Looking for more of a daily geography book than a mapwork book...

[praisefor3]

I want something that gives us some little family geography task each day, interesting info, etc. not necessarily teaches how to use different kinds of maps. I do understand that is important but that's not what I'm looking for. Evan Moor seems like it focuses 90% on how to read a map, different types of map, etc. Is there anything out there for this?

[ErinD]

Take a look at the Homeschool Bits geography on currclick.com - they're sort of mini-units - Oceans, Continents, Great Lakes, Geography terms...all at under a dollar apiece. They might be enough for what you have in mind.

 

Or there's always the Geography Songs cd - it will drive you crazy with how it gets stuck in your head, but it works and it comes with a workbook. :)

[pahansen]

I don't know what grade(s) you're looking for, but I have the first and third grade Evan Moor Daily Geographies here in front of me. You are right in saying that they are mostly map practice, but each map starts with an "Introducing the Map" section that tells about the map (people, land features, attractions, etc.). Here's a sample for you. If you want more info, let me know.

 

The third grade section called "The Bluegrass Region of Kentucky" includes the following info: humans are dependent on the land for natural resources/growing crops; the way people use land shapes the culture; types of land in KY; what the Bluegrass Region is used for; why Lexington, KY is considered the "horse capital of the world".

 

After the map, daily questions are:

 

- Which region in KY has many horse farms?

- In which part of the state is this region?

- Which two rivers border the Bluegrass Region?

- Which mountains are southeast of the Bluegrass Region?

- What is the capital of KY? On which river is it located?

- Which cities on the map are located in the Bluegrass Region?

- What is special about the horses in the Bluegrass Region?

- What special event happens in Louisville every year?

- Which season of the year does the grass look more blue-green?

- Which rivers in KY are not located in the Bluegrass Region?

 

Challenge: Lexington is called the "horse capital of the world." On the map, color the Bluegrass Region blue-green.

 

[Okay, that wasn't very challenging... The Lewis & Clark Trail challenge says, "Meriwether Lewis kept journals. He wrote about animals, plants, and people they saw along the trail. Pretend you were on the trail. On the map page, write a journal entry about what you saw. That's one of the more challenging ones I saw, though.]

 

I agree that it's not a fully inclusive geography course (I have a secondary Social Studies teaching degree), and I'm not totally in love with it, but it is a bit more than just maps. You can find the geography themes in there. Considering the map illiteracy in this country, I don't have a problem using the maps as a springboard.

 

Nonetheless, I'm also interested in hearing ideas from others! :bigear:

 

--Pamela

[ChristusG]

We just finished the Weekly Reader 1st Grade Map Skills for Today...and we just started the 2nd grade one. I'll be watching this thread closely as I'll be looking for something to start up after we finish the 2nd grade book in a month or two.

 

I do want to do some mini units focusing on continents/oceans, etc, so maybe I'll check out those homeschool bits.

[praisefor3]

The Evan Moore info is helpful and I might still get it. But what I was thinking about was something that is almost like those calendars with a page a day and there is interesting info about a certain place and then you find it on a map...but not a page a day calendar. I want something that is actually curriculum...and it's ok if you stay on the same location for a week with more info offered each day but in little bites. This is what I thought the Evan Moor Daily book would be like.