Geography ?s

[mo2]

Because I'm too lazy right now to pull out my books and search for the answer, I'm going to ask here instead. :o

 

When do you all teach geography to your kids? I certainly don't see the need in doing it every year, but I'm having a hard time deciding WHICH year to do it. And what do you use? I haven't found a good secular geography program that I think I would like yet.

 

TIA

[MIch elle]

w/ my 8th grader. We read a small section together every few days. He also does Maps, Charts and Globes H workbook about 1/wk.

[Stacia]

The nice thing is that the book includes stuff for all levels, elementary - high school. I'm using it w/ my 4th grader. (My 1st listens in some, but isn't 'actively' doing the TG.)

 

At a minimum, you can do the things like the daily question (requires using a map or atlas) & some mapping. If you want to do more, there are suggestions for things from crafts, activities, creating a geographical terms glossary, writing country reports, etc....

 

The TG has a e-book of student notebook pages. The e-book is awesome -- I can just print the pages I need or want. It includes all the needed maps, the weekly questions, forms for doing reports on specific countries, and things like that. I don't have the recommended atlas (which, I think, has all the answers to the questions), but we use other atlases that we have on hand, books from the library, and encyclopedias. So, I also use it as a tool to teach how to research & find the answer you need. Also, I have "Global Art" by MaryAnn Kohl to use for art projects.

 

We are not progressing through as quickly as the TG's weekly schedule. Instead, we are staying on the different areas for a few weeks, requesting lots of library fairy tales & fables from those areas of the world, etc....

 

We love & it's working well for us. You can make it as much or little as you want, imo.

[Marsha SC]

I think a little differently. I plan on teaching geography every year. My husband and I believe it is a very important part of our global lives.

 

Anyway, what I'm doing this year (1st grade) is teaching the states and capitals. I've made my flashcards - two sets. One set has the state on the front and the capital on the back. The second set just has writing on the front of each card, one for each of the ten states and capitals we are working on at that time...and we use them as a memory game.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

Marsha SC

[FloridaLisa]

Between 2nd and 4th grade, my dc learn all of the states, state capitals, major U.S. landmarks, continents, oceans and some major world physical features. That it, I purposely teach it sometime between 2nd and 4th. I'm always asking geographical questions as they come up in Bible, literature, history and science readings.

 

In the middle grades, I used Mapping the World by Heart to teach the nitty-gritty of world geography. And my oldest is taking AP Human Geo this year. So, for us, geography has been a progressive, separate and purposeful study (sometimes halting history altogether to finish a geography curriculum).

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Narrow Gate Academy]

This year is the first year that we've done geography. We are studying US geography and learning the states and capitals using a lapbook that I made for about 10 minutes 3 times a week. We'll probably continue to do a little bit each year. I'm thinking of broadening our studies to study North and South America for next year, but we'll see if I have time to plan something.

[mcconnellboys]

I do incorporate geography every year, but don't spend huge amounts of time on it. For middle school, I like the Holling books with BF study guide and maps (and that's what I'm using, beginning next year). These are pretty good, thorough US studies. There are a couple of gaps and I'm looking for books now to fill in for those areas myself.

 

Now, I don't like their Seabird for a world study, and I'm looking at using something like Around the World in 80 Days for that one, instead.

 

Regena

[K&Rs Mom]

We spent a few months on Galloping the Globe before starting SOTW1, to set a good foundation so they have a way to understand the history mapwork. So far, it's been really helpful (we finally started the ancients last month). I plan to do US geography with US history as we get to it in the history cycle, then do world geography again between finishing year 4 and restarting year 1 for the next cycle. Did that make any sense? It's the current plan, but may change when we get there!

[Trivium Academy]

We have laminated maps of the World and US. My dd7 has a world map in her room, ds3 will have a map in his room soon of all the animals (I think, I can't decide on animals or dinosaurs)

 

In K, we'll use Galloping the Globe (I can't wait!)

For the rest: geography in the form of mapwork in history every year, memorization of 'must know' facts, landforms & geography as a science is covered in 2nd grade with Earth Science (The Geography Book by Caroline Arnold)

 

We have the Wee Bee Tunes Geography DVDs from National Geographic, we are constantly watching documentries about animals from Animal Planet. We have geography games we play, Great States Jr. for US and Where in the World (just got) for World Geography. We have the Geo Puzzle which I'm terrified to bring out with ds3 around even with a puzzle mat!

 

It's a part of our lives, I make sure that the "forgotten" subjects aren't forgotten- science, geography, art, and music.

[rafiki]

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[Crissy]

We don't use a formal geography program, but we play a lot of games. My husband loves the subject, so he makes up many of them.

[Plaid Dad]

I've done geography with my dd since K and plan to continue through grade 6. I do think it's important to do, but I wouldn't take time for it as a separate subject beyond elementary school.

[Guest]

Evan Moor has some good resources for Geography. Also, The Complete Book of Maps and Geography by American Education Publishers is a good, though very elementary aged, resource. Our local Barnes and Noble has it. I have seen it on Amazon as well.

[RoughCollie]

We use Runkle's geography textbook in middle school. Before that, I incorporated it into lit and history, and used a map skills workbook or two. I also bought a shower curtain with the U.S. map on it for the kids' bathroom, probably last summer or fall -- because 3 of my kids were going to parochial school and I didn't want them to look like dummies.

 

Yesterday, DD, age 12, 7th grade, was handed a blank outline map of the U.S. for "morning work" in social studies. She didn't bother to read the directions on the board and filled in all the state names. Later, she found out she was supposed to color (!) the states, not label them!!!! And here I thought her punchline would be that she was supposed to put in the capital cities, too.

 

The best part of the story was she labeled all but 5 states correctly, thanks to that shower curtain I bought from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (online).

 

Because I'm too lazy right now to pull out my books and search for the answer, I'm going to ask here instead. :o

 

When do you all teach geography to your kids? I certainly don't see the need in doing it every year, but I'm having a hard time deciding WHICH year to do it. And what do you use? I haven't found a good secular geography program that I think I would like yet.

 

TIA

[Guest]

I bought my world map shower curtain at Target. We love it!

[RoughCollie]

Thanks for bring this up. It's nearly time to change to the world map.

 

Too bad they don't make shower curtains with math facts, spelling rules and grammar rules or history timelines on them.

 

I bought my world map shower curtain at Target. We love it!

[mo2]

Wow, you guys make good use of your time. I never would have thought of multitasking in the shower! ;)

[RoughCollie]

Desperate time call for desperate measures!

 

Plus, DD in particular, hides out in the bathroom when she is supposed to do chores. I figured this would give her something to do in there, and it did.

 

Wow, you guys make good use of your time. I never would have thought of multitasking in the shower! ;)

[Closeacademy]

I put maps on the walls in my dc rooms. At bedtime we talk about places on the maps. Often my dd will ask me "what is it like in XYZ?" And I will tell her what I know about that place.

 

Sometimes, we will recall a book and I will show where the setting for tha book was on the map. If there was a journey in that book I will take a crayon and trace the journey (laminated maps here).

 

I also give my children puzzles of the world and the US. My oldest seems to know where most things are and what it is like in many of the places we have talked about. My youngest is just getting started on this journey.

[Linda in NM]

Ours is integrated with our history curriculum (HistoryMakers from Trisms), but we're also augmenting this year with some games (10 Days Across Europe, Noggins' Countries, Risk) and Mapping the World by Heart. We've used the Evan Moor continent books in the past, as well as the Puzzle booklets on states and countries from Highlights. Those we've used as they've "come up" in our history studies...(My son is now 8th grade.)