A Study Of Designing And Teaching The "Activities" In The New Geography Textbooks For Middle School

Geography Curriculum Standard for Full-time Compulsory Education wasissued by the Ministry of National Education in July, 2001. Corresponding with theStandard, the Ministry of National Education has approved three sets of newgeography textbooks for middle school. According to the curriculum plan drawn byShanghai Primary and Middle School Curriculum and Teaching Material ReformCommittee and Shanghai Geography Curriculum Standard for Middle School, anotherset of new geography textbook for middle school has been approved and issued inShanghai. The common feature of the new geography textbooks is strengthening the"activities".This paper has studied the "activities"in these new geography textbooks. It hasanalyzed the connotation and function of the activities. The activities system is one ofthe surface layer of geography textbooks, matching with the text system and theillustrations system.It has studied the principles of designing the activities in geography textbooksfor middle school and analyzed the features of domestic and overseas correspondentgeography textbooks. A questionnaire on the new geography textbooks has beencarried out among teachers and students of middle school in Shanghai. Based on thetheoretical and practical studies, it discloses some problems of the activities in thenew geography textbooks.Furthermore, this paper has studied the teaching ideas, teaching methods andevaluation principles of the activities. It suggests that different teaching methodsshould be suitable for different activities and the activities should be carried outthrough cooperative learning and self-study. This paper is expected to provide somereferences for geography teachers.