How To Use Let’s Go Geography with Multiple Grades

Geography for Grades K-2

First, this geography curriculum can be used for grades K-2 as is without any adjustments or companion products.

The few tweaks to these grade levels are the things you may NOT want to do. Like the Notebooking (journaling), or the extra reading, or additional maps.

But let’s get specific so you get the full picture.

Suggested Schedule:  Grades K-2

Here’s what a weekly lesson for Grades K-2 might look like:

You will need approximately 1 hour a week with early elementary geography students.  And this is what that hour holds:

• First, find the country on a map and color it.  You may find & color other things on the same map, too, depending on the lesson.

• Then look at the flag, and color yours to match.  These can be glued on the corresponding Flag page or in a supplemental Geography Passport. The Passport is an optional resource that is really appealing for the younger ages.

• Then take 10-15 minutes to explore, watching the video clips & maybe using the optional library books or recommended atlas. You will be talking about everything you see.  The curriculum does not discuss politics, wars, or any topic that would be upsetting to a child. You will want to focus on how people live, animals in the country, the country’s biggest attractions (both in nature and man-made), and that sort of thing.

• Save the best for last!! Lastly, comes a geography craft project based on something unique about that country.  Too stressed for time? Just offer the themed coloring page. Some kids want to do both.  Always write the name of the country on your projects to reinforce the big idea of the day.

That’s really all it is. 

And little by little, week by week, kids become more and more confident about their knowledge of the world. It really is that easy.

Geography for Grades 3-5+

But what about the same geography curriculum for older students?

The curriculum has been used very successfully for grades 3-5 in homeschool settings with just a few minor tweaks.

Before I get to specifics, here is a link to a homeschooler using Let’s Go Geography for one child in 5th grade. Her comments are helpful!

And here’s more comments from a mom using Let’s Go with her 6th grader!

First of all, coloring the flags is fine, but older kids may want to use colored pencils, not crayons, and glue them on the “Flags of [Continent]” page included in the curriculum, rather than the supplemental Passport.

Secondly, older students will find the country on the continent map included in the curriculum, just like the smaller kids, but they have the option of exploring even further.

If you choose to add Country Maps as well for older kids, these are provided in your Account if you have subscribed to any Let’s Go Geography year. 

As they learn about the week’s country, students find key places and points of interest as they are discussed.

For instance, if you mention the Serengeti National Park in your discussion of Tanzania, you then pinpoint its location on the Tanzania map to label it.

Discovery Packs

For the final hands-on project of each lesson, most older students won’t want to color or do many of the cut-and-color geography projects that the young ones love so much. Those need to be traded for activities that match their age level.

Rather than a craft, kids in Grades 3-5 complete a Writing or Journaling project at the end of  each lesson.  That’s where the Let’s Go Geography Discovery Packs come in. 

The companion Discovery Packs provide several activities for students in Grades 3-5.

Notebooking/Journaling

Discovery Packs have a 2-page spread of notebooking pages to coordinate with each Let’s Go lesson.  There are decorated blocks for specific information on each country, with Writing Helps and a Teacher Key in the back.

What about younger writers who want to participate?

Students in Grades 1-2 who enjoy writing can complete just the 1st page.  This usually asks for the basic facts and location (map) information that can be adapted to their grade level.

Geography Glossaries

Discovery Packs also include resources for students to make a Geography Glossary.  

Creating a Glossary starts with introducing a new geography term weekly that relates to the theme country. For instance, “glacier” for Alaska, “fjord” for Norway, “archipelago” for Denmark, or “geyser” for Iceland.

Glossary terms corresponding with each lesson are provided in Discovery Pack 1 (for Year 1) and Discovery Pack 2 (for Year 2)and Discovery Pack 3 (for Year 3).

To make a Geography Glossary, students write a definition of the word, draw or glue a picture to illustrate the word, and list specific places on the globe where the term is located.

For instance, if the term was the Northern Lights, the student would list several places in the world where the Northern Lights can be viewed.

Discovery Packs give coordinating terms for each lesson, resource links to find term definitions, and a printable page to use for all of it.