One-year Geography recommendations?

[profmom]

What do you recommend for a one-year Geography program for my 8th grader? I never had a separate Geography class in high school and am not strong in this area. What do students really need to know? Being able to label countries on blank maps? What about being able to label bodies of water, like rivers, all over the world??

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Above are my questions, and below is our background, what we are currently using, etc. I would appreciate your help!

 

My 8th grader has been using BJU Geography this year, mostly independently (is that the problem?) and really dislikes it. It's also her first time to use a text book in this area (history, etc.) -- we've always used literature-based programs. With the rest of her schedule this year, we decided to try a text book to save time -- actually, we had been using TOG, and she requested a text book because she wanted less history reading. (Always enjoyed the literature books, but not so much history reading.)

 

So...we weren't as consistent in mapping as we should have been with our literature-based history programs, and I chose to focus on a year of Geography in 8th grade to try to make up for that before heading into high school. We're looking at the Classical Track at The Potter's School, and I believe Geography will again be integrated with history.

 

I would appreciate your suggestions!

[Teachin'Mine]

Glencoe has a great world geography text. It combines physical and cultural geography and has lots of great photos and all to make it more interesting than a dry text.

[SonshineLearner]

Hey There :) Whether you like Classical Conversations or not, The Core by Leigh Bortins, has a wonderful bit about Geography. Seriously, it's worth the price of the book. AmazonPrime it and you'll have it the next day or so.. for about $10.00.

To start for Geography, I wanted my daughter to be able to sketch out the entire world from memory. Then, I wanted her to know what each spot was... (Country....etc...) I also would like her to know a bit about each place. How it came to be... ect... The Geography in the Classical Conversations class is very detailed.

Anyway, you don't have to do Classical Conversations (CC) at all, to appreciate the book.

:)

[profmom]

Glencoe has a great world geography text. It combines physical and cultural geography and has lots of great photos and all to make it more interesting than a dry text.

 

Thank you! I'm looking into it!

[profmom]

Hey There :) Whether you like Classical Conversations or not, The Core by Leigh Bortins, has a wonderful bit about Geography. Seriously, it's worth the price of the book. AmazonPrime it and you'll have it the next day or so.. for about $10.00.

To start for Geography, I wanted my daughter to be able to sketch out the entire world from memory. Then, I wanted her to know what each spot was... (Country....etc...) I also would like her to know a bit about each place. How it came to be... ect... The Geography in the Classical Conversations class is very detailed.

Anyway, you don't have to do Classical Conversations (CC) at all, to appreciate the book.

:)

 

I have The Core and skimmed the geography section before posting. It looked like the continents were spread out over several years, but now, reading more closely, I see that she says you can speed up this process with an older child. Drawing the world with all the countries seems more daunting than being able to label blank maps (which my daughter is already not thrilled about -- not that her feelings about learning a subject rule)!

 

What specific plan would you use to cover geography with this method with an 8th grader starting now through May?

[Halcyon]

Hey There :) Whether you like Classical Conversations or not, The Core by Leigh Bortins, has a wonderful bit about Geography. Seriously, it's worth the price of the book. AmazonPrime it and you'll have it the next day or so.. for about $10.00.

To start for Geography, I wanted my daughter to be able to sketch out the entire world from memory. Then, I wanted her to know what each spot was... (Country....etc...) I also would like her to know a bit about each place. How it came to be... ect... The Geography in the Classical Conversations class is very detailed.

Anyway, you don't have to do Classical Conversations (CC) at all, to appreciate the book.

:)

 

 

May i hijack and ask what maps/atlas you are using for this? we've found 8.5 x 11 world maps online to start our "blobbing" but would love resources.

[Guest TheBugsMom]

Around the world in 180 days is a great world geography program. It is also a cultural curriculum too but you can do as much or as little as you like. My oldest used this for Geography and enjoyed it.

https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=13

 

Trail Guide to World Geography is similar and can be used just for the maps work or you can do some of the research/writing assignments. We have used the US Geography one and enjoyed it two ways:as a map only curriculum and also with all the assignments.

http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=6

 

The Ultimate Geography and Timeline book looks real good and is loaded with ideas. I have not used this one yet, but have looked over it and it looks great.

http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=76

[charlotteb]

I am using "Mapping the World by Heart" with my 8th grader and 5th grader this year and we love it! They are also both preparing for the National Geography Bee, so we've been using the daily question on their website as well. And we've also supplemented with www.purposegames.com , which has tons of geography (and other subjects) games.

[profmom]

I am using "Mapping the World by Heart" with my 8th grader and 5th grader this year and we love it! They are also both preparing for the National Geography Bee, so we've been using the daily question on their website as well. And we've also supplemented with www.purposegames.com , which has tons of geography (and other subjects) games.

 

Charlotte, are there clear lesson plans with Mapping the World by Heart? I've read about this one today. What do you like about it?

 

Thanks!

[profmom]

Around the world in 180 days is a great world geography program. It is also a cultural curriculum too but you can do as much or as little as you like. My oldest used this for Geography and enjoyed it.

https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=13

 

Trail Guide to World Geography is similar and can be used just for the maps work or you can do some of the research/writing assignments. We have used the US Geography one and enjoyed it two ways:as a map only curriculum and also with all the assignments.

http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=6

 

The Ultimate Geography and Timeline book looks real good and is loaded with ideas. I have not used this one yet, but have looked over it and it looks great.

http://www.geomatters.com/products/details.asp?ID=76

 

 

 

Thanks! I'll look into these! What do you like about Around the World in 180 days? I'm wanting something that is very easy to use -- we have a lot going on this year, including adding a 3rd student to our schooling.

[Jenstet]

I am not anywhere close to 8th grade so this may not be suitable but I am using this with my second grader.

http://www.visualizeworldgeography.com/

 

He is doing really well with it and takes us about 5-10 minutes a day or so. It is basically only for labeling blank maps, it doesn't include any culture, land features or bodies of water. I purchased the book only. It was $35.

I am learning the countries right along with him:)

[abbeyej]

Charlotte, are there clear lesson plans with Mapping the World by Heart? I've read about this one today. What do you like about it?

 

There really *aren't*. Which is why, personally, I far prefer Ellen J. McHenry's Mapping the World with Art, which also teaches kids to draw the world from memory, but gives step-by-step instructions.

 

For an 8th or 9th grader, I'd ask them to do the mapping as written, then put in additional details from an atlas. I'd also ask them not only to follow along with each map at least twice, I'd ask them to draw the map from memory later in the week and maintain a notebook through the year. But I can't say enough about her mapping lessons, whether one uses the step-by-step drawings or the dvd (included).

[PeterPan]

We're using Around the World in 180 Days this year, and dd likes it a lot. It's uber-simple to implement. I usually just hand her the next two pages and let her research. She finds lots of rabbit trails and enjoys adding her notes to her notebook. (If you knew what a non-writer she is, you would find this stunning.) It has just sort of sparked something in her! It's good but a fuzz light, as-is, for an 8th grader. I would use it with both your 6th and 8th graders and add a writing component. Your 6th grader would enjoy the country report projects book by Michael Gravois. If you can't find it in-print, try Curr-Click or the publisher's website. For the 8th grader, I would let them take those rabbit trails and write some papers you define, either weekly or a larger one for a country from the continent you're studying (multi-week). We just have no time for those things right now, much as I want to, with all our therapy and stuff going. In any case, AW180 is terrific, especially paired with Gravois' book or some writing assignments.

 

The Ellen McHenry mapping would be fine to add onto AW180 as well. We just don't have time. If you don't have time, then get the continent puzzles and global puzzles from Timberdoodle and let the kids race each other once a week. I just read that some kids will mix continents and then try to sort them out and assemble. That would make for a wild game! :)

 

BTW, did you consider the dvd's with the BJU Geo? The samples looked very good. Maybe it would have come more alive that way. Oh well, water under the bridge. Check out AW180. It's everything you need, for a terrific price.

[mathmom]

I am one month away from finishing Trail Guides with my 1st and 4th graders and can't say enough good things about it. It is so well scaffolded that I could use it again in three years and they would get a completely different experience. We supplement with library books on topics of interest and spend a lot of time using Sheppard Software's free online mapping games.

[Julie in MN]

I did geography with my 8th grade ds using My Father's World. Whether or not you use that program, here are a few of the things that I thought were valuable before he entered high school:

 

- recognizing the basics on a blank world map, including many countries as well as some bodies of water, major deserts, areas of rainforest, etc.

 

- being able to easily find and understand references to the rest of the geography that he didn't automatically identify on a blank map, such as the Persian Gulf and Black Sea

 

- becoming familiar with cultural differences in Asia (China, Japan, India, Vietnam, etc.)

 

- making some progress on understanding the variety of peoples in Africa

 

- looking at a lot of population and physical space differences in comparison to the familiar USA (we liked http://www.amazon.com/Geography-Coloring-Book-Wynn-Kapit/dp/0131014722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289890312&sr=8-1 )

 

- reading current events and noticing their connection to geography

 

- getting to know some of the capitals, major cities, cultural landmarks, and unique traditions of the world

 

- just enjoying the world, without historical atrocities (songs, foods, languages, clothing)

[profmom]

I did geography with my 8th grade ds using My Father's World. Whether or not you use that program, here are a few of the things that I thought were valuable before he entered high school:

 

- recognizing the basics on a blank world map, including many countries as well as some bodies of water, major deserts, areas of rainforest, etc.

 

- being able to easily find and understand references to the rest of the geography that he didn't automatically identify on a blank map, such as the Persian Gulf and Black Sea

 

- becoming familiar with cultural differences in Asia (China, Japan, India, Vietnam, etc.)

 

- making some progress on understanding the variety of peoples in Africa

 

- looking at a lot of population and physical space differences in comparison to the familiar USA (we liked http://www.amazon.com/Geography-Coloring-Book-Wynn-Kapit/dp/0131014722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289890312&sr=8-1 )

 

- reading current events and noticing their connection to geography

 

- getting to know some of the capitals, major cities, cultural landmarks, and unique traditions of the world

 

- just enjoying the world, without historical atrocities (songs, foods, languages, clothing)

 

Thanks, Julie!

[profmom]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate your input and ideas! I'm still mulling this over, but I'm thinking of pulling together some things from different sources to cover the topics and memorization that I think are important, without adding lots of extra reading to our already-full schedule. Since my 8th grader has several online classes, I haven't had nearly as much interactive school time with her this year. Since I'm also making some changes to my 6th grader's school work, I've decided to bring him into our new interactive geography class too! We had a good geography time after Bible today. :-)

 

I'm excited but also a little nervous about class being dependent on me. I "still haven't found what I'm looking for" and so I'll need to pull it together myself. I'll be incorporating many of your suggestions as we go!

 

Thanks again!!

[Guest schlickj22]

I was just searching for Geography games and came across this discussion. Sounds like you are all focused more on world geography, but I was just having a lively talk with a colleague about how most adult Americans know less about this country then some younger kids do. He disagreed and thats what led to the search for a geography quiz. I think most 5th graders know more state capitals then most Adults, quite appalling. That purposegames.com was great we found a bunch of games to settle the debate. We also found a couple iPhone apps that were pretty handy as well. We went with "50" it was the newest and is just a simple flashcard game http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/50-us-states-and-capitals/id401846740?mt=8

 

Anyway good to hear parents who are really trying to teach their children about the world, it is something that does not happen enough. Keep it up!

[Julie in MN]

I was just searching for Geography games

 

Our favorite online game is Seterra. It's very basic but really tests your skills. You can do states or countries or many other things. Free download.

 

Julie