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Trail Guide to World Geography
SKU
014495
ISBN
9781931397155
Grade PK-AD
Unit Study
Neutral
Medium Teacher Involvement
Multi-Sensory
Other Materials Required
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Teaching Method
Traditional
Teacher-centered curriculum commonly used in classrooms that may include a text, teacher manual, tests, etc.
Charlotte Mason
A methodology based on the work of a 19th century educator who maintained that children learn best from literature (Living Books), not textbooks.
Classical
A methodology based on the Latin Trivium (three stages of learning), including the grammar stage (memorization and facts), logic stage (critical thinking), and rhetoric stage (developing/defending ideas).
Unit Study
A thematic or topical approach centered around one topic that integrates multiple subject areas.
Montessori (Discovery)
A methodology based on the work of a 20th century educator that emphasizes student and sensory-driven discovery learning and real-life applications.
Other
Other methodologies
Religious Content
Secular
Contains content contrary to common Christian beliefs (i.e. evolution).
Neutral
Avoids religious or theoretical topics or presents multiple viewpoints without preference.
Christian/Religious
Faith-based or including instructional religious content.
Learning Modality
Auditory
Learns through listening, talking out loud or reading out loud.
Visual
Learns through seeing, prefers written instructions and visual materials.
Kinesthetic/Tactile (Hands-On)
Learns through moving, doing and touching.
Multi-Sensory
Curriculum that employ a variety of activities/components.
Presentation
Sequential
Curriculum progresses through well-defined learning objectives. Emphasizes mastery before moving to the next topic.
Spiral
Topics and concepts are repeated from level to level, adding more depth at each pass and connecting with review.
Conceptual/Topical
Focus is on the “why,” often with a unifying concept as well as specific skills; coverage may be broader.
Teacher Involvement
Low Teacher Involvement
Student-led materials; parent acts as a facilitator.
Medium Teacher Involvement
A mix of teacher-led time and independent student work.
High Teacher Involvement
Teacher-led lessons; may utilize discussions, hands-on activities and working together.
Additional Materials Required
No other materials needed
Everything you need is included.
Other Materials Required
There are additional required resources that are a separate purchase.
Other Materials Optional
There are additional resources mentioned or recommended but are not absolutely necessary.
Consumable
Consumable
Designed to be written in; not reusable.
Non-Consumable
Not designed to be written in; reusable.
Our Price
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Description
This book literally blazes a trail through geography - all you have to do is follow it! Cindy Wiggers has done a terrific job of combining questions, mapping, and other activities into a fun, easy-to-teach approach to geography. Intended as a thirty-six week program, the first twenty-seven of these include a variety of activities. The first weeks encompass the world as a whole; then you focus on different regions continent by continent. Within each week there are several different methods of learning. One of these, Geography Trails, provides questions four days a week that will improve the student's ability to use maps to locate countries, capitals, bodies of water, and landforms, teach them valuable geography terms and learn many geography facts. Different questions are given for grades 2-4, 5-7, and 8-10, so that you can use this book for children at different levels at the same time. The questions are based on the content of three recommended atlases (one for each age group) which are listed in the key resources below. Additional geography activities for every week are in the form of "Points of Interest," where you can take time to learn more extensively. Activities to choose from include mapping, researching, suggestions for art projects, and weekly projects to compile into your very own geography notebook. Then it's Geography through Literature for the last nine weeks as you read through Around the World in 80 Days. Questions for each chapter are provided, as are ideas for additional research and spelling and vocabulary words. Happy trails!
Please note that that this course provides a framework for studying world geography, and relies on additional resources for reference, maps, and activities. Required resources include: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (if you are planning on completing the literature portion of the study) and one or more of the recommended atlases (depending on the age of the student(s). Three other "key" recommended resources you will rely heavily on for many of the activities include the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, Uncle Josh's Map Book (in book form, or CD-ROM), and Visual Manna's Teaching Geography Through Art (for the art in geography lessons). Although you could make the study work without these, they are often referred to in the lessons, and the program would work much more easily with them. These and other recommended resources are listed below. An almanac is also recommended, in case you don't have one on hand, we recommend the World Alamanac & Book of Facts. A Geographical Terms chart is also recommended; we are unable to offer this specific one, but it is available from Geography Matters. ~ Stephanie
Publisher's Description of Trail Guide to World Geography
Trail Guide to World Geography is a family-friendly, multi-level curriculum guide for students in grades 3-12 to learn geography. With its trail markers (animal track icon) directed at three different grade levels, this book can be used for more than one academic school year and works well with a number of different student abilities learning together.
There is not one exact way to use this unique course. It was designed with flexibility in mind to better meet various objectives when teaching geography. Trail Guide to World Geography provides activities and assignments for a 36-week school year on World Geography.
Students spend 5-10 minutes a day with the atlas drills to establish and maintain atlas usage and map reading skills. Some folks use the book strictly for the Geography Trails section alone and say it’s worth every penny at that!
Add an outline map with the Mapping list of places to label and students have a smooth beginning to creating a great World Geography Notebook. Additional assignment choices take students deeper to learn about key places around the world. You set your pace and objectives. Spend as much time as your schedule allows. You can always use the book again another year, with all new atlas drills questions.
There are three sections of assignments for each week. You can use all three sections or any combination.
Category Description for Trail Guide to World Geography
This book literally blazes a trail through geography - all you have to do is follow it! Cindy Wiggers has done a terrific job of combining questions, mapping, and other activities into a fun, easy-to-teach approach to geography. Intended as a thirty-six week program, the first twenty-seven of these include a variety of activities. The first weeks encompass the world as a whole; then you focus on different regions continent by continent. Within each week there are several different methods of learning. One of these, Geography Trails, provides questions four days a week that will improve the student's ability to use maps to locate countries, capitals, bodies of water, and landforms, teach them valuable geography terms and learn many geography facts. Different questions are given for grades 2-4, 5-7, and 8-10, so that you can use this book for children at different levels at the same time. Additional geography activities for every week are in the form of "Points of Interest," where you can take time to learn more extensively. Activities to choose from include mapping, researching, suggestions for art projects, and weekly projects to compile into your very own geography notebook. Then it's Geography through Literature for the last nine weeks as you read through Around the World in 80 Days. Questions for each chapter are provided, as are ideas for additional research and spelling and vocabulary words. Happy trails!
Please note that that this course provides a framework for studying world geography, and relies on additional resources for reference, maps, and activities. Required resources include: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (if you are planning on completing the literature portion of the study) and an age-appropriate world atlas (suggested atlases listed below). Three "key" recommended resources you will rely heavily on for many of the activities include the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, Uncle Josh's Map Book (in book form, or CD-ROM), and Visual Manna's Teaching Geography Through Art (for the art in geography lessons). Although you could make the study work without these, they are often referred to in the lessons, and the program would work much more easily with them. These and other recommended resources are listed below, including atlases for students of different grades. Please note that the Jr. Classroom Atlas and Classroom Atlas are identical to the World Atlas Know Geography (Grades 1-3 and 4-9), respectively. The Atlas of World Geography and the World Atlas Know Geography for high school are almost identical with just a few textual changes. An almanac is also recommended, in case you don't have one on hand, we recommend the World Alamanac & Book of Facts. A Geographical Terms chart is also recommended; we are unable to offer this specifc one, but it is available from Geography Matters. Stephanie
Details
| Product Format: | Softcover Book |
|---|---|
| Grades: | PK-AD |
| Brand: | Geography Matters |
| Author: | Cindy Wiggers |
| ISBN: | 9781931397155 |
| Length in Inches: | 11 |
| Width in Inches: | 8.5 |
| Height in Inches: | 0.5 |
| Weight in Pounds: | 0.85 |
| Ages: | 7 - 18 |
| Edition: | Illustrated |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Publication Date: | 2002 |
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Reviews
2 Ratings
2 Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 10, 2014
The guide is decent although it doesn't have a huge number of activities and ideas for each chapter In reality mostly the same ideas are used for each chapter and they didn't strike me as particularly creative (ie make a word search/crossword puzzle from your vocabulary words write an essay about the country and include a drawing of the flag list exports/imports make flash cards etc) There are a few creative ideas to work withThere are several significant typos in the guide (duplicate chapter numbers misspelled words etc) Under the Geography Through Art section there is typically a bullet list of phrases For instance when learning about Europe the bulleted list might say -Roman Architecture -Versailles -Stained Glass Windows -Eiffel Tower etc I kept seeing these lists and thinking "I didn't need this guide I could've figured that much out!" I was hoping for something a bit deeper in knowledge and thought At other times the GTA list would say "Try your hand at Eskimo Bone Art " without any explanation or directions in the Guide or in the optional accompanying book "Geography Through Art"Since the guide is not expensive I might recommend it to someone who was just beginning to home school or didn't feel like he/she could handle a simple geography study independently However this guide really wasn't what I was expecting based on the other reviews Overall it's an 'ok' guide in my opinion
Rated 5 out of 5
Apr 28, 2009
Without a doubt the Trail Guide curriculum which can be used individually with your kids or in a co-op group is of high quality and well worth the money When you have completed this program your children (and you) will have an awesome wealth of geography knowledge and will be ready to enjoy some world traveling We have completed all three of the Trail Guides (World Geography US Geography and Bible Geography) and loved them all Each guide has interesting questions fabulous mapping activities a superb literature project intriguing points of interest and art projects which are geared to different ages and learning styles With the World Geography we studied one continent per month with a little more time for Africa as outlined in the guide and I created a set schedule for each continent to correlate with the guide Each week the students completed the questions from the guide and read books on the continents and countries In the 1st week of each continent we completed the mapping activities and a spreadsheet which I created The kids researched basic facts to complete the spreadsheet such as capitals currency language religion population etc The 2nd week of each continent we studied the people and places of interest The 3rd week we drew each country's flag of that continent and tasted foods from those countries The 4th week we completed extra assignments or special projects as directed in the Trail Guide During the month's study of the continent each student would choose a different topic from the guide's suggestions to research and write a paper which was then presented to the family/group At the end of the continent study we enjoyed a game of geography jeopardy which I created from the questions reviews in the guide books we read and papers which were presented After completing the guide the students had an awesome notebook full of beautiful maps details of each continent and fabulous flags which they could proudly share with the grandparents When friends or family have geography questions my kids know the answers now! For resources with the guide we used the Uncle Josh Outline Book online websites such as the CIA World Facts website maps Flags of the World website books from the library and of course food from the produce and specialty sections of local grocery stores Wow we all learned a tremendous amount and had so much fun completing this study together! Unexpectedly God sent our family to live overseas and we were very prepared for our world travels after studying geography using the Trail Guide to World Geography! I highly recommend the Trail Guide curriculum and I highly recommend traveling both of which will increase your knowledge and understanding of this incredible world which God has created!
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Why did you choose this?
Does this series have a Christian viewpoint? And is there references to religon? Thanks!
It's our understanding that it does not include Christian or religious content.
does this text have a teacher's edition?+
It is essentially the student and teacher's guide together. The "Geography Trail" questions are listed chronologically, and the answers for each week, and each level, are found in the back of the book. However, there are NOT answers given for enrichment activities or for the "Around the World in Eighty Days" literature study. I personally did not find this to be a problem, EXCEPT I did not use the literature questions for the book, because there were no answers available, and opted to just concentrate on the "geography portion" as in "mapping his journey around the world".
Didn't appear complicated or cumbersome for our first year homeschooling and I felt comfortable teaching the topic.
Recommended from an education advisor who has experience with this curriculum.
teaching geography and world cultures to middle school students next year
I chose this as companion to The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide.