Geography I confusion

[Michael]

We are now at the end of Geography I. The end was a bear! My son is wondering why the final test is not cumulative. It doesn't include everything they've studied all year.

Good morning,

For each region, there should be a "Test" and a "Final Test." The former are given after first completing the respective section. The latter are given together at the end of the year as a cumulative final. Does that make sense?

[KikaMarie]

We are now at the end of Geography I. The end was a bear! My son is wondering why the final test is not cumulative. It doesn't include everything they've studied all year.

I appreciate this thread. We're starting Geography I in April, and as I was going through the books to figure it all out, I found that in the Teacher Manual test section there are quizzes, tests, and final tests for each unit. I was thinking that the pages marked Final Test Middle East, Final Test North Africa, etc. would be gathered together for the end of the year final exam, but maybe I went through it too quickly and missed some instructions.

Monica

[Twenty4Seven]

We are now at the end of Geography I. The end was a bear! My son is wondering why the final test is not cumulative. It doesn't include everything they've studied all year.

[serendipitous journey]

Re: Geography I confusion

My boys needed more help in order to memorize the countries/capitals and locations. I print the week’s map and put it in a sheet protector (or a zip-top bag) and they use a wet-erase marker to label the map a couple of times each week. I have them use wet-erase so that their work doesn’t disappear before I can check that it was done!

Jennifer, I was looking for ideas to to help us do well with our Christian Studies maps and came across this: what a great idea! We may adapt this for CS mapwork this year; it has always been hard for us to learn.

[jen1134]

Re: Geography I confusion

My boys needed more help in order to memorize the countries/capitals and locations. I print the week’s map and put it in a sheet protector (or a zip-top bag) and they use a wet-erase marker to label the map a couple of times each week. I have them use wet-erase so that their work doesn’t disappear before I can check that it was done!

[serendipitous journey]

Re: Geography I confusion

Tracey, I did order the set of geography flash cards for my child, who did Geography 1 and 2 at a compressed pace. They are big cards! I set them up in an index-card box with tabbed cards for each Memoria Press lesson (the first one is "Middle East", then "North Africa" for example) and for the Geography 2 there are some regions split because they are large and have two lessons (Sub-Saharan Africa 1, Sub-Saharan Africe 2). And at the back are the countries not memorized: you won't actually learn every single country, but most of them and the ones that MP found most relevant to American history and current events. Geography III will be the time to round out your knowledge of the other countries, I gather.

During the school year we have had daily reviews. New sections we review every day until they are learned; and we rotate through the old sections, doing one per day. At the end of last year I had him reviewing one set from each of the two books, if that makes sense.

Sarah is right: he main point really is learning where the countries are, and it is a worthy endeavor.

Also remember: if your child is doing MP history and Christian Studies, he will encounter mapwork there too.

[KF2000]

Re: Geography I confusion

I'm still having some trouble with the confusion. Can someone give me a description of what geography study looks like, practically, in your home? I feel there should be practice maps to label, but I can't find any. This week he studied Israel and Jordan. We read the pages about those countries, he did the workbook pages and labeled those maps and colored the flags on the backside of the flashcards. That's it?? Maybe I'm just making this harder than it is.

Tracey,
I think you hit the nail on the head there - that you are expecting it to be something more than it really is. The aim of the course is truly just memorizing to be able to identify. If the assignments are enough to help your son do that: great. If you need additional labeling practice to help it “stick,” then that is fine too. But it really is just a course in learning the map of the world - just like kids memorize the fifty states in third/fourth grades. They just learn the map, without anything extra.

And that is so good for kids. My children who have been through these courses use that information all the time in books they are reading, in talking about saints’ lives, in history lessons, etc. The application of this information is going to be valuable to them forever - but the course itself is very cut and dried.

Hths!
AMDG,
Sarah

[GeorgiaMom]

Re: Geography I confusion

I'm still having some trouble with the confusion. Can someone give me a description of what geography study looks like, practically, in your home? I feel there should be practice maps to label, but I can't find any. This week he studied Israel and Jordan. We read the pages about those countries, he did the workbook pages and labeled those maps and colored the flags on the backside of the flashcards. That's it?? Maybe I'm just making this harder than it is.

My boys needed a little extra practice with the mapping skills, so I just printed out an extra copy of the quiz or test map and had them fill it in as they learned new places to see the bigger picture. It was helpful for them.

[Nerdmom]

Re: Geography I confusion

Ours looks like this:
Read the pages, fill in the workbook, find them on the globe, color the flags, practice the countries/capitals flashcards.

Sometimes I'll google landmarks or other interesting things from that country, but only if we have extra time. That's definitely an extra, not a necessity.

[Twenty4Seven]

Re: Geography I confusion

I'm still having some trouble with the confusion. Can someone give me a description of what geography study looks like, practically, in your home? I feel there should be practice maps to label, but I can't find any. This week he studied Israel and Jordan. We read the pages about those countries, he did the workbook pages and labeled those maps and colored the flags on the backside of the flashcards. That's it?? Maybe I'm just making this harder than it is.

[momgineer]

Re: Geography I confusion

The big main point of geography 1 and 2 is to learn to label a world map with countries and capitals. If he can handle memorizing things rapidly, then he should be able to do both 1 and 2 in one year. Just double the pace. Do two days in one. Or work on it four days a week instead of two.

[Twenty4Seven]

Re: Geography I confusion

Nope, quizzes are placed every few weeks. Us review has a quiz every week, though. The pdf doesn't go straight down the page. Weeks 1-3 are on the first page and weeks 4-6 are on the second. So quiz 1 is scheduled in week 4, which you'll find on page 5. Its laid out like a 2 page spread, which is a bit confusing

Oh gosh, thanks. I just didn't notice that the teacher's lesson plan book was a 2 page spread since I printed it myself. Do you have any advice for doing this at a faster pace? My son is almost 12, technically a 6th grader. We are coming to MP curriculum a bit late, so he is "behind" in some things. He works fast and loves geography. Any suggestions for ramping it up?
Tracey

[Floridamom]

Re: Geography I confusion

Nope, quizzes are placed every few weeks. Us review has a quiz every week, though. The pdf doesn't go straight down the page. Weeks 1-3 are on the first page and weeks 4-6 are on the second. So quiz 1 is scheduled in week 4, which you'll find on page 5. Its laid out like a 2 page spread, which is a bit confusing

[Twenty4Seven]

I just started teaching my son Geography I this week. I'm generally confused about the materials. I thought we would have a quiz every week, but quiz 1 has half of the middle eastern countries with their capitals, which does not correlate with the week 1 material. Then in the teacher guide, it only lists the Middle East, Part II quiz, a test, and then the "final" test (?). I'd also like to print practice maps, but I don't think they exist.
Scratching my head,
Tracey