Pata Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Can you guys help me brainstorm this? I'd like to do a basic overview of geography with my dd before we go into our state study next year. I'm thinking of making a mini-book or a lapbook over several months that hits on the major topics for both world and US geography. I don't want to use a separate curriculum or do anything major as we use our world map weekly when doing our SOTW readings. I just feel that she needs to see the broad scope of the world as well. So far I've thought about addressing these topics... continents oceans other bodies of water (ie. Black Sea, Nile River and so on) mountain ranges longitude and latitude time zones for US-the division of the states (ie. mid-west, mid-atlantic and so on) Are they any others you can think of? TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 We use the Rand McNally Beginner's Atlas and Beginner's Geography and Map Activities books. I think they are just what you are looking for! You could just do the Geography & Map Activities on its own. The activities are quick, engaging, and cover everything you listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 I looked at those, but I don't really have the funds to send it over here right now :). I'm trying to put something together on my own instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 Bump, anybody else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeJM Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 How about the little workbooks by Evan Moor called Daily Geography Practice, or another similar one. Rainbow Resource has several to choose from. MFW Countries and Cultures has some great books on geography that you could probably borrow from your library, one of my favorites was "Geography from A to Z." Very colorful and engaging. Sounds like you might want to just put your own thing together, though, maybe that way you would get just what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I'm using the Discovering the World of Geography series from Carson-Dellosa. You can see their table of contents here, here, and here. That should give you a good idea of topics to cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elw_miller Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) Consider also including: natural resources of particular areas--everything from forests to oil to diamonds, etc. land forms (fjords, peninsulas, etc.) When I was in 6th grade, I had to make a 3D depiction of different land formations on a 1 foot square tile, using 10 different formations. It had to be painted to look like the formations we'd molded. We had to discuss why we placed the desert to the right of the mountains instead of on the other side nearer the ocean, for instance. I'm not sure what the material was that we used. It was white and it could be molded. It may have just been a dense flour and water mixture??? In any case I loved this project. main exports and attractions, perhaps (coffee, teak, electronics, skiing, etc.) maybe a little of geology--the whys of island chains and mountain ranges state/national birds, flowers, religions, etc. In 4th grade I enjoyed coloring maps of Arkansas and Maine. I had to draw them myself, draw the state bird and other items of interest, and mark the capitol. Then I had to present my states to my classmates. Had to do something similar in 6th grade with several countries of my choice: Israel (my mom had been there and had lots of stuff on it) and Ireland (because I'd always wanted to go). Some of this is a bit tangential, but might be interesting to include anyhow. The info could lead to an interesting segue into history and current events. Edited October 8, 2009 by elw_miller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Here's a link to a site that reviews state standards for 2nd grade. You have to scroll down to get to the geography standards, but there are links to activities. You can also use the arrows pointing left and right to change grade levels. This is a really awesome site for any subject. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_2nd_social.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 We use Evan-Moor for basic geography and terms. If shipping is a problem, you can download the e-books to your computer and just print out the sheets you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Thanks guys, these are great ideas! Now the nitty gritty work of putting them together :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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