‘The Earth is Round or Flat’ Conundrum can be easily solved, by a mere glimpse at a Classroom Globe. Apart from the exquisite joy kids attain by touching it with their fingers and ‘giving it a spin’, a globe is sheer testament to the fact that our Earth, indeed, is round!
Apart from the reinforcing of that elementary truth, the Uses of that Globe are manifold. It’s far from being a mere ‘showpiece’ that might proudly find its way onto a shelf in your living room. Or, for the purposes of this blog piece, the environs of the classroom. In this article you will learn all about the advantages of the Globe that makes for a fun tactile experience for children, every time they find themselves near it.
Ready to find out more about the Globe that’s a common feature in many classrooms? Let’s give it a ‘spin’, and set the ball ‘literally rolling’, with a look at the advantages of the Globe in the classroom!
The Benefits of Incorporating a Globe into your Classroom: Six Advantages to Enhance Learning
There is plenty more that children need to uncover about the Earth, than they already know. Luckily, a Globe in the Classroom can help kids with just that! Presenting the six most important Uses of the Globe, for an enhanced Classroom Learning Experience.
- A Boost to Tactile Learning
- Portraying the Accurate Shape of the Earth
- Helps facilitate the process of learning about unknown parts of the world
- It helps them form Accurate Mental Maps
- They get children to Venture ‘Within’
- An Education Spanning Cultures
When was the first time you set your eyes on a Globe? Undoubtedly, you remember the undiluted sense of joy you derived, every single time you would set it rolling.
When children touch a globe for the very first time, they are embarking on a tactile learning journey that will help them understand the positions of countries in a unique fashion. This ‘three-dimensional view’ of the world they are exposed to as they gently spin the globe round, will help them understand the positions of countries in a way that no two-dimensional map ever could. It provides for a ‘visual representation’ of the Earth, as opposed to the mere ‘lines’ and ‘pictures’ that you see on maps.
It didn’t take Columbus travelling to America, for us to know that the Earth was round, and not flat! In fact, people have known about this from ages past!
That being said, merely possessing the knowledge that the Earth is round, does not mean that you actually ‘believe’ in it. When you actually ‘see’ a visual representation of the Earth spinning on its axis, you understand the concept a good deal better. That’s why a globe is so important for kids. Not only does it ‘show’ them that the earth is round, but they understand concepts like the Earth spinning on its axis, to help reinforce that belief.
Spinning that globe might make for a whale of a time for your children, but this is one Importance of the Globe that cannot be underestimated.
When children spin the globe in the classroom, they must then close their eyes and place their finger on it, when it has come to a standstill. When they see the name of the place their finger has landed on, they should be encouraged to learn more about the place. This is a fun way to get children to learn more about the parts of the Earth, that they erstwhile knew nothing about.
Note: Apart from them discovering about ‘new countries’, globes also help children understand the connections between countries, in a way that they ordinarily would not have, on a ‘flat’ map.
‘God is in the Details’, they say. This is one of the Uses of the Globe, that serves to highlight exactly that!
If your child is looking to aim for a sense of ‘accuracy’ where it comes to forming those ‘mental maps’, there is nothing better for them than to peruse that Globe in the Classroom. Children will find themselves returning to it time and again, to firmly ‘drill’ the locations of the places they are learning about, into their impressionable minds. Apart from other pertinent details like lines of Latitude and Longitude, of course. Even though these are ‘imaginary’ lines, when they are placed on that globe they give kids the feeling that they ‘actually’ exist!
If there is one thing that is important for little children to imbibe when learning about the Earth, it is going ‘deeper’ than the ephemeral. We all know that our planet is a rock that revolves around the Sun, but what exactly lies ‘within’ that rock?
Right from the very first time they touch that globe, children are introduced to the fact that there is plenty more about the earth that there is to know, than simply its ‘surface’. It gets them to brainstorm what might lie inside our planet, leading them to go deeper into the Earth. To discover things like The Mantle, the Outer Core and the Inner Core.
We live in an age where a great deal of significance is given to embracing things like Diversity and Inclusivity. Thanks to that Classroom Globe, children are exposed to these concepts early on.
When there is a globe in the classroom, it is easy to expose kids to a greater sense of cultural awareness. For instance, if there is a disaster of some kind that has taken place in a particular country, the teacher can spin the globe to bring that country into focus, and then talk about what might have transpired.
Note: Teachers can also successfully use globes, to teach children about the importance of forming their very own ‘perspectives.’ For instance, they could be shown two countries that share the same border. Then, you might talk to them about Immigration, and what it means to them from ‘their’ perspective.
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