Ruthie in MS Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I am looking for a complete map collection for our school year next year. We will be studying countries and their cultures for then 1st and 3rd grade. I see both of these resources as being great. Map Trek by Knowledge Quest http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/Map-Trek-Hardcover-Atlas-+-CD-ROM.html WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press https://www.brightideaspress.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3 Map Trek: Book and CD-Rom $55 WonderMaps download $50 I have found coupon codes in Home School Enrichment Magazine that would make either purchase about $40, so cost variation is not an issue. I need a set of maps that I can use for years, easy to customize and user friendly. I need someone to help me weight the pros and cons of each. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisak Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 We have Map Trek. One of the nice features of this is the schedules you can get to go along with it. My daughters use Truthquest and MOH and there are schedules for each of these curriculums as well as many others. I have the book which has a CD-ROM included in it. So it is very easy to use both to locate a specific map. There is also a schedule printed in the book as well, which does not correlate to any specific curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 (edited) I also posted a thread about maps recently. I was seeking a complete map program, something that would give me modern maps in addition to historic maps. I did not find it and I don't think such a thing exists. Wonder Maps says there are 60+ world maps, which basically screams out that there is not a map of every country (which I want, not just regional modern maps). Map Trek has 270 maps but I get the impression that most of those are historic. I am looking to buy one of these for history and would love to hear comparisons. For modern maps, I am thrilled to have found National Geographic's MapMaker. Edited March 1, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie in MS Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 I also posted a thread about maps recently. I was seeking a complete map program, something that would give me modern maps in addition to historic maps. I did not find it and I don't think such a thing exists. Wonder Maps says there are 60+ world maps, which basically screams out that there is not a map of every country (which I want, not just regional modern maps). Map Trek has 270 maps but I get the impression that most of those are historic. I am looking to buy one of these for history and would love to hear comparisons. For modern maps, I am thrilled to have found National Geographic's MapMaker. Such a great resource. Great for modern day maps. I still would like historic maps though but this is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I just looked at Wonder Maps from your link, and it seems like a decent resource. If you are happy with printing everything out, it sounds like it could work well. I just bought Map Trek, and I am *very* happy with it. I bought the hardcover, color atlas of all five time periods that comes with the CD of maps to print. It has mostly historical maps plus some modern maps. Dh and I were going through the book last night and noting how helpful this will be to learn geography along with our history. The Map Trek atlas is very convenient in that the maps are in a book that you can open and show the kids while you are reading history. You don't have to go to the website or CD and find what you need and print ahead of time. The other great thing about Map Trek (as pp said), is that the website has free Integration Guides on their website. These tell you how the maps correlate with many popular history programs. I am planning to use it with CHOW. Map Trek comes with a CD which has printable blank maps and has lesson plans for three different levels (grades 1-4, grades 5-8, grades 9-12). I am planning on printing out the black and white maps that will correlate with our history reading. Once per week, we will do the map activities for that week's history reading. Sorry to sound like a salesperson here, but I am very happy about finding this. I have been trying to find decent geography materials for a long time, and I think Map Trek may work very well. I haven't actually used it yet, so take all of this with a grain of salt. A downside appears that most of the maps are historical. If you need modern maps of all of the countries, it looks like you will have to find those elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I love Map Trek. I bought it when it first came out, and it's so easy to use. I love that I have an answer key with the hardcover atlas. I love the Curriculum Integration Guides. I love that there are different levels for each map, since I have an age range using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeBlessings Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Another vote for MapTrek for historical maps. :) I haven't tried WonderMaps, so I can't review those. I love MapTrek though. Like others I bought the hardback atlas with cd-rom. I'm using the maps with the SOTW curriculum integration guide as I'm using SOTW a second time around with older students and the detail and level of the MapTrek maps is a better fit than the SOTW maps this go round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloha2U Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 We use MapTrek alongside our VP Bible/History studies, wouldn't want to be without it. The integration guides are definitely an added bonus. The Atlas is great for intro and quick reference, and I can print blank maps (or detailed colored maps) from the CD-Rom for review and fill-in. In short, my little man loves MapTrek! That said, I also want to invest in Wondermaps. I think that there are reasons and uses for both MapTrek and Wondermaps. FWIW, it seems as though those who own both prefer Wondermaps. I think I'd like both of them. :D Now to throw a kink in the mix, have you seen TimeMaps by Knowledge Quest? I believe I'd like these as well. ;) ETA: I purchased Wondermaps and we never use it. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anna~ Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Sorry to bump an old thread, but I see several people have said they have the Map Trek hardcover Atlas with CD. According to their website, this includes: 276 Full-color teacher answer maps. 270 Blank outline maps for the student. Instructions for how to use these maps 15 Grid Maps 10 Blank Grids Lesson Plans Glossary of terms 3 Bonus Map Sets 650 total pages What maps are included in the hardcover book? I couldn't tell from the description. I don't want to have to print a whole lot, so I am trying to figure out what's already in the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Sorry to bump an old thread, but I see several people have said they have the Map Trek hardcover Atlas with CD. According to their website, this includes: 276 Full-color teacher answer maps. 270 Blank outline maps for the student. Instructions for how to use these maps 15 Grid Maps 10 Blank Grids Lesson Plans Glossary of terms 3 Bonus Map Sets 650 total pages What maps are included in the hardcover book? I couldn't tell from the description. I don't want to have to print a whole lot, so I am trying to figure out what's already in the book. I have the Map Trek hardcover atlas. It is 285 pages. It has sections for Ancient World, Medieval World, New World, Modern World, and U.S. maps. Each section also has lesson plans. (For example, the Ancient world section has 12 pages of lesson plans). The rest of the book is comprised of color maps which are labelled. The table of contents says that the CD contains Lesson Plans and Glossaries for all time periods, Blank Student Maps and Reproducible Teacher Maps, World and Continent Maps, U.S. History and State maps, and "more." I haven't looked at the CD yet since I just bought this toward the end of the school year. So far I have used it while we were reading through our American history books. Next year, I will follow the lesson plans with our world and American history. There are integration guides on the website which tell you how to coordinate Map Trek with many of the popular history curricula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anna~ Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Thanks! I appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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