ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512260046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
TAKE GEOGRAPHY, throw in the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, and what do you have? A way to teach cities, states, rivers and mountains ``in a fun way.''
To learn more geography, Kevin Stephenson keeps up with the National Football League and weekly games.
On Dec. 17, the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants, 21-20, on a last-second field goal.
For Kevin and other fourth-graders at Roanoke Catholic School, there was more to the game than the score, however.
It was a game between the nation's largest city and largest landlocked city.
The schoolchildren learned that New York is seven times larger than Dallas. They sharpened their math skills by calculating the difference in the cities' population.
And their teacher, Kate Campbell, used the football matchup to teach the children how to do geographic research.
The Giants' plane passed over Hot Springs, Ark., on the trip to Dallas. Campbell taught them to use reference materials to find out what causes hot springs to form.
The children also learned about weather and temperature with that day's Miami-Buffalo game. The Dolphins left hot Miami to play in cold Buffalo. The children were told to check out the temperature in the cities on game day.
Campbell said the football geography taps into the children's interest in sports and helps them learn while doing something they enjoy.
It's part of the trend in education to integrate the curriculum - to teach content and skills at the same time.
"They learn geography, states and cities, math, how to use maps and reference sources and other materials while keeping up with football," she said.
"Instead of telling them to turn to page 55 and memorize things, this is a way to teach them things in a fun way."
Fourth-grader Courtney Zimmer said the football geography has helped her learn about rivers, lakes and mountains, in addition to determing the location of states and cities by longitude and latitude.
The Green Bay Packers' plane passed over the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers when the team went to New Orleans for a game. Part of the Roanoke Catholic children's assignment was to determine the state where the rivers come together.
"You learn things besides football. You learn more about the states and cities," Zimmer said.
The children also know the names of many players and stay abreast of unusual plays and controversy.
Myra Bankert has heard that many Dallas fans were angry about coach Barry Switzer's decision a couple of weeks ago to run the ball on fourth down, a move that backfired and led to a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"They were mad at the coach and blamed the loss on him," she said.
Josh Stokes said the children's geography lesson each Monday is based on the Sunday football games.
"We keep up with who won and where they played. We study things about the cities and where the teams traveled," Stokes said.
Before the fourth-graders began their football geography, they learned the states and capitals so they would be familiar with the country.
The Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins appear to be the most popular NFL teams among the children.
Emily Maas likes Dallas running back Emmitt Smith partly because he urges children not to drop out of in school.
"Football players can inspire kids to stay in school. They can influence them," Maas said.
Zimmer likes professional football, but her favorite team is Notre Dame, a university. "It is a good school, and I have a lot of Notre Dame stuff," she said.
The children got to wear the jerseys or shirts of their favorite teams for one day last week as a reward for their hard work and progress in geography. It was special for them because they didn't have to wear their school uniforms.
Josh Baumgartner likes the Redskins despite their losing season this year. He thinks they'll be a winner again.
Baumgartner knows his football. He doesn't choose sides in the Redskins' quarterback controversy between Heath Shuler and Gus Frerotte. But he knows that the Redskins traded away former quarterback Mark Rypien, who now plays for the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins beat Rypien and the Rams on Dec. 17.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Roanoke Catholic School pupils got toby CNBwear the jerseys of their favorite teams last week as a reward for
their hard work. color.