When you are looking to teach Geography in your homeschool, there are two main variations to consider. Are you going to teach Geography hands on? Or are you going to teach Geography strictly from a book?

Previously I have talked about different learning styles. Not all children, or adults for that matter, learn in the same way. When looking for curriculum options in your homeschool it is important to keep in mind the kind of learning style you are going to be teaching. Both teaching hands on and strictly from a book are valid options to teach geography (or really any subject for that matter).

When it comes to my teen, we teach Geography mostly in a strictly book style. She has never been the kid that was overly thrilled with cutting and pasting, building, creating, or playing extraneous games. She is a more concrete, read it and learn it style learner.

Teach Geography: Strictly Book

So what does teaching strictly from a book look like?

I know the word strictly sounds a little rigid, but in reality book learning is a great option. One of our favorite ways to learn/teach history is through reading historical fiction.

When it comes to geography for my teen it looks like this:

1. Read from North Star Geography text
2. Answer some questions based on the reading
3. Answer more in depth questions that require some research (usually Internet research)
4. Mapping – lots of mapping

Teach Geography: Hands On

To teach Geography in a hands on style is pretty much how it sounds. Being hands on allows the student to physically do and create things. The final step in my teens more strictly book style, is kind of a cross between both.

Mapping requires using an atlas for reference, sometimes multiple atlases, and labeling them on the map (book learning). But you can add to the mapping by using color, designs, or creating maps in a different medium other than paper and pencil.

Hands On Geography Options:

1. Edible Projects like this Edible Ocean Layers one
2. Create Your Own Atlas – Using customizable printable maps you can Create Your Own Atlas
3. Salt dough map – Here is an easy and fun method to make a salt dough map.
4. Geography Games:

1. Where in the World
2. Atlas Adventure
3. National Geographic Global Pursuit Game
4. United State of America Bingo
5. GeoPuzzle – Educational Geography Jigsaw Puzzle
6. Great States

When looking to teach Geography, or any other subject, I highly recommend looking for a program that offers multiple teaching styles to accommodate different types of learners. The geography program we are using for our teen this year is North Star Geography and it offers both strictly book and hands on options to teach geography.

More Geography: