A big geographic idea is something that acts like a cause with predictable effects in different

places. Climate, for example, is a powerful condition – it influences what people wear, what crops they grow, the buildings they construct, how much energy they use, what they do for recreation, and so forth. So, . . . is climate a big geographic idea? It could be, but a map of climate is quite complicated and hard to remember. Fortunately, the climate of a place is actually the effect of several much simpler causes – climate depends mainly on latitude, elevation, and distance from large bodies of water. Each of those, in turn, has other effects in addition to its influence on climate.

This set of materials, developed from the work of Dr. Phil Gersmehl, translated into ready to go activities and resources by Dave Johnson, and maintained by the Michigan Council for the Social studies includes:

An interactive portal for launching and accessing materials.

Student text centered around 11 chapters including every major world region.

Ancillary materials including additional portals on Earth’s Environments, the Nutrient Cycle, Geography and Math connections, location simulations, a simulation on the growing seasons in Michigan, with additional simulations and materials coming.

For more information, see also our Digging Deeper into Geography Video Series!