elliotterae Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Do you teach it as a separate subject? If so, is it it daily? Occasional? What do you use? Is Veritas Press extremely religious? We are JW's so Christian books aren't necessarily a problem, we use Rod and Staff for grammar, but some doctrine doesn't overlap and I try to avoid curriculum that will run into that. This is our first year at home. The girls are in basically 5th and 3rd level curriculum. I started out this year doing Sotw1 with the activity guide and extra reading assignments. We do a sheet of mapwork with each chapter and we check the globe and wall map for each new area. I was thinking that was enough. My first couple months I switched or added books/ curriculum several times, because I get on these forums and read about something else that sounds better. So I've been trying to limit my forum time and focus on what we are doing. BUT, I have been picking up on a few people talking about geography and it got me thinking. I asked my 5th grader if she new the cardinal directions, longitude and latitude, and some other basic geography. It was a dismal answer. As in she only could name 4 continents, only knows longitude is something talked about in the Percy Jackson, and knew the 4 main directions if I told her one to get started. I think if we had started homeschooling from the beginning so I knew what was covered when. I find myself always trying to figure out she has already been over and how or when to catch up what was skipped. I feel like we have spent this whole year working on things she should already have learned. Anyway that's a whole different topic :crying: Back on track, how do you cover geography? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 My dd10 who is in 4th grade this year is using The Complete Book of Maps and Geography. She does it on her own, but you could easily do it with your daughter if you thought she needed your assistance. Also take a look at Sheppard Software. It has a great geography quiz section, both world and U.S., that would be a fun way to learn continents, oceans, states, countries, etc. online. My dd is also using Sheppard Software to learn the states and their capitals this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Well for 8 bucks and change, I'm sold. I love workbooks like that to have for my older daughter to grab and do a page while I'm finishing up something with her little sister or making lunch. I ordered it but I still would like to hear other thoughts on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 For next year, 5th, I'm going to be getting Junior Batgirl the new Legends and Leagues. They have North, South, East, and West. There's a story book and a matching workbook for each. I actually got to see this in person because a friend of mine has them and recommended them. Her son loves them. They look really good...nice and colorful workbooks. I also recommend States and Capitals Songs and Geography Songs (LOVE these!). In 6th grade we'll be using Beautiful Feet Geography. Another one you might want to look at is Trail Guide (World and U.S.). Mapping the World with Art looks good.... Oh gosh, there's so many choices, as with everything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 We really enjoyed Kathy Troxel's geography songs. I still sing them in my head when trying to remember where some countries are, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsbrack Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 I don't use a formal curriculum for this (yet!). We do try to hit geography every week. Our normal plan of action is to do a blob map and then move on to a specific continent. We are memorizing the different countries on each continent by adding a few each time to a blank political map as they are memorized. I keep a blank one in a page protector and we use dry erase markers so I don't have to print out dozens. We are also noting key landforms and bodies of water. We get books from the library on individual countries or specific cultures and read, narrate, make notebook pages, ect as the mood strikes. We do historical geography (like Mesopotamia, where the pyramids are, ect) through Tapestry of Grace along with history. Informally, I keep Geo Puzzles around and I have a large world map, USA map, and a globe out so we can note places as we come across them in our other reading. I also purchased a compass for my boys to take on their "adventures." They really love these and love to figure out what direction they are going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cintinative Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 We're using Trail Guide to World Geography about 15-25 minutes a week doing map markups, etc. I am also having them do Scholastic Success with Maps Grade 2. It covers cardinal directions, grids and coordinates, etc in an easy to use format. Probably a couple pages a week could get you done in less than a year. I think it runs through 5th grade. It was $1 for awhile but now it might be $3 at the Scholastic Teacher Resources site. Other things that you may not think of, but count: Battleship (game) teaches coordinates and grids Games: 10 Days in the U.S.A., 10 Days in Europe, 10 Days in Asia teach country locations, etc. Some others mentioned USA/world puzzles and online games. We like the Stack the Countries and Stack the States apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliotterae Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Oh, I guess that Ticket to Ride Game we love so much is geography isn't it. I just saw that Trail Guide in the Rainbow Resource catalog and thought it looked interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My dd10 who is in 4th grade this year is using The Complete Book of Maps and Geography. She does it on her own, but you could easily do it with your daughter if you thought she needed your assistance. The description sounds all encompassing, but one of the reviews says it's mainly US geography. Which s correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The description sounds all encompassing, but one of the reviews says it's mainly US geography. Which s correct? It is heavy on the U.S. and the Americas, but it also teaches how to use map keys, compasses, map scale, kinds of maps, quick review of continents of oceans, and lots of time on latitude and longitude (this is the world geography section), and time zones. Most kids in the grades that this book is designed for don't need much more than a cursory review of continents and oceans. Even the U.S. geography portion of the book is used more to teach other map skills and concepts, not such memorization of state locations or capitals. I think there is one exercise explicitly dealing with states and capitals. This is not a book that will help your child memorize countries or capital cities. This book is more for learning and using map skills. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Just another perspective...I LOVE geography but for us I think it works best to wrap it in as part of our other studies, especially history and science. To me, it's not something that should be studied in a vaccuum as a list of facts iykwim, but rather should serve to help understand the connectedness and interrelationships of place, peoples and earth features. We have a variety of atlases and geography books on hand, a globe right next to our main schooling area, and map placemats on the table to make this easier for us. This has worked well for us so far. But at this point, I do want to bump it up a notch. It's not a beach read, but Teaching Geography is a great book that is helping me crystallize my ideas about how I want to move forward with geography study with my kids. It also has a bunch of sample activities, visual aids, discussion guides on the CD that comes with. It is just what I was hoping for. Definitely not an "open-and-go" option, though. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 We've been using MP Geography 1 & 2 this year. It's not exciting, but it gets the job done. I tie it into our literature and history studies. Next year we'll use Mapping the world with art which I am positive I'll enjoy more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 We focused on US Geography last year and world geography this year. Beginning next year we will focus on one continent a year as a shorter unit and conclude it with participation in our geography fair. I may do a brief daily review type program as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolinagirl1 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Take a look at http://www.seterra.net/. Look at the online map quizzes. They are free. We just discovered it and my girls are learning really quickly!! We use it as a supplement to Evan Moor Daily Geography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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