Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Making Sense of Place: Sarah’s Story

  • Published:
Early Childhood Education Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Written from the vantage point of both a mother and teacher educator, the author recounts the journey taken by Sarah, her 4-year old daughter, as she is introduced to and explores map making as a means of representing and making sense of familiar and unfamiliar places. Offering Sarah’s experience as context, the author offers both a practical and theoretical discussion of children’s emerging geographic literacy, its relationship to identity development and the importance of understanding children’s experience and socio-emotional development to inform pedagogy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Carolyn Galizio is a preschool teacher at the Kent State University Child Development Center in Kent, Ohio. Her name and affiliation are printed here with her permission.

References

  • Bednarz, S. W., Acheson, G., Bednarz, R. S. (2006). Maps and map learning in social studies. Social Education, 70(7), 398–404, 432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geography for Life National Geography Standards (1994). Downloaded from http://www2.hawaii.edu/hga. Accessed 5 June 2007.

  • Keeling, D. J. (2003). Global ignorance—Geographic illiteracy. Echo (Online magazine published by Western Kentucky University).

  • National Council for Geographic Education (1994). Geography for life: National geography standards. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society Committee on Research and Exploration.

  • National Council for Geographic Education (2006). The power of geography. Position statement. Retrieved from http://ncge.net/geography/power/family/page1.cfm. Accessed 5 June 2007.

  • National Council for the Social Studies (1994). Expectations of excellence: Curriculum standards for social studies. Silver Spring, MD: National Council for the Social Studies.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Early Childhood Education, Kent State University, 404E White Hall, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Jennifer H. James

Authors
  1. Jennifer H. James
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer H. James.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

James, J.H. Making Sense of Place: Sarah’s Story. Early Childhood Educ J 35, 413–418 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0219-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0219-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation