PREPARATION OF THE SCHOOL GEOGRAPHICAL ATLAS OF JARI, STATE OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BASED ON COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIES

Abstract

This study explores resignifying the relationship between basic education students and maps, highlighting the current trend in cartography towards the production of spatial information. There is a need for democratic and collaborative cartography in geography teaching. The objective was to develop school geographic atlases of the municipality of Jari, state of Rio Grande do Sul, using a collaborative approach. Basic education elementary school students, with the support of undergraduate students, participated in two workshops to produce the atlases. The maps address socioeconomic, population, and physical aspects, complemented with photographs and models. Validation was carried out through questionnaires applied to elementary school students, producers, and readers of the maps. Elementary school students had prior knowledge about the municipality but faced difficulties in relating geographic concepts to reality. Throughout the workshops, through collaborative debates, most students went beyond mere location, making correlations between information. Using diverse resources and playful materials was crucial for understanding the concepts and expanding spatial knowledge. Both map producers and readers reported a significant increase in knowledge about the municipality through the developed atlases.