Intro. to Global Geography & Cultures

We were working on the fantasy map project. What I did first is to make sure the shape of my island. We were learning about some map knowledge before this map project started. We've already learned about what type of maps there are. Some maps focus on the the height of the land, we call it topography. We studied maps types on the video task and I remembered it faster than handwriting homework. This project connected to our PBL project which we focused on "SDG15 - life on land", we had to do research about species that live on the land, so we also have to know what type of biome we have right now on this earth. This project also connected to our previous class - Science. We were working on eco-house project and we had to decide whether we're gonna build our eco-house. After I finished choosing my location, I had to work on the species, weakness about the location, and what can we do to stregnth tis. These are all familiar to geography. My design is to make an special island with a peninsula in the lower left area. The second thing is to cut the island into four pieces, I drew physical, special purpose, topography, and political four parts. What I've learned from the process is to be accurate. Map is not some creative product but something that has to be correct, so I had to make sure that every datas make sense on my map. I learned how to draw the latitude and longitude. One mistake I made was I forgot that there's only 90 degree in longitude and the latitude is only 180 degree. I found out this mistake and sticked a blank onto my map and rewrite both latitude and longitude. This project helps me to really understand not only what is latitude and longitude but also how to read it and determine the correct location on the map which is a really important technique while reading the map. My friend told me that my map is beautiful but the land is too big, so if I have any future project that really related to map design, I would make the size smaller to make sense. I think my project can still be improved in 3 parts : the data's logic, the physical terrain design, and the population. I think the data about the land is really illogical. I think next time I will have to consider more about the fact but not only using information. Second is the terrain design. I have to consider more about where the mountain is and where the river start make sense but not decide where I think looks beautiful. The third thing is I have to also calculate about the population on the land. This terrain is huge, but the people are too few. So I will calculate the population that make sense the next time. The next time, I want to finish this project in class. Because I thought that I don't have marker at home, but I found out that I am also too slow and not motivated enough to do work, so next time I had to remember to be active and finish my work fast.

I think my project can still be improved in three specific areas. First, I need to make my symbols and labels more accurate instead of marking a general or unclear location. This will make my map easier to understand and more accurate. Second, for the climate zones, I should not only consider temperature but also humidity. Climate is not decided by temperature alone. This will make the biome distribution more realistic. Third, I need to improve the latitude, longitude, and scale of my map. My continent was too large, so next time I will make the scale more reasonable to better match real-world geography. When I was creating this map, I designed it based on latitude and longitude lines. I planned the climate zones according to latitude. Tropical regions at the top, temperate regions in the middle, and polar regions at the bottom. This helped me make the map more logical instead of just designing it randomly. During this process, I learned how important it is to make geographic information accurate and meaningful. I also made a mistake during the process. I placed the tornado area in the wrong location. Later, I realized that tornadoes are more likely to occur near coastal areas with specific climate conditions, so I corrected it. This helped me understand that natural disasters are not random, but related to geographic conditions. Through creating this map, I learned how different physical features are interconnected, such as how mountains affect climate and how rivers shape human settlement. I also developed skills in spatial thinking, map design, and geographic reasoning. These skills will help me in future studies, especially in subjects like geography, environmental science, and history, where understanding land and resources is important. This experience improved my ability to plan and organize complex projects. This project connects to other classwork I have done, such as my studies in environmental science and previous geography lessons about biomes and climate systems. It also relates to my PBL project, where I had to think about how environments affect human societies. Furthermore, it builds on earlier lessons about map reading and interpreting geographic data. In terms of my work habits, I realized that I need to spend more time planning before starting my work. I sometimes rushed into drawing without fully thinking through the logic of the map. In the future, I will create a rough draft and check geographic accuracy before finalizing my work. I also incorporated feedback from my classmates, who suggested that my map needed clearer labels and a more detailed legend. Based on this feedback, I improved the clarity of my symbols and added more explanations to make the map easier to understand. Finally, my design was inspired by real-world geographic knowledge, especially how regions like South America have mountain ranges such as the Andes that influence climate and settlement patterns.

During this semester, I learned many important skills from the Atlas Project. The most difficult map for me to make was the physical map because I had to carefully think about different biomes, climate areas, mountains, rivers, and how different landforms connect to each other. I also had to think about latitude and longitude in order to organize tropical, temperate, and polar regions logically. This made the map more realistic instead of randomly placing different climate areas on the map. The easiest map for me was the political map because it was easier to decide the borders and locations of cities. Through this project, I learned how important is to make geographic information accurate and meaningful. I also learned that landforms, climate, and natural resources are all connected to each other and can affect human settlement and development.

I think my project can still be improved in at least three areas. First, I need to improve the accuracy of my labels and symbols because some locations were too general or unclear. Second, I need to improve the scale and proportions of my continent because some areas were unrealistically large. Third, I want to improve my planning and organization skills. Sometimes I started drawing before fully thinking through the geographic logic of the map. If I could do this project again, I would create a rough draft first, spend more time checking geographic accuracy, and use color more effectively to make the map easier to understand. During the project, one of my classmates told me that some of my labels were difficult to read and that my legend needed more detail. Because of this feedback, I reorganized several labels, added more spacing, and improved the explanations in my legend to make the final product clearer.

This project also connected to many other assignments. It reminded me of our geography lessons about biomes, climate systems, and map reading because I apply those concepts while creating my Atlas Project. It also connected to our class discussions and research activities about how landforms and climate affect human settlement. This project is also related to my PBL project because it required us to do research, planning, and analyze how environments influence people and societies (SDGs). It also connected to math class because I needed to use scale, proportions, latitude, and longitude accurately. Through creating this map, I developed skills in spatial thinking, geographic reasoning, and project organization, which will help me in future subjects like geography, environmental science, and history.