, post a favorite photo, or show how geography connects to popular culture or everyday life. We'll accept entries 250–1,000 words long with at least one image, relevant citations, and a brief biography about the author. Log onto the blog for more specifics about the submission process and requirements.
While you're at it, check out another one of our favorite blogs, Cycle for Water, and follow two men as they ride bicycles from Alaska to Argentina on a quest to raise awareness about the global water crisis.
And don't forget to visit the Geography Awareness Week website, which is jam-packed with resources you need to prepare for the exciting event less than a month away! | | |  | | |  | Hot This Month | | | | Special Offer on National Geographic Interactive |  Teachers, share the amazing discoveries and experiences of National Geographic with your students with the digital version of National Geographic magazine. With our special discounted rate for educators, we welcome you to use the October issue in your classroom to teach about the Gulf oil spill, marine life, Jane Goodall's legacy, and much more. For lesson ideas click here. Discount valid until October 31. | | | | Hands-On Explorer Challenge |  Don't forget to remind your kids that they can enter for a chance to win a spot on the 2011 National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Expedition to the Cayman Islands! Enter by December 1, 2010. For details and contest rules, visit the contest website. | | | | So You Wanna Be a DogEared Blogger |  Do your students love to read books and discuss them with their friends? They they'll want to enter the National Geographic Kids So You Wanna Be a DogEared Blogger contest to become one of our three new bloggers in our online book community. Kids read a book, write a review, and send in the review with an entry form. Get all the details and read the rules here. | | | | Great Migrations Education Initiative |  National Geographic Channel is proud to present Great Migrations, a seven-part global programming event that takes viewers around the world on the journeys that millions of animals undertake to ensure the survival of their species. To support the series, National Geographic has developed an online curriculum, and will host a virtual assembly with one of the film's cinematographers on October 27. Click here to learn more. | | | | Geography Awareness Week 2010 | |  | | | Pick a book to start reading now so you can host a freshwater book club during Geography Awareness Week. Click here to download our freshwater booklist. | | | | Procter & Gamble Find Your Footprint Contest |  | | Come up with an idea how your school could save water, reduce waste, or save energy, and enter for a chance to win a grand prize of five Promethean technology-enabled learning environments, plus $1,000 of National Geographic products and 30 subscriptions to National Geographic Kids. Learn more about your environmental footprint and how you can make a difference at the P & G Future Friendly Find Your Footprint contest website. | | | | | |
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