The�United States�GeoHistory�Diagram
History-Geography Project
Michigan Geographic Alliance
New York Geographic Alliance
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The�United States�GeoHistoGram
A graphic device
that takes advantage
of the human brain’s
natural tendency
to organize information
in a space/time framework
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Rationale for the GHG
The more engaging we make�our “educational experiences” –
websites, games, field trips,
songs, videos, plays, etc.
(it’s, like, life-changing!!)
the more crucial it is�to help students�put information�into context..
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This is the basic form
of the GeoHistoGram –
a big box.
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Space goes across the diagram,
from the west on the le.
Space goes across the box,
from west on the left
to east on the right.
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Time goes up the side,
from the distant past on the bottom
to the present at the top.
Time goes up the side,
from the distant past on the bottom
to the present at the top . . .
like rock layers in geology,
or artifacts in archaeology.
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The scale has more “space”
between recent decades.
GEEK NOTE
�The scale is logarithmic
to match what research says
about how the brain processes
space, time, and quantity.
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The top bar is divided
Into five major regions
GEEK NOTE
�As before, the design
is based on recent research
in cognitive neuroscience.
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The top bar is divided
Into five major regions
An optional map
tells you what states
are in each region
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A basic graphic
uses color to show
roughly how “important”
each region was
at various times
in the past.
“Importance”
is defined as
a combination
of population,
wealth, and
political clout.
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You could debate
whether the widths
are drawn correctly.
It’s just a framework
for adding other information.
GEEK NOTE
�The brain encodes new information
in two ways:
- general (“absolute”) within the box,
- relative to other features.
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For example,
you could note
that Jamestowne
was the first
European settlement
in the “South”
The brain encodes that “fact”
- in the bottom right corner
- near the tip of a purple blob
It is dual encoding,
in parallel, at the same time,
using different brain networks
with individual differences (!)
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These words show
where some nations
already existed
across the continent.
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The symbols and names
now show when and where
“settlement” happened
in each major region.
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Removing names
can turn the diagram
into an assessment
at any time.
Santa Fe is . . . .
- the second one (relative)
- in the lower left corner (“absolute”)
- about the same time as ďż˝ Jamestown (Aha!)
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A few major events
had significant impact
on regional wealth
and political influence.
The NW Ordinance
opened the lake states.
Louisiana
Purchase
Gold
Rush
Civil
War
Dust
Bowl
Oil
embargo
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At any time,
students can add
almost any kind
of information.
For example,
“dollar diplomacy”
------------
For example,
“dollar diplomacy”
------------
A policy supported
by Eastern banks
and Midwestern
farms and factories.
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At any time,
students can add
almost any kind
of information.
Barb
wire
Cotton
gin
Frederick
Douglass
Henry
Ford
Al
Capone
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Here is an example
of a student activity
using the GeoHistoGram:
noting the time and place
of some important books.
What else was happening
in other places at the same time
(or later in that place)?
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Other activity topics:
Inventions
Explorers
Migrations
Strikes and protests
Environmental “incidents”
Presidential homes
Symbolic buildings
Documents
Etc. etc. etc.
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For example,
a blank GeoHistoGram
can be a good basis
for an examination
of immigration
through time.
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Northern
Europe
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Northern
Europe
Spain
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Northern
Europe
Africa
Spain
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
Africa
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
China
Africa
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
China
Scandinavia
Germany
Africa
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
China
Scandinavia
Germany
Eastern
Europe
Africa
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
China
Scandinavia
Germany
Eastern
Europe
Russia
Africa
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Northern
Europe
Spain
Ireland
China
Scandinavia
Germany
Eastern
Europe
Russia
Mexico
Africa
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In a world history class,
students can investigate
what was happening
in those world regions
at those times.
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In American History,
students can investigate
the influence of specific
acts of Congress.
Homestead
Act
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Students can also
put key events
in their own
family history
on the diagram.
My grandmother
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They can add
specific facts
that are important
in the local community –
these fit Detroit.
Lebanese
Iraqi
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Or you can remove
the names and make
it into a review quiz.
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The same diagram
can also be used
to look at internal migration.
This is a
boll weevil
It swept across the South
in the early 1900s.
Here,
its time and place
are marked on the
GeoHistoGram
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About the same time,
Ford started building cars.
Here is
that time and place
on the GeoHistoGram.
That triggered
a mass migration –
from the South,
but also from Europe.
Students could mark it
with some arrows.
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World War I ended.
Soldiers came home.
Companies hired
the returning vets - - -
and fired the people
who had just moved
from eastern Europe
and the South.
That helped set the stage
for the Great Depression.
Students could mark it
with a big dark bar.
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The Depression
was especially severe
on the Great Plains,
because it happened
at the same time
as the Dust Bowl.
That triggered
another great migration –
to the West Coast,
and rural to urban everywhere.
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Putting these events
on the GeoHistoGram
gives a clear visual image
of how they fit together
in time and place.
It’s not the only tool,
or even the main one.
It’s just an aid
to support the text,
documents, videos, photos, maps, etc.
you already use.
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One last example –
here is the first
group of Presidents
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and the second
group of Presidents
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and the third
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It’s another way to show
the westward trend.
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You could, of course,
have chosen to show
party affiliation as you
placed the symbols.
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You could, of course,
have chosen to show
party affiliation as you
placed the symbols.
You can show
just about anything
as long as it happened
in a specific place
at a specific time.
That’s, like,
the whole point !
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SUMMARY
A geo-history diagram like this is a
brain-friendly way to organize knowledge.
Another good use is as a method
of reviewing (e.g., “test-prep”).
It is valuable to use it briefly in other lessons,
to help put them in context.
It can serve as the basis
for some hands-on student activities.
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rationale
Remember the Rationale:
The more engaging/memorable�the website, field trip, video,
song, simulation, play, etc. is,
the more important it is�to help students�put new information�into context.
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The Geo-History Diagram
will be available
in 8-1/2x11 color pages,
11x17 color desk mats,
bulletin-board posters,
reproducible masters,
and an interactive
electronic “laboratory”
suitable for projection.
Please contact the
Michigan Geographical Alliance
for more information.
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