Maps, glorious maps

I've always liked a good map.  And I have always liked showing maps to my students, to put the languages they are learning into some kind of context.

Here are some useful links about maps:

• Mapfight is a way of visually comparing the sizes of two different countries.  It's clear to see from Mapfight that Spain is bigger than the UK, rather than smaller, as it looks on the map above.
  
• Some ideas for using maps in the classroom, from Lisa Stevens
  
• All about time zones, from the BBC
  
• If it were my home compares your own country with another, to see how your life might be different, given the different living conditions in that other country.
  
• This map shows you the locations of lots of different live webcams.  The more you zoom in to a certain country, the more webcams there are to choose from.
  
• National Geographic map jigsaw puzzles
  
• Map puzzles from Your Child Learns
  
• When you choose a place on the History Pin map, it will show you photos of that place in the past.  Ideal for a "Then and Now" topic.
  
• With Show Mapping Worlds, all the countries change size from land mass to a new size, depending on their data on a particular subject, such as number of children in primary school, natural disasters or football.
  
• World Mapper works on a similar basis to Show Mapping Worlds.  Click on the green arrows to see your selected map animated.
  
• List of maps with the words in Spanish
  
• Information, lesson ideas and maps all about the Americas, all from National Geographic.
  
• With Place Spotting you can set up quizzes where students have to find a pictured place or landmark on a map.
  
• Have a go at Lizard Point's geography and map-based quizzes.