Cool map overlays for Geography

From the Lights group:

Here are some cool maps to put a new perspective on our geography studies.

Enjoy,
Genevieve :)

http://www.businessinsider.com/map-overlays-comparing-size-2013-12

Geo-conquest ideas

Layton's group for 2013:

"This is the list of books we will be reading for the coming year.  I have linked them to the book I have from Amazon, but feel free to buy them wherever you want or get them from the library, the links are just for reference. 

We will be using The Story of Liberty by Charles Coffin in September, October and November. 

We will also be reading the following (by month)

September- journeyman will be reading portions of Machiavelli's The Prince (it's free online and we will probably only read 2 or 3 chapters)

October- journeyman will be reading Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

November- apprentice will be reading Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

                    journeyman will be reading portions of a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (it's
                    online here)

January- journeyman will be reading Johnny Tremain  by Esther Forbes

February- journeyman will be reading The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (this one is also available free online)

March- apprentice will be reading The Kidnapped Prince  by Ann Cameron

April- journeyman will be using The Naked Communist by Cleon Skousen but we haven't decided yet how we will be doing that so you may want to hold off on buying it right now"

Kaysville's group for 2013:

"Hello to all new and returning families!  I'm really looking forward to teaching History and Geography this year.  We have the wonderful opportunity to learn about the Age of Exploration through the Revolutionary War -- what a great time in history!  I will be using Susan Wise Bauer's, "The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child" Volume 3:Early Modern Times.  (It is the Green Book in the series.)  It would be very good for each family to own this book.  We will be using it for every core class as well as most Journeyman classes.  For Geography, you may want to purchase some flash cards of the states and capitals (although it is not necessary.)  We'll be working on learning our states and capitals in core class.

I want you to know that I have become so excited about teaching your youth.  This year's theme is "Journey's" and I look forward to following some of the amazing journeys of the explorers and likening those journeys to the journeys and adventures that your youth will be facing throughout their lives.  I am excited about showing them how the hand of God truly did help prepare our country for the restoration and the now very important work of sharing of the gospel with the rest of the world.  I want your youth to see that their missions in this life are so important to carrying on the miraculous work of spreading freedom and truth -- the same work that so many others throughout history have given their lives for.  

In Geography, I look forward to learning about the cultures of many other countries.  I thought it would be fun to learn about a unique culture by experiening one of their celebrations.  Each month, we will have a celebration patterned after a celebration of another country.  We will have so much fun celebrating  a Chinese New Year (Genevieve's idea :)  ) and other wonderful celebrations as well -- I thought that some of the youth may like to help me plan these celebrations and prepare food, decorations, and maybe even costumes for them.  As we are "celebrating" we will have the opportunity to discuss why this culture celebrates the way they do -- are they religious?  What do the decorations represent?  Why do they use these colors or pictures or costumes? Why do they use this food?

These are just a few of the fun things that we will be doing this year.  Youth and Parents, please let me know if you are interested in helping out on the history committee.  We'll have a great time!"

Geo-Conquest "journeyman level" ideas

One mentor, Lisa, put together this outline of basic info per each continent:

Geo-Genius Map Requirements
**Please draw an outline of the continent and include the following for each:
Map Requirements:
Europe:
All countries (except smaller ones like Andorra, San Marino, etc.)
Capitals of each country (It is not necessary to include capitals for the small Balkan countries.)
Also, please include the following cities Belfast, Edinburgh, Zurich, Geneva, The Vatican, Florence, Sarajevo, St. Petersburg, and Venice.
The following rivers: The Seine, Rhine, Danube, Thames, Volga.
Other water ways: Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Aegean Sea, Black See, North Sea, and Baltic Sea
Other Geographic features: Alps, Pyrenees, Urals, and Balkan Mountains
Asia:
All countries
Following cities: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Bagdad, Istanbul, Tehran, Islamabad, Karachi, Kabul, Calcutta (Kolkata), Bombay (Mumbai), Bangkok, Singapore, Beijing (Peking), Shanghai, Manila, Tokyo, Jakarta.
Following Geographical areas: Siberia, Manchuria, Arabian Desert, Sinai Peninsula, and Gobi Desert.
The following Rivers: Mekong River, Indus, Ganges, Tigris, Euphrates, Huang He (Yellow), and Yangtze.
Other Waterways: Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea.
Other Geographic features: Himalayas, Arctic Circle, and Mt Everest
Oceania:
Countries: Australia and New Zealand (For these countries include their capitals as well as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Auckland.)
Geographic areas: Micronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia
Waterways: Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Coral Sea
South America:
All countries and capitals
Following Geographical areas: Andes Mountains, Amazon rainforest
The following rivers and oceans: Amazon River, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

North America, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands
All the countries in North and Central America with their capitals
Caribbean Islands, the following countries and their capitals: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti
Following Cities: Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, and Boston.
Following Geographical features: Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains
Following waterways: Great Salt Lake, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Panama Canal, Mississippi River, and the Bering Sea

Geography resources

Blank maps:
"As I'm trying to memorize the countries in Europe because I am going to to beat all of you in our blank map game ;-D  I found some good blank maps that you can print in order to quiz yourself.  The first one has the oceans and lakes filled in so it's nice for memorizing the countries without all of the extra blank spaces that get confusing:

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/eur_countrynl.pdf 

This next one only has the outlines so the water isn't darker than the rest of the map.  This one might help you quiz yourself on the lakes and seas as well as the countries:

http://www.freeworldmaps.net/printable/europe/europe_outline.pdf 

Remember, you can also fill in rivers, mountain ranges and other features that interest you."

"Tour of Continent" idea

This is an example of something the mentor or a youth mentor  or even a student can put together to "introduce" a continent in a fun way:

North American prezi sample