awtl Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 I have continually put it off, but I really want to buckle down and really study history in depth. World history and American history. I keep wondering if I should take geography first. I took geography in school and loved it and did very well, and although that was a long time ago, I still remember much of it. I have a physical geography course, and I am wondering if I should do that first, or just go straight into history. I keep feeling like I should do the geography first. I know all of the countries, and a lot of major cities, etc. but the part about climate and physical features kind of got lost on me. What would you all suggest? Would you try to study physical geography first, or just go straight into world history? I really want to make this a serious study. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 You could integrate your geography studies into your history studies. The history of a country is often partly determined by its (physical) geography. For instance, the reasons Greece and Rome developed quite differently are partly because of their very different geographical features. You could work with a lot of maps during your history; that way, you would learn about the geography of each region you study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraQ Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'd go for the Geography course first -- as you said, it will greatly enhance your later history studies to have a strong grounding in geography first, whereas I don't think you would necessarily take as great of a benefit into the geography course from taking the history course first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awtl Posted January 2, 2011 Author Share Posted January 2, 2011 The history of a country is often partly determined by its (physical) geography. For instance, the reasons Greece and Rome developed quite differently are partly because of their very different geographical features. Thank you. This is what I needed to know. If I took the history first, I wouldn't go back and do the geography. It's really a matter of either doing geography, then (or in conjunction with) history, or just not doing the geography at all. Thank you both. It does look like I need to study geography as well...even though the physical geography look incredibly boring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'm currently approaching geography through the 5 themes approach and integrating it into my SOW studies of the Bible and as I read the newspaper. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs/learning/NIE/Geography.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awtl Posted January 4, 2011 Author Share Posted January 4, 2011 Thank you Hunter. That was a great link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 It does look like I need to study geography as well...even though the physical geography look incredibly boring! What do you find boring about physical geography? Maybe you just need to find a better resource that makes it more exciting? To me, physical geography was always more interesting than memorizing the countries. There is a lot of Earth Science in physical geography, you get to learn about cool things like glaciers, volcanoes, mountains. I always liked that you don't have to just memorize (as you have to for countries/capitals etc)- there are actually reasons for the development of a particular landscape in a particular region, and theories for the development of landforms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 It does look like I need to study geography as well...even though the physical geography look incredibly boring! Physical geography is not nearly so boring while the history is running around on top of it. Incorporate it into your history studies. The physical structure of the Alps isn't hugely meaningful without some point of reference. If you're reading about an army crossing over, and looking at the physical map to determine the most sensible path, it's a heck of a lot more exciting. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awtl Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 What do you find boring about physical geography? Maybe you just need to find a better resource that makes it more exciting?To me, physical geography was always more interesting than memorizing the countries. There is a lot of Earth Science in physical geography, you get to learn about cool things like glaciers, volcanoes, mountains. I always liked that you don't have to just memorize (as you have to for countries/capitals etc)- there are actually reasons for the development of a particular landscape in a particular region, and theories for the development of landforms. The problem might be that I never took earth science in school. My knowledge is very limited there. I do have trouble following the physical geography course that I have because I don't understand some of the terminology. Maybe that's why it's boring. I do think I need to incorporate the geography into the history study, that's a good idea. I'm afraid I might also have to study earth science now! So much to learn and so little time...sigh! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 The problem might be that I never took earth science in school. My knowledge is very limited there. I do have trouble following the physical geography course that I have because I don't understand some of the terminology. Maybe that's why it's boring. I do think I need to incorporate the geography into the history study, that's a good idea. I'm afraid I might also have to study earth science now! So much to learn and so little time...sigh! :001_smile: Don't be afraid- Earth science is not a big deal - at least not at the level you need to understand physical geography. You don't have to study college level geology, some nice Middle school or Jr high level text should be plenty. A lot is common sense - and it is cool to find out how the earth works. I just did that with my 11 y/o. As for terminology: what kinds of terminology do you mean? I can't think of complicated words to describe natural features. If any, there can't be terribly many; your book should have a glossary, so you can just look them up. You might like to use some documentaries to make Earth science and physical geography less dry. Here is a list of documentaries we used last semester- makes learning quite painless ;-) History channel: How the Earth was made BBC: Earth: The Biography (5 Episodes) National Geographic: Nature's Fury National Geographic: Volcao, Nature's inferno National Geographic: Amazing Planet The Blue Planet: Seas of Life: Open Oceans / The Deep Volcanoes of the Deep Sea: IMAX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 The great thing about earth sciences is that you can hop around and study the topics out of order. And as Regentrude said, there are LOTS of videos available :-) My SOW studies are covering a lot of earth sciences in year one. I'm using a lot of easy, fun resources, most of them written for children or as edutainment. And lots of the experiments/demonstrations use food as examples :-) Winter is a good time to do geology nature studies. It only feels like there is so little time, if we are looking at the end instead of the journey. How awful it would be if we were already well educated! Then we wouldn't have the constant thrill of discovery :-) Eyewitness and Bill Nye have quite a few geology/ earth DVDs. A friend and I tackled an eyewitness DVD tonight and also two K-4 DVDs on graphing and maps. Sad to say both K-4 DVDs were not above us :-0 I got us National Geographic student atlases at Borders for just $2.99 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awtl Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Those look great, regentrude! Thank you!! About terminology, things like, insolation, convection, hygroscopic nuclei, interstitial strategic location, orographic process, things I should probably know. I've been looking over the book and workbooks again, and I think my biggest problem is that you are supposed to read about 10-20 pages at a time, 18 being usual. I think it's trying to absorb the information in a 20 page pop that is overwhelming. I'm going to break it down into about 3 sections at a time. It only feels like there is so little time, if we are looking at the end instead of the journey. How awful it would be if we were already well educated! Then we wouldn't have the constant thrill of discovery :-) You're right! I always think about everything I want to learn, and I bog myself down. I need to slow down and enjoy myself. Sad to say both K-4 DVDs were not above us :-0 Yeah! I'm not the only one that feels like that. Thank you!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 You could integrate your geography studies into your history studies. The history of a country is often partly determined by its (physical) geography. For instance, the reasons Greece and Rome developed quite differently are partly because of their very different geographical features.You could work with a lot of maps during your history; that way, you would learn about the geography of each region you study. :iagree: Our history curriculum includes geography and to me it makes much more sense to study them together than separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Physical geography is not nearly so boring while the history is running around on top of it. Incorporate it into your history studies. The physical structure of the Alps isn't hugely meaningful without some point of reference. If you're reading about an army crossing over, and looking at the physical map to determine the most sensible path, it's a heck of a lot more exciting. :) Rosie :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 About terminology, things like, insolation, convection, hygroscopic nuclei, interstitial strategic location, orographic process, things I should probably know. SHOULD My new social worker says I need to erase "should" from my vocabulary. My therapist would then ask me why I think I should know those terms. Even if we "should" know something, there are often better ways to use our time right now. It's okay to just focus on the big ideas and not get bogged down in details. Often if a new study doesn't look fun and fill you with excitement, it is cluing you in, that maybe it can be skipped, or that you are using the wrong curriculum. Volcanoes and earth quakes and crystals and deep ocean valleys are FUN. Do that stuff FIRST! Seriously, go to the kids department! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awtl Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 Regentrude, Rosie, Hunter, your advice is excellent. Thank You! SHOULD My new social worker says I need to erase "should" from my vocabulary. My therapist would then ask me why I think I should know those terms. Even if we "should" know something, there are often better ways to use our time right now. It's okay to just focus on the big ideas and not get bogged down in details. Yes. I am always torturing myself with all of these things I think I ought to know or ought to be able to do. What is SOW? Here are some videos I found if anyone's interested. http://www.learner.org/resources/series49.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Thank you for reminding me of those videos! I had forgotten about them, because they dont work on the ipod, but I can watch them on my hot netbook since they dont require me having to touch the keyboard. SOW is Student of The Word curriculum. It is a 6 year unit study on the Bible. My friend and I are using it to work our way through the King James Bible, supplenting it with some Bible as literature books. We listen to audio tapes as we read along to train our ear to the older form of English. We practice our outlining skills on each chapter, and then write a commentary on it. There is a topical study assigned every week that we practice out research skills on, and then we are working our way through the paragraph instructions of Real Writing by using one of the formats to present what we learned in the research. We are working on remedial spelling and handwriting and grammar with the lessons. The KJV is an excellent source of vocabulary words and we are learning just enough hebrew to be able to use the word study resources. Sometimes we use the science, social science, electives, literature, etc. but often we make up our own with what we can get at the library, based on the scripture reading or assigned topical study. This week the topic is marriage which is just ripe for making up interesting projects. I don't think the author meant for us to be studying matriarchal societies and short stories about troubled marriages :-) We are really enjoying studying the Bible as a piece of literature. People have been using the KJV as a reading/literature book for 400 years. It works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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