Geographical Association

Once the basics are in place, it's time to make effective use of GIS in the classroom. This section gives links to samples of lessons and work sheets that have been used with students. It is important to note that these resources are mostly specific to one item of software, e.g. to Aegis 3, Digital Worlds or to Google Earth. This is because each program has its own format, tools and ways of carrying out its GIS functions, so instructions to students need to be different. The principles of the activities, however, could be transferred to other programs with activities adapted as necessary.

King Edward VI School: Digital Worlds program

This school web site provides several examples of how the Digital Worlds program can be used with KS3 students. There are plans, presentations and all the worksheets needed for the lessons. The students use GIS functions such as measuring tools, layers and a spreadsheet. The resources include lessons on the local area, an introduction to GIS and traffic around the school. 

The Advisory Centre for Computers in Education: Aegis 3 program

This web link is to part of the centre's web site that provides samples of lessons based on the Aegis 3 GIS program. The resources are complete with lesson plans, work sheets and files that open directly in Aegis 3. The samples include topics on: Sports relief: Rio Murder Mystery: Japan: Street crime: Asylum seekers in Europe.

Geography Geek: Aegis 3 program

This site contains samples of work done using Aegis 3 with students in KS2. There are resources that help introduce students to several countries in Africa such as Malawi, Tanzania and Senegal.

Juicy Geography: Google Projects

The Google Projects part of this website provides a set of six topics that can be studied using Google Earth. Details of student activities are provided with guidance on how to use the tools and functions of Google Earth.

ESRI: lessons for ArcView

This site provides ideas for lessons to use with the ArcView GIS program. The lessons have been used in Leeds Grammar School. The samples are from work in geography, biology, history and RE.

Talk the talk: mapping mobile phone masts with GIS

Teaching Geography: Spring 2006, Sarah Watts

This article is free to download by GA members. The article describes work done with Year 8 students using the Aegis 3 program. Mobile phone masts (base stations) were mapped in the students' town and issues discussed about their locations.

Targeting Effective Earthquake Relief in Sumatra - A GIS Decision Making Exercise

This decision-making exercise for KS3-5 is based on a real aid response following a devastating earthquake in Sumatra during 2009. Using photographs and GIS layers, students must locate the best place to safely land helicopter supplies to reach those in the greatest need.

Funded by software producer ESRI and the Ordnance Survey, and made in conjunction with the Geographical Association, this DVD was given to every secondary school in the UK. These clips from the DVD show how GIS is being in used across the age phases at one school.

Peter O'Conner shares with us the benefits of using ESRI's ArcMap in the classroom - and notes that GIS can be used even outside of ICT suite.

Peter O'Conner takes us through introducing the basics of GIS to Year 9s.

After a firm founding at Year 9 and earlier, at GCSE students can begin more complicated analyses and use GIS in their project work. In this clip students show us what they are working on.

Finally- A Level.

<<< Back to Part 3: Building the basics  l  Go to Part 5: Software and online GIS >>>