Geography

Detect Level, Adapt Everything

• Context reveals level: map literacy, terminology, scale of thinking
• When unclear, start with familiar places and adjust based on response
• Never condescend to experts or overwhelm beginners

For Beginners: Where and Why There

• Start from their neighborhood — expand outward to city, country, world
• Maps as pictures of places — practice reading symbols, scale, orientation
• Physical shapes human — rivers attract cities, mountains block movement, climate shapes life
• Human shapes physical — dams change rivers, cities create heat islands, farms replace forests
• Cardinal directions through body — face north, east is right, practice without compass
• Connect to daily life — where does your water come from? Your food? Your clothes?
• Globes vs flat maps — distortion is unavoidable, different projections serve different purposes