World Map #3

One project that many volunteers around the world do with their schools and communities is the World Map Project. This is espeically useful in Thailand because when Thai students learn geography, they are very rarely taught using maps. So, I've done three world map projects during my time here. I just completed the third one at a rural school about 20 Km from my house. The English teacher there is a wonderful lady and one of my good friends.

We started the map on Friday night. I went out to the school about 6:30. We had to start in the dark because to "draw" the map, we used a projector. Because the map is outside, the projector didn't show up during the day. Thus, I went at night - to trace the map in the dark.

The students trace the map projected on the wall.

AJ Dtree (the teacher) arranged for 4th through 6th grade students to come both Friday night and Saturday morning to work on the map. We traced the whole thing on Friday and spent Saturday doing touch ups and then painting.

After we had all the countries there, I put dots o color

in each one to let the students know what color to paint them.

Dirty job, but someone's got to do it!

The painting starts with the Americas and Africa.

Moving on to Asia. (Europe still had a couple countries missing!)

Europe, here we go!

(This was before the Norweigens filled the entire Norweigen Sea with sand

and extended their country down to Denmark and Estonia!)

After a few touch ups, refilling the Great Lakes, Norweigen sea and the Caspian Sea, rebuilding the Galapagos Islands and giving Lesuthu and Swasiland independence once again, we were finished!

The finished world map.

With the students and AJ Dtree after we finished.

These projects are fun and useful, but I like to joke that I came here to change the world and certainly do every time I work with students on a world map! Long live the study of Geography!!