The World Cup Teaches Geography

Few of its organizers probably were considering how The World Cup can be used to teache geography when they set about planning this grand event. Still for those who like to multi task and who have a concern for increasing the world awareness of children the opportunity to make use of a captivated audience to expand global understanding is just about irresistible. Beginning with the first match between South Africa and Mexico there are plenty of chances to really concentrate, if only briefly, on worldwide geography and cultures.

Using your family or school computer or just a basic world atlas, the children in your care can have fun responding to questions like those listed below. Properly used these questions are more like an international geography scavenger hunt than a school lesson. Your enthusiastic encouragement and participation can add to the enjoyment of responding to these questions and to a fuller understanding of all that is really taking place at the World Cup.

Before or after each of the World Cup games they plan to watch let your kids work alone, in pairs or with you to answer some or all of these questions about the two teams involved.

1. On what continent is each team located ? Do they live near us or very far away?

2. Find one river, one sea, one mountain range and the nearest ocean to each of the teams playing in this match.
How many of these places have you heard of before and how many are brand new?

3. If you were on one or the other of these teams what countries would you call your neighbors? Do you know if these neighbors are friendly or not?

4. If you played for one of these two teams what language would you speak? Do you know any words in that language? Do you know any other countries that use that language?

5. If you played for one of these two teams what money would you use? Have you ever seen this kind of money before? What kind of money will all the World Cup players be using while they are in South Africa?

6. What are the capital cities in the countries that these two teams represent? Have you ever visited them? Do you know anyone who has visited them? Have you ever seen pictures of them? Can you find pictures of these capital cities on line or in an atlas? Do they look like places you might like to visit?

7. What do you think would be the most interesting sites to see in the two countries represented in this match?

8. When you think about the players on these two teams do you imagine that they represent a poor country or a rich country.? Why?

9. Do you think the lives of people in the countries represented in this match are like us or unlike us? In what ways?

10. Would you like to visit one or both of these countries? Why or why not.

There is a lot of flag waving and national pride demonstrated at the World Cup. But the enthusiasm that such world competition brings need not be turned into nasty brawls. There is positive energy here that can be turned towards enriching our understanding and the understanding of our children for the global community of which we all are a part. In fact I plan to make it my GOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!