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Have you seen/used DK Geography of the World (full of statistics, facts, etc--along w/ maps, of course)

 

or World Geography (Teacher Created Materials) (mapping, activities, focus on topography, it looks like) ? :bigear:

 

I want to make geography a separate focus (for 5th grade, but maybe throughout the logic stage). We've done the maps in SOTW AG (all of them, I think), so the kids have a decent grasp of very limited areas, if that makes sense. I'd like to have them look at things a) more broadly, in perspective, etc, & b) w/ a greater focus on the natural resources, topography, etc.

 

I've looked at other threads on geography, & I just can't decide which way to go. It would be a 1-4 yr course. Haha--that's not too broad, eh?

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Aubrey, I have the DK book. It is a decent basic resource, but nothing that would know your socks off. If you want to take a couple of years, I have two possible options for you. You can use the Trail Guide to Geography and the accompanying notebook CD or you could do what the Great Books curriculum does and focus on a particular area each year and utilize National Geographic's CD collection of all their issues over the past 100 years. We don't utilize the National Geographic all the time but it can really add a different layer of information. Don't forget to play Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego just for fun.

 

I have no idea if this will help but at least you can explore.

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I have the World Geography book and was using it with my 12yo this year. It has lots of worksheets and some information sheets. I had hoped that it would provide a jumping off point and stimulate ds's interest. He could do a page on highest mountains in Africa and then look up some of the countries, find pictures of the mountains, etc. Ds did the pages without complaint, but it didn't really stir any interest for him. I've just switched him to the McDougal Littell World Cultures and Geography.

 

World Geography would be useful as a supplement or starting off point, but not as a whole course imo.

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For my 5th grader, I'm using the World Geography as part of an overview of world culture and geography (basically political geography, but includes some physical). We're taking a continent at a time and plan to finish it over this year. We've done South America and now moving onto North/Central America (she started Spanish this year, so I wanted to start with the highest concentration of Spanish-speaking countries). I'm including lots of travel videos from Netflix and our library.

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Aubrey, I have the DK book. It is a decent basic resource, but nothing that would know your socks off. If you want to take a couple of years, I have two possible options for you. You can use the Trail Guide to Geography and the accompanying notebook CD or you could do what the Great Books curriculum does and focus on a particular area each year and utilize National Geographic's CD collection of all their issues over the past 100 years. We don't utilize the National Geographic all the time but it can really add a different layer of information. Don't forget to play Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego just for fun.

 

I have no idea if this will help but at least you can explore.

 

I have the Usborne book, & I can't stand it, so the sample of the DK looks *nice.*

 

TGG--I saw it mentioned in another thread, & I looked at the site, but it made my eyes glaze over.

 

Oh! We got the Carmen Sandiego game when ds was 4, I think, & for some reason he LOVED it, but he couldn't actually play, so it was worse torture for dh & me than Candy Land! :lol: But I bet it'd be fun now. Heheheeh

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I have the World Geography book and was using it with my 12yo this year. It has lots of worksheets and some information sheets. I had hoped that it would provide a jumping off point and stimulate ds's interest. He could do a page on highest mountains in Africa and then look up some of the countries, find pictures of the mountains, etc. Ds did the pages without complaint, but it didn't really stir any interest for him. I've just switched him to the McDougal Littell World Cultures and Geography.

 

World Geography would be useful as a supplement or starting off point, but not as a whole course imo.

 

Oh, bummer. That's the one I was most interested in. I'd imagined using it as a guide for me to plan stuff--I tend to think too big, though. So the samples had me imagining a wall-sized painting of the world that the kids add to as they learn. Deserts? Cut out big pieces of sandpaper & glue them on. Mountains? We'd be shaping foam or gluing fabric & stuffing it w/ something. Really nutso.

 

And then I thought, what if the continents were actually fabric & they velcroed onto the wall, so you could take them off & look at them closer, one at a time?

 

I thought the book sounded GREAT, lol, but maybe that's just my imagination running away w/ me? :001_huh:

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What are you looking for exactly?

 

Political geography, physical geography or cartography?

 

The next question is world geography or US geography?

 

Physical geography, & world. If we do it for more than 1 yr, it will morph into political geography as history develops. :001_smile:

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We have the DK Geography book. It is basic, general information. I tried to use the Trail Guide one year and it felt too fragmented for us. I would have been better off having ds simply go through the DK book as a spine.

 

Yeah, I was hoping the DK book would just be a good general reference, some pics, etc. The meat of what I was imagining was from the Teacher Created book, w/ the goal being to show how/why civilizations developed when/where they did. (We'll be restarting ancients.)

 

I really need to look harder at the Trail Guide, but wow. That website makes me want to cry. :lol:

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There are alot of geography threads on the board at the moment! This seems like the best place to ask my question:

 

In the various geography threads I have found recommendations for two programs that look great.

 

"Mapping the world with Art by Mchenry"

 

This program looks really great, the recipes are a great addition because my kids love to eat historical foods. The sample chapters look fun and the program is very affordable.

 

My concerns are the lack of detailed world maps and the history parts. We are Catholic and I would hate to come across anti-Catholic sentiments in a "fun" program. Does anyone know if they avoid those issues?

 

The other program was:

 

"Visualize World Geography"

 

This program looks very good for country memorization. My concerns are the price, the lack of sample lessons on the website, and does it really work? Also what are the workbooks like? What is the procedure of a typical lesson? It sounds good but for the price there isn't alot of detailed info on the website.

 

 

So how do the two programs compare? Has anyone used them? I will be choosing one to use as a combined subject next year with a 7th & 8th grader. We are also doing combined history program using a spine and timeline construction, so anything that compliments that is a bonus. I really want a program that will help my kids locate countries on a map. The cultural elements will be covered in history. Any advice?

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Ok, promise not to laugh.

 

I went to a library book sale a week or two ago. I actually *have* the DK book. :001_huh:

 

And, um, I just looked at my list of geography books on Library Thing. :001_huh: If I just had a tm to tie them all together...

 

But really, I even have one called something like World Geography Mysteries. And, um, apparently a couple of atlases from the library sale, too. :001_huh:

 

Thank goodness for LT. :lol: (No laughing!)

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Ok, promise not to laugh.

 

I went to a library book sale a week or two ago. I actually *have* the DK book. :001_huh:

 

And, um, I just looked at my list of geography books on Library Thing. :001_huh: If I just had a tm to tie them all together...

 

 

:lol::lol::lol: Okay that is too hilarious. I'm not laughing at you...I'm laughing with you. I try to buy two copies of some books and this year I picked up a copy of Alice's Adventure in Wonderland for cheap. Came home and already had two copies of that book. I pulled from all three because they were different editions.

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:lol::lol::lol: Okay that is too hilarious. I'm not laughing at you...I'm laughing with you. I try to buy two copies of some books and this year I picked up a copy of Alice's Adventure in Wonderland for cheap. Came home and already had two copies of that book. I pulled from all three because they were different editions.

 

If only it were only 3 copies.... :leaving:

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Can you elaborate on this?

 

It has virtually no geography in it. Mostly cultural info, but not like an encyclopedia where you can *expect* certain basics. As thick as it is, it lacks most of what I'd consider basic--political geography, physical geography, & the cultural stuff is not evenly dispersed, so that if you *want* to know something, there's little guarantee it will be there.

 

To me, it reads like somebody's been smoking something & then wants to sing, "We are the world."

 

But it's part of a matching set, so I'm loathe to get rid of it. :glare: (It came w/ my starter kit when I was selling Usborne, & it's one of the few Usb titles I've really loathed: it has the unique ability to disappoint *repeatedly.*)

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Oh, bummer. That's the one I was most interested in. I'd imagined using it as a guide for me to plan stuff--I tend to think too big, though. So the samples had me imagining a wall-sized painting of the world that the kids add to as they learn. Deserts? Cut out big pieces of sandpaper & glue them on. Mountains? We'd be shaping foam or gluing fabric & stuffing it w/ something. Really nutso.

 

And then I thought, what if the continents were actually fabric & they velcroed onto the wall, so you could take them off & look at them closer, one at a time?

 

I thought the book sounded GREAT, lol, but maybe that's just my imagination running away w/ me? :001_huh:

 

Well, you could certainly use it as a starting point. You have some great ideas. Can I bring my kids over there for geography? ;)

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Aubrey, I forgot about The Enchantment of the World series. My ds loved these in 5th grade. They have geography, history, politics, economics, and culture. You can get them from the library or buy them for pennies on alibris from the same seller to save on shipping.

 

I got a bunch of these at the library sale, too. They were $10/box. :svengo:

 

Thanks for the reminder, though. ;) :lol:

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Well, you could certainly use it as a starting point. You have some great ideas. Can I bring my kids over there for geography? ;)

 

Ooooh. If you all came over, I might actually *do* geography. :lol: (It's not a subject I have high hopes of having follow-through on. Sadly.)

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Now it's your chance to laugh at me. I just went back to the Amazon link for the DK book, thinking, "Maybe I should get that book to add to our geography studies. I'll just check their sample pages." And it is the exact DK book that I already have, but with a different cover. :lol:

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Now it's your chance to laugh at me. I just went back to the Amazon link for the DK book, thinking, "Maybe I should get that book to add to our geography studies. I'll just check their sample pages." And it is the exact DK book that I already have, but with a different cover. :lol:

 

Mine doesn't even have a different cover. But I'm going w/ the defense, "I've been sick ever since I bought it..." :001_huh:

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Physical geography, & world. If we do it for more than 1 yr, it will morph into political geography as history develops. :001_smile:

 

 

I've always done the Trail Guides to Geography with the kids. They work at multiple levels so that helps.

 

I've also done the National Geographic Map Essentials books. I think they have a single volume that covers 6-8 and one for every grade prior. That is a good basis to cartography and the basics.

 

This spring we are going to be doing Runkle's Geography. I think that will be a mix of earth science and physical geography. You might take a look at it-I'd comment more but since we haven't actually done it that would be unfair. Looks promising though. If you were willing to expand on it you could take a year or two to finish. Especially if it were combined with earth science.

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Geez, Aubrey. Now I am really fuddled. I gave you a list of spines with links but I guess that would be on that other thread you posted this question on. #14 Could I have just copied and pasted that here? Would the links have worked?

 

Oh, I'm sorry I fuddled you! I posted the question over there, & then figured it was already too buried to get a response & started a new one, but I *did* see the links you listed, & I've been reading through them. :o

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you ALL for the descriptions, opinions, links, insights! (And I've even read some threads that are a couple of yrs old, & a lot of you guys were helpful on those, too!)

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I agree that if you end up doing a full blown geography study, then the Enchantment of the World books would be terrific to use as spines for really thorough studies.

 

If you want some mapping resources to use alongside different time periods of history, this workbook has a lot of maps from the Ancient and Medieval worlds, as well as a couple that are early modern:

 

http://www.amazon.com/World-Map-Skills-Grade-6/dp/0880129352

 

It includes quite a few extension activity ideas, too. There's also a 3-4 level book and a grade 5 book, but I haven't seen those, so don't know what they include....

 

RRC has these workbooks by continent:

 

http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1290570823-1138503&subject=14&category=4653

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I meant to also add What the World Eats:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582462461/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1580086810&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0WAMMT5PPJ8QMAXZFX0K

 

...which details families from around the world with a month's worth of all the types of foods they would normally eat (I think it's a month, anyway).... It's amazing to see the differences....

 

And Material World, which shows typical possessions of families from around the world:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300

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I meant to also add What the World Eats:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582462461/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1580086810&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0WAMMT5PPJ8QMAXZFX0K

 

...which details families from around the world with a month's worth of all the types of foods they would normally eat (I think it's a month, anyway).... It's amazing to see the differences....

 

And Material World, which shows typical possessions of families from around the world:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Material-World-Global-Family-Portrait/dp/0871564300

 

We enjoyed both of these books. We also used Children Just Like Me.

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You can use the Trail Guide to Geography and the accompanying notebook CD or you could do what the Great Books curriculum does and focus on a particular area each year and utilize National Geographic's CD collection of all their issues over the past 100 years. We don't utilize the National Geographic all the time but it can really add a different layer of information. Don't forget to play Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego just for fun.

 

I have no idea if this will help but at least you can explore.

 

 

What is the Great Books Curriculum?

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We study geography considering the 5 themes of geography. This free resource is wonderful.

http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright05/Husiak_EcuadorWow.pdf (story)

 

http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright05/Husiak_FiveThemes.pdf (lesson plan)

 

We also used this book http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Themes-Geography-Middle-Grades/dp/0867345713

 

Then we started to look at each theme individually. We got as far as location last year and will continue this year. You can study any country using this format and in fact there are several books based on the idea that I drooled over but never purchased. See here

 

http://www.flipkart.com/exploring-chile-five-themes-geography-book-140422677x

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We study geography considering the 5 themes of geography. This free resource is wonderful.

http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright05/Husiak_EcuadorWow.pdf (story)

 

http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright05/Husiak_FiveThemes.pdf (lesson plan)

 

We also used this book http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Themes-Geography-Middle-Grades/dp/0867345713

 

Then we started to look at each theme individually. We got as far as location last year and will continue this year. You can study any country using this format and in fact there are several books based on the idea that I drooled over but never purchased. See here

 

http://www.flipkart.com/exploring-chile-five-themes-geography-book-140422677x

 

Wow!! That is just fabulous!! If only there were stories and lesson plans for the Eastern Hemisphere. Thanks for sharing. :001_smile:

 

Is Teaching the Five Themes of Geography filled with worksheets to go with any country?

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Wow!! That is just fabulous!! If only there were stories and lesson plans for the Eastern Hemisphere. Thanks for sharing. :001_smile:

 

Is Teaching the Five Themes of Geography filled with worksheets to go with any country?

 

Lisa, most decent geography programs will cover the Five Themes of Geography and then incorporate those themes throughout the studies. When I taught art literacy, my favorite units looked at not a particular artist, but a particular country. Kids really had to work at making connections and figuring out how a country's geography could have an impact on its artistic output. Kids need to see that geography affects art, economy, politics, and numerous other disciplines.

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I started using Knowledge Quest's Globalmania this year http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/globalmaniaBLB.htm

which uses the game Seterra http://www.wartoft.nu/software/seterra/(among others). It focuses mainly on learning the physical locations of the countries. We've kind of broken off from Globalmania and focused mainly on using Seterra, which my kids love. It's free, and it's not an online game, so you don't have to worry about internet speed and things like that, plus it saves all of their scores. I like to play it, too. :001_smile:

 

So far, they've been getting a lot of the cultural information from their history reading, (I try to coordinate what they're learning in geography to what they're studying in history). We also love Children Just Like Me, which they regularly read on their own time.

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Lisa, most decent geography programs will cover the Five Themes of Geography and then incorporate those themes throughout the studies. When I taught art literacy, my favorite units looked at not a particular artist, but a particular country. Kids really had to work at making connections and figuring out how a country's geography could have an impact on its artistic output. Kids need to see that geography affects art, economy, politics, and numerous other disciplines.

 

Thanks Lisa. Between your link and my research after her post, I am starting to catch on!

 

I did like cschnee's links. The Ecuador lesson plans were thorough and interesting. And the workbook, Teaching The Five Themes of Geography, may have some nice pages for enabling the kids to see those connections between the five themes. I wish I could see samples.

 

I am compiling my resources for our World Cultures study. There are so many! I got many of the books used and I'm starting to fine-tune the syllabus you gave me. Thank you. ;)

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The book Teaching the Five Themes of Geography doesn't have worksheets, we're not a worksheet kind of family, it has activities. I'll try to explain some of them here. Location: 1. The Human Grid - this activity uses kids at their desks, but we used our Beanie babies. You look at different BB with respect to others, in other words, relative location 2. That is Absoluetly Right - You have to find places in an atlas or on a globe using only the coordinates (absolute location), 3. Places Everyone! - Given a famous place, you have to find it in an atlas and give its coordinates. Place: 1. Why is this place famous? Research to see if a place is famous beacause of its physical or human characteristics 2. Geography terms booklet - making a booklet of landforms 3. topo quest - id physical forms by applying geography terms to a fictional map drawing. Does this give you a better idea? We actually used a different book, EMC 0840 Hands-on Geology for most of the Place ideas. We made a huge landscape out of clay with mtns, buttes, mesas, rivers etc...The EMC Daily Geography books are all based on the 5 themes and are quite good if you want worksheets. Most of the activities in those are based on US maps.

 

Cindy

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