Geography is one subject that my daughter is a bit unsure about, she does not mind it, in fact some sections she finds interesting but it does not grab her attention the way History does. This year we are going to decide if she is taking it as one of her exam subjects so we want to cover all the important topics (make sure she has that good foundation in case she does do it as an exam subject) but I also want to make it as interesting and engaging as possible. So for us that means seeing if we can tie topics in with some of the books that she is reading and including practical activities.
Our Main resource will be the Geog.3 book. We have used the Geog.1 and Geog.2 in our previous years and I like the fact that it gives me a guide on what to cover and how much detail to go into.
So the Geog.3 topics are as follows
- From Rock to Soil
- Using Earth’s Resources
- Earning a Living
- International Development
- Our restless planet
- About Russia
- The Middle East
We have actually already done quite a bit on the Rock to Soil theme and Restless Planet topic, but they are the topics that my daughter actually likes so we will cover them again and possibly extend them a bit. I also want to include some map work (she is not a fan of map work and I feel it is important so I want to revisit sections out of Geog.1 and Geog.2 on map work and try and really engage her with some map work activities).
And I am also not sure that we will cover the topics in the order of the book. I am actually thinking of doing Russia first mainly because I think some background information on Russia will tie in nicely with our History topics.
And sticking with what works, I plan on linking in some of the Oaka Topic Packs (my daughter really likes these packs). So this year we are going to use their Transport and Industry Pack. Now I must admit the Human Geography side is not our favourite part of Geography (we like what my daughter calls “earth Geography”) but we did use the Population and Settlement packs in her Year 8 and she liked the packs.
And we already have their Tectonics, Volcanoes and Earthquakes pack so we will dig out the topic booklet for a reread and also have another look at the game (the games are always great for revising topics you have already covered).
This year I want to try their Geography crosswords. My daughter really enjoys things like crosswords so I have a feeling these are going to go down well with her and they will help to reinforce some of the key terms. Level 1 crosswords includes some images as hints and level 2 has no image hints.
A new book. I spotted this one recently – Help Your Kids with Geography. My daughter likes having extra books on the topics that we are working through so she can read different explanations (she just seems to understand topics better when she can reread explanations written with slightly different wording and examine slightly different pictures, so I try and accommodate that). She is a visual learner and in the past we have found the DK style of books suits her so I thought this one might be a great addition to our Geography for this year (and if she does decide to do a Geography exam I think it will be used a lot). They have amazing pictures, detailed diagrams and great explanations, so I have a feeling it is going to be a good fit for us.
And lastly one of our most used games – On the Map. We have had this for a few years but I keep digging it out for a game of two as a way of reminding the kids (and myself) where everything is and even after all these years we are still massive fans of this game.
So that is our starting point for Year 9 Geography. I will write detailed posts about the resources once we have had time to use them and I am sure we will add a few goodies as the year progresses.
Amazon links for the books discussed.
geog.3 Student Book (geog.123 Fifth Edition)
Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use.
I did approach a few publishing companies and request some of the items mentioned in this post. All the items where chosen by us based on past experience and all items are going to be used by my daughter in her home education this year.
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