and more text books

The revised Horizons series written by Tara Fitzharris, a branch member, who spoke to the local branch in January about revision techniques for the Junior and Leaving Certificate.
Horizons is an innovative exam-focused and hugely resourced programme for Leaving Certificate Geography.

It is integrated programme with a variety of resources available for teacher and student. All components are integrated into the teacher's eBook on folensonline. Digital resources on CD-Rom are available to teachers on request.



Not to mention the revised version of Today's World co-written by our former branch Chairperson, Kieran McCarthy.  This is a comprehensive textbook for the Leaving Certificate Geography course suitable for both Higher and Ordinary Level. This textbook covers the three core units of the Leaving Certificate course with full-colour packed with maps, diagrams, photographs, and satellite images; Revised and fully up-to-date student- and teacher-friendly text; Covers the 3 core units, with exam questions at the end of each chapter; Additional key questions are provided to facilitate revision and homework; Up-to-date with the latest statistics and case studies and extensive glossary and new and improved diagram. How do you chose?

Keeping up with the text books.

Exciting new books for Leaving Cert. Geography

A relative paucity of high Leaving Cert. grades – particularly in the ‘A’ categories – has been a worry and an annoyance to Geography teachers in recent years.  This challenge is now being met by Changing World - a welcome and exciting new series of textbooks to be launched in April. Changing World, published by Gill and Macmillan, is the work of well-known author Charles Hayes, (who spoke to the Branch in November) and whose Junior Certificate New Complete Geography is among the most successful Irish Geography texts of all times

Eye in the Sky from National Geographic

Another website worth a look with Natures Fury (Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes and Wildfire); Human Impact (floods and dams, ozone and pollution, deforestation and desertification, and overpopulation); and Human Conflict (refugees and war). This website is from National Geographic.

An interesting view of JC and LC geography using Word Clouds

Check out this wordle for Junior Certificate geography here

....and one here for Leaving Certificate Physical geography...note the emphasis on Processes
...and one for Regional geography here

...and one now for Core 3, the Investigation here

Some population issues

A rather worrying article from the Economist entitled:

Will Africa's population boom end in dividend or disaster?
Click here. 
Another article on the 7 million mark being reached...here.

Fieldwork links

This website from the Field Studies Council in the UK has a useful section on geography fieldwork.

2013 list of topics

1. A study of local traffic patterns.
2. A local environmental issue.
3. Changing land-use in a local area – a study of spatial change and change
   through time.
4. A local demographic study.
5. Test the hypothesis that erosion is an active process in a fluvial or glacial or
   coastal environment.
6. Investigate how geology effects the landscape in a local area.

New website launched

excellent new website launched yesterday for anyone doing a traffic based fieldwork investigation. Also good for those who teach Project Maths...lots of stats and maps.