Cartographic Connections: Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps

The University of Texas at Arlington is conducting a project entitled Cartographic Connections: Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps. Funded by a grant from the Houston Endowment, Inc., Cartographic Connections is a three-year, interactive electronic pilot project. Its goal is to connect secondary school students and teachers to a primary source--historic maps of Texas, the Southwest and beyond, dating from the 1500s through the 1900s. Through the use of maps, students gain a better understanding of history and the sources that reveal it. The social studies and other programs in Texas schools can also benefit from the use of these historic maps.

The project involves UTA faculty, library staff, and selected teachers from across the state. The teachers and UTA staff and faculty are identifying curriculum needs and devising strategies that meet those needs through the use of historic maps. The project's objectives include:

• determining curriculum needs in light of local, regional, and statewide requirements
• selecting appropriate maps from among UTA's large collection of historic maps to help meet these needs
• developing strategies and lesson plans to integrate the use of maps into the curriculum
• sharing with other educators the techniques learned in the project
• creating a website that incorporates historic maps, text, and ideas/strategies on how best to use maps in the classroom

The Cartographic Connections website is intended to introduce visitors to the project and to some of the maps on which it is based. For questions or comments about the project, please contact:

Gerald D. Saxon
Director of Libraries
The University of Texas at Arlington
Box 19497
Arlington, Texas 76019-0497
(817) 272-5318 (phone)
(817) 272-5797 (fax)
saxon@uta.edu