How to use illustrated books in your geography lessons
“Illustrated books captivate the imagination of the child and draw them into a unique perspective of the world. ”
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An Anthology of Extraordinary Earth
In this series about geography, we have looked at how living books and story books can enhance your geography lessons. Now we’ll take a look at the unique value of illustrated books, which are perfect companions to literature-based geography resources. They offer visual reinforcement that engages both the intellect and the imagination. Illustrated books captivate the imagination of the child and draw them into a unique perspective of the world. A beautiful and detailed illustration speaks to the creative spark within the child and they will pause longer and engage deeper with their geography lesson.
Whether it’s sweeping landscape photography of rice fields in China, or carefully drawn and annotated illustrations of the Great Barrier Reef, these images help students picture the places they’re reading about. They serve as springboards for discussions, narrations, and creative activities like making illustrated notebooking pages inspired by the book.
Cultivate the power of observation
Illustrations serve to cultivate a child’s power of attention and observation. In a book such as “Atlas of Adventures: Wonders of the World” which has richly illustrated spreads of some of the world’s most stunning features, you can ask children to spend 5 minutes of close attention to “notice as much as they can” and then invite a group discussion where everyone can share something they found interesting. Through the act of looking closely at the illustrations, you are training the brain how to pay attention, and children assimilate knowledge with more ease. With these formal “notice what you can” invitations, children will begin looking at all their schoolbooks with more attention.
“A beautiful and detailed illustration speaks to the creative spark within the child and they will pause longer and engage deeper with their geography lesson.”
The value of photography books for geography lessons
Publishers like DK have some incredible photograph-based geography resources such as “Earth: The Definitive Visual Guide” and “Natural Wonders of the World.” Here the children can vividly see places and landform features in full color from all over the world. But rather than being a mere consumer of a photograph, once seen then immediately forgotten, we can train children to use their intellect and imagination to participate in what they are seeing. Ask children to look closely at a photograph and then tell all they can about it. You can give them prompts beforehand to aid in their powers of observation. “Look closely at the photograph and see if you can identify the landform and how it was formed. Then see if you can notice unique features of the flora and fauna.”
How to choose illustrated books for your geography lessons
There are so many illustrated and photography-based books available for the study of geography, it can feel overwhelming to know which are the best to choose to use in your geography lessons. Here is a guide to help you pick ones that will inspire your students. Take a look at a few pages and ask yourself these three simple questions:
Are the illustrations and diagrams skillfully rendered with attention to detail – i.e, can the child learn more about the topic through the details the artist has drawn? Some books have very oversimplified or abstract style which although add color and interest to a page, does little to help “teach” the topic of geography.
Does the photography have a good use of details, color and perspective – i.e., will the child feel drawn to the subject matter through lovely lighting and perspective and details that lights up the imagination?
Is the text and annotations descriptive – i.e., does any text accompanying the illustrations serve to help the child understand the topic, think about it in detail and invite discussion?
Let’s take a look at some of two excellent illustrated geography books:
Atlas of Adventures: Wonders of the World
Grades 1-6
This large format book is a breathtaking visual feast, taking readers on a journey around the world to visit some of the most majestic and interesting landscapes and man-made features across the globe. The exquisitely detailed illustrations are accompanied by interesting text, and take the reader on an adventure to nearly 30 of the major wonders around the world.
Creative Ideas for lessons: Use these spreads as a basis for class discussion or “look and tell,” where students spend 10 minutes carefully looking at the illustrations drawings then take turns to tell al they notice. You can also ask students to use these as inspiration for their own illustrated notebooking page, or an oral presentation.
Anthology of Our Extraordinary Earth
Grades 3-5
This unique book combines visually striking photography, illustrations and conversational text to tell the story of over 100 of the world's most interesting geographic features, in a way that sparks wonder and curiosity. Discover intriguing and fascinating landforms and landscapes within the 5 sections: land, water, air, landscapes and Planet Earth.
Creative Ideas for lessons: Use each spread as inspiration for illustrated notebooking pages or an oral narration, and as a springboard for further discussion and research.
Using Illustrated books in the classroom
In the classroom environment, if you have access to a document camera, you can project images from a book for the entire class to look at on a large screen. You can ask students to take turns reading if there are annotations or paragraphs to accompany the illustrations and photographs. The teacher can use the page as a spring board for classroom discussion of the main themes and ideas.
If you don’t have access to a document camera, students can take turns in small groups with the illustrated books and discuss the pages together, and take notes to narrate to the class what they discovered. Each child can be asked to find 1-3 parts to talk about. If you have similar books on the same topic, each small group can be given a different book to examine. After this, the teacher can discuss the main themes and ideas with the class.
Using illustrated books in the homeschool
Homeschools offer a unique environment for the enjoyment of illustrated books. One-on-one or in a small family group, children can gather around with a parent to pour over the illustrations, discussing together all the parts of interest. With small children, the parent can read aloud to the child, stopping to examine the illustrations and cultivate the child’s power of observation. “oh, look – this is such a wonderful mountain scene. What do you see at the base of the mountain?”
The parent can then ask the child to narrate the main points of what they learned or found most interesting. With older students, illustrated books also be given as independent reading, and then the child can create an illustrated notebooking page, write an informative essay or give a narration on what they learned.
How can I create a geography curriculum using illustrated books?
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