Here is a complete lesson looking at the changing demographics of Virginia and how Geo-Spatial thinking can help policy makers anticipate the future needs of their communities.
VA GeoSpatial Lesson NOTE: Change the file extension to .zip in order to open this folder properly
Additional Resources to complete the mid-term election assignment
The 2010 Mid-Term Election Assignment Sheet
2010 mid-term election forcast map
Labor Statistics for February 2008
Labor Statistics for February 2010
You can use this worksheet as a warm-up in your classroom.Map analysis sheet
From the UVA Geospatial Portal. A Geo-referenced image of the classic Battle of York Town map.
ArcLessons: This is a resource developed by ESRI that has a searchable/browseable database of lesson plans for the classroom.
USGS Educational Resources: This is not a list of complete lesson plans as much as it is a resource for identifying which services the USGS offers can be used in the classroom.
Regional Layers: Low Tech Geographic Information Systems This is a single lesson plan, hosted by National Geographic and written by a teacher from Virginia. It is an example of how to introduce the idea of GIS without having to first address the steep learning curve ArcMap demands.
The following are starting point for finding useful data sets for GIS assignments.
Fairfax County GIS and Mapping: Ffx. Co. offers applications, shapefiles, and maps for download and without cost. Examples of applications are the crime mapper that shows incidents by geographic location. Shape files include census tract data, elementary, middle, and high school attendance areas. The maps are both historical and current maps of the county.
CIA World Factbook: The world fact book offers downloadable .txt files of all of its country comparison data. This data can then be geo-coded in ArcMap. Students can compare debt, energy consumption, and military expenditures by region, country, etc.
The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS): This has aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000. You need to register, but it is not difficult and without cost. Most importantly is that this data is visualized via the Social Explorer.
Social Explorer: This is a very nice resource that allows for the creation, using a very simple interface, of census data driven maps that can be animated over time. There is a cost for the professional subscription. I have requested that information.
Gapminder: Gapminder is not a pure GIS application, however, it is a very powerful tool to demonstrate major geographic and social trends over the course of years, decades, centuries and even millenia. The videos are of Hans Rosling, who makes lecture topics like comparing the birth rate per thousand to life expectancy exciting and fun.
Wiki-leaks Afghan War Diary: This database of Classified information was leaked not only in document form but also in GIS form via a Google Earth and Google Maps. It appears that every document has a corresponding geographic location.
Top Secret America: The Washington Post reporters stated that this was the first in-depth investigation that began after the Post merged the on-line newsroom with the digital newsroom. It contains a map that identifies every confirmed location for top-secret activity in the United States and Europe.
NYT Mid-term Election Maps: These are maps of how the New York Times is predicting the outcome of the 2010 mid-term election Map for the House and the Senate.
NYT Oil in the Gulf: A map showing the extent of the Gulf Oil Spill over time.
NYT Sugar Hill: A map of Harlem to show the interactions between members of the Harlem Renaissance. Good example a historical or cultural GIS application.
BLS Unemployment Statistics: The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes massive amounts of data in both tabular and geographic form. If the data can only be found in tabular form, then you could always import that data into a ARCMap. Using their unemployment statistics and the Mid-term election map, I created this lesson plan.
Montgomery County Easement Locator Tool: This is an example of how Montgomery County is using citizens to identify easement violations with GIS.
Votebuilder and Turf Cutter: Used by the DNC in the 2008 election. This software gave Democratic candidates a technological advantage in that election. I cannot find too much information on this application, but I did find this article.
ESRI Free Resources: These free resources from ESRI included Geo-locators, base maps, and data sets all for use with ESRI products.
NGA GEOnet Names Server (GNS):
David Rumsey Maps: These are historical maps that have been placed onto a GIS globe. They come with some interactive features.
British Historical Maps: This site hosts historical maps of Britain. There are some lesson plans.
The China Historical Geographic Information System, is a database of populated places and historical administrative units for the period of Chinese history between 221 BCE and 1911 CE. It uses an older interface and requires registration.
