‘How to Read like a Geographer’ – Strategies to Improve Reading in the Geography Classroom (PP)

‘How to Read like a Geographer’ – Strategies to Improve Reading in the Geography Classroom (PP)

Date:       Monday 31 January 2022
Time:       7 - 8 pm 
Venue:    Online via Zoom

The act of reading is extremely complex but because it is processed by our brains in a millisecond, we sometimes take it for granted as a simple act. Reading fluency is foundational for successful teaching across all subjects. However, ‘reading like a geographer’ poses significant problems for our students. When reading geographic informative text, we must consider what vocabulary and background knowledge a students will need to access the text. Additionally, students need to be able to apply an analytical perspective to the text. This means that they need to look at the subject from a range of viewpoints; political, environmental, social & economic. Furthermore, students will also need to be able to seek out trends and patterns with these viewpoints in mind.

This webinar will provide teachers with practical strategies to help students understand a wide range of geographic texts with technical vocabulary & high density of facts by guiding them to identify patterns & structures of the text.

Bio of Presenter: Lee O' Donnell

Lee O’ Donnell is a teacher of Geography & History at Woodbrook College in Wicklow. Geography Methodology Lecturer at University College Dublin. LC History content creator for Exam Revision. Host of the Leaving Certificate revision podcast ‘Skin in the Game’.