David Smith, author of If the World Were a Village and If America Were a Village, travels the globe sharing his enthusiastic and innovative approach to teaching and learning about our world community.  On October 19 starting at 6:30, he will host an evening of discussion about geography, its place in the curriculum and our lives, and how to make it easy and fun to learn.

Smith was a middle school teacher in Cambridge, MA when he got the idea to help his students visualize the world as a village of 100 people.  Scaling the discussion of global population so 1% represents one individual makes facts and figures about the world more concrete and understandable for kids (and adults). 

Smith's latest book, If America Were a Village, takes a similar leap to represent statistics about the United States. It's a powerful and fascinating book, and a very interesting study not just in geography but also psychology...  When we picture economic data as applying to individuals, there is an immediacy to the discussion that I just don't get from bar graphs and  pie charts.

Whether you're an educator, a parent, or a volunteer who works with students, this should be a fun and educational event.

For more informationabout David Smith and his work, please click on this link to a USAToday article about him: 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-09-02-america-village_N.htm

This event is free and open to all. 

Teachers who plan on using these books in the classroom will get the standard 20% teacher discount off purchases.