Do you teach world or US geography first?

[mo2]

nt

[Trivium Academy]

Umm, both. We learn about where we live: house, street, town, county, state, country, continent and then move on to other continents.

[Sue G in PA]

Well, we started this year w/ US only b/c I wanted my dc to know a bit about the country we live in. But, we didn't get far with it. Next year we are starting MFW ECC and I'm so excited. They will cover some US Geography w/in the curriculum and I plan to add in some fun games and drills so they can really learn the locations and capitols of the states as well as some landmarks and history. Not too much, but some. I do think it depends on your goals, too. World geography lays a nice foundation for history study in that dc are already familiar with where certain countries are, but it certainly isn't a necessary pre-requisite, KWIM? US geog. is nice so that dc know where you live in relation to other states. It's fun for older dc to plan out vacation routes, mileage, etc. and even where to go. So, really, it depends on your interest and goals for dc.

[Karen in CO]

I teach geography small to big and big to small at the same time. We do home, street, city, town, state, country, continent. And we have a big, indestructible world map from from RR on the wall next to the bathroom. We learn continents and oceans, countries, and cities. We lookup the location of something on our map every chance we get (historical places, biomes, places from stories). We also use puzzles - a US floor puzzle, a world floor puzzle and that bazillion piece puzzle of every country in the world.

[mo2]

I guess I should have expanded a little, but I was in a hurry. I'm going to go with Trail Guides, but I don't know which to do first: US or World? Each one lasts a year, and I can't figure out which to start with. Maybe I should email the publisher.

[sweetbaby]

If I had to pick between US and World Geography, it would be US. I have thought of geography as a whole so I would teach World Geo. which would include all continents. Maybe you could do both.

[FloridaLisa]

Aside from being woven into Bible or history lessons, my dc formally learn the states in 3rd grade along with major continents and oceans. In middle school, we take a year off of our history rotation for geography.

Lisa

[summer]

I really do not think it matters which you do first. Just guess what the children are most interested in and go with it. Then do the other one next year.

For us though, we do establish that we live on this street, in this town, in this state, in this country, on this continent before going any further. I think there is little point in a child knowing where the Alps are or Malaysia, when they do not even know what town they live in.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

We started with world geography for two reasons. First, we were studying history of the Ancients and doing the associated map work so I thought it made more sense to learn about the areas we were studying. Second, we were living overseas so they were studying places that they would visit or travel through and they didn't have a hometown, county, state. I had also decided to hold off studying US geography until we were studying US hisory when the 13 colonies, state symbols, and such information would make more sense.

Both the world and US trail guides work for multiple age students so you can use them at any age. If you want to use those books (which we enjoy) I recommend using the CD-Rom Notebook with the main book. It has great forms for notebooking and provides all the blackline maps you need. Don't forget an atlas, colored pencils, notebook with dividers (8 tab), and check out the assignments for the week ahead of time. You may need to plan to work during a trip to the library in order to use some reference materials or plan internet time.

Have fun its a great series! You might want to check out the Ultimate Guide to Geography as well for some suplimental activities and information. Its a great teacher resource.

[JaniceO]

I'm new at all this, but we're starting with World for the same reason as the previous poster. We are starting ancients and I just thought it made more sense. Plus, we live overseas right now and I want the kids to learn about the places we'll be visiting.

[one l michele]

nt

[RoughCollie]

My kids studied geography along with history and literature through middle school, and we used Runkle's geography text in middle school. I frequently supplemented with nonfiction books and videos about a country we were studying.

I also bought a shower curtain with a map of the U.S. on it. Believe it or not, that worked!

Cultural geography and more physical geography will be completely covered in high school.