Geography our way

I have had a few people ask me if I am following a curriculum for our fifty states project, so I thought that I should share my method. The curriculum is something I have put together from a lot of different resources. We don't have a specific timeline; we just work on a state until I think the kids have some general knowledge of where the state is located and know a few things that are specific to that state.

Our first step is always to look at our maps and find the state. We place the state quarter in our State Series Collector Map and stand on the state on our map rug.

I use the following books: Kids Learn America by Patricia Gordon & Reed C. Snow, The United States Cookbook by Joan D'Amico and Karen Eich Drummond, The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi, and the state alphabet books by Sleeping Bear Press. I look through the books and make a plan based on the information that is provided. Occasionally, I use additional books, fiction or nonfiction, if I can find them. For example, when we studied Massachusetts we read Make Way for Ducklings and when we studied New York, we read This is New York. If you are aware of good books that feature your home state, I would love to know about them!

In addition to books, I use the Enchanted Learning website. There are a lot of great resources on that site. I also look for information about the state whether it be the official state animal, a historical landmark, or a food that is specific to that state and try to incorporate a craft or recipe into our learning. Whenever possible, I also try to incorporate other skills into our studies. For example, see my post about comparing and contrasting American flags.


I am not implying that this is the best way to study geography, it's just our way! If you have questions or advice, please let me know.