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Pigskin Geography uses National Football League (NFL) teams and
Monday newspapers to give students in grades 5 - 12 a practical
understanding of the concepts of geography.
The three-part program runs for 15 weeks, a regular football season.
Weekly quizzes give students practice in research and the excitement of
answering geography questions in football-related disguises.
The first third of the program focuses on:
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Identifying states and capital cities |
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Major cities |
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Identifying major rivers, lakes, oceans and bays |
The second third is the introduction of geographic concepts and
terminology such as:
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Peninsulas |
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Straits |
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Cardinal directions |
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Time zones |
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Continental divide |
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Transcontinental flights |
The final third of the program concentrates on interstate highways,
watersheds, calculation of mileage and other concepts.
Students also have the opportunity to simulate a float down the
Erie Canal, settle the west via the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails and be
a drover on the Chisholm Trail.
In addition there are charts and graphs to plot seating capacity of
stadiums, the yards rushed, the yards thrown as well as touchdowns and
game scores for each team. Special math and language arts activities
related to geography and football can be used as research projects and
extra credit.
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