Geography III: Exploring and Mapping the World Student Workbook, Second Edition

Memoria Press has expanded on their geography for middle grades and now offers this comprehensive world geography course for high school students. It opens with a broad overview of all aspects of geography, both physical (cartography/topography/meteorology) and human (cultural/economic/political/historical). The student text is divided into 9 units: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Central/South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa/the Middle East/Central Asia, South/East Asia, and the Pacific Islands/Australia/Antarctica. The book is full of great information, maps and black & white photos and illustrations (121 pp with accent bits of blue). I didn't find any examples here of favoring any religion over another. The student workbook is consumable and has comprehension questions for each unit (short answer) and maps to label with not only countries/capitals but also rivers/mountains/oceans. A review of US geography where students list capitals and identify states on a map. An appendix has a project where students are drawing a world map themselves and labeling it thoroughly. Additional project ideas are great for an ambitious student and are listed in back. Most involve further research and writing. An interesting chart of 8 major world religions helps students keep track of details that can easily get confused. The teacher guide has all answers to the student workbook in context (so the teacher can see the question too). Reproducible maps (21) are great for students to practice again and again. Unit tests have maps to label, fill in the blanks, & short answer (2-3 sentences) and there is a comprehensive final exam. Test answers are in the back. Lesson plans are for twice a week, for 30 weeks, coming up a little shy for a high school credit. You may have to add a few interesting biographies, writing assignments, and additional student research, but the framework is all here for you! Tests & quizzes are reproducible, making this a great co-op or classroom option. ~ Sara

Memoria Press Geography may be no-frills, but it's a high quality geography program. The maps are detailed enough for high-school students, yet simple enough for elementary kids (an impressive feat). The books are black & white with plenty of fill-in-the-blank exercises to test kids' knowledge. Comb binding.

GEOGRAPHY I covers the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. The student text will highlight “recorded history, including the Bible,” with brief discussions of the religions that influence this region. The Student Review Book shows outline maps, plus lists of countries to write on the maps of the Middle East, North Africa, Mediterranean and Central Europe, the U.K., Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Section 2 has matching lists of countries/capitals for the regions listed. The 3rd section shows maps at the bottom with capitals listed at the top, and students are to write in the corresponding countries. Section 4 is similar, but students write both the capitals and countries in the blanks. In the back, students are given a list of all 54 countries in alphabetical order and asked to list the capitals of each. 43pp.

The Teacher Key includes a set of the same blank student pages as section 1 (now labeled as quizzes) listed above, plus answer keys to the maps and lists. The Tests are the same as section 3 listed above. 5 units and 29 lessons. 83pp.

GEOGRAPHY II covers Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The Student Workbook has lots of activities that involve labeling maps and writing out the countries and capitals of each. Some pages have word banks (lists) for students to use, while others rely on no clues. Students have to remember some facts about each of the main regions and countries within. 103 pp.

The Teacher Key includes answers to all of the map activities in the Student Workbook as well as blank test forms and answers. Tests closely follow the format of the workbook exercises, with plenty of fill-in-the-blank and labeling maps.

In the Student Text, each broad unit is introduced with information about the terrain, climate, people and language. The lessons then go into detail about narrower areas such as the Horn of Africa and the Zambezi River region of sub-Saharan Africa. A large map shows students where oceans and rivers are located as well as political boundaries. Important features/events are highlighted like Victoria Falls near the Zambia/Zimbabwe border and the Rwandan genocide. Facts are shown in a table format and the narratives are very understandable for students. Although the books are in gray-tones, they manage to be engaging.

The Geography II Set includes the student workbook, teacher key, and student text for Geography II.

Geography II & Review includes the student workbook, teacher key, and student text for Geography II, plus both review books for Geography I. ~Sara