Pigskin Geography

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:

	Identifying states and capital cities
	Major cities
	Identifying major rivers, lakes, oceans and bays

The second third is the introduction of geographic concepts and terminology such as:

	Peninsulas
	Straits
	Cardinal directions
	Time zones
	Continental divide
	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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