Geogra3: Deserts, flags, literacy

In this week’s Geogra3 blog I’m sharing the main content of my weekly email to Geography teachers - three Geography related things on deserts, flags and literacy mats.

• Desert dunes “breathe”

Who knew?!  I found this short article in the Geographical fascinating as it describes how imbalances in local air pressure as wind flows over a dune, forces air to go in and out of the sand.  The sand is effectively breathing and helps to sustain microbes deep inside the dunes.  The research could help prevent desertification and ensure stabilisation of dunes to help prevent them covering roads.  If you’d like some classroom-ready resources for teaching about deserts, there are three great lessons inside the GTB vault linked to desert documentaries - the Thar desert, the Arabian desert and Green Planet’s desert world.

• World flags tablecloth

Over on the Eat, Sleep, Doodle website they have some fantastic map-themed products including this great world flags table cloth.  Apart from being a great way to keep the kids entertained at the Christmas dinner table, I think this could also be great for use at open evenings.  Use washable pens and then it can be chucked in the washing machine, ready to use again the following year.  Sign up to their newsletter to get a discount on your first order.

• GCSE literacy mat 

If you don’t already follow @jennnnnn on Twitter, I would highly recommend it!  She also has a pretty great blog here too.  Just recently she re-shared this literacy mat that could help your GCSE students to build their confidence with writing, offering prompts for different command words as well as how to structure longer answers.  

That’s it for this week.  If you’ve enjoyed reading you might like to sign up to my Geogra3 newsletter to get 3 useful Geography things landing in your inbox every week.  Just click this link to subscribe today.

And remember, keep being curious - there’s a whole world out there!

I love nothing more than supporting Geography teachers as we are a pretty awesome bunch.  

So here are five ways that I might be able to help you….

• The FREE question and answer booklet - 15+ Q and A worksheets linked to documentaries 
• The GTB Vault - Classroom-ready powerpoints and worksheets so you never need to feel guilty about showing a video in class again! New pick up and go lesson resources added every month.
• The Geography Teacher Box bookstore - boost your subject knowledge while supporting local independent bookshops
• Tote-ally Geography - A newly created store with tote bags designed specifically for geography teachers.
• Connect with other like-minded Geography teachers and share resources (suitable for teachers of students aged 11-18) - The GTB Facebook Group