Upper lever grades can be both difficult to teach and difficult to find quality, comprehensive resources to teach with. We have had the pleasure of using North Star Geography in our homeschool, using it to fulfill high school history credit. North Star Geography earned my high school sophomore one credit for high school history, but beyond that we had so much fun with the projects and creating activities based on the information supplied within the curriculum.
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About North Star Geography:
North Star Geography is a year-long course for middle and high school students that covers:
- Geography Skills – such as reading maps and navigation
- Physical Geography – the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
- Human Geography – social structures, culture and heritage, interacting with the environment
North Star Geography is available in multiple formats:
- hardback book
- digital download
- CD
- audio book narrated by the author
- online course
What’s included in the course:
- The first thing I noted and really loved right off the bat is all the Scheduling Options. North Star is packed with activities to pick and choose from. Depending on the length of time you have you can pick and choose what to do. They offer suggestions and grids for one year, two year, and one semester time frames to help you get organized.
- Memorization Lists for all the major continents, covering countries, major bodies of water, mountains, etc.
- Research Questions are provided for each section. These are there to did deeper into the region. I had my teen choose two to compete from each one.
- Student Reader – This is the actual text of the book.
- Quizzes and Final Exam
- Outline and Reference Maps – Both outline maps for labeling and reference maps are provided.
- Grading Ruberic and Report Card – Having these makes our job as homeschool moms so much easier!
What we like about North Star Geography:
- My most favorite thing about this curriculum is how adaptable it is! You can do more or less, stretch it out or shorten it up.
- While it says it is written from a Christian perspective, we easily used this as a secular curriculum.
- There are so many fun activities to be created from this. We created scavenger hunts, card games, extension projects and more!
- Everything that you need is included. From the written text, to activities, in-depth and labeling projects, quizzes, reference sheets and so much more!
More Geography Reviews from Curriculum Choice:
- Homeschool History and Geography Curriculum Reviews
- North Star Geography Review
- Explore U.S. Geography with Snapshots Across America
- Trail Guide to U.S. Geography By Cindy Wiggers
- The Passport Club: Give Them The World
Homeschooling for 10 years now, Heidi has children at each stage (elementary, middle and high school). At Starts At Eight you can find her writing and offering resources for middle school, high school, and many unit studies to span the ages.
Heidi Ciravola is mom to three kids who were all homeschooled. One has graduated college, one is in college, and one is still homeschooling high school. She spends much of her time navigating the high school waters (from electives to college prep) and creating unit studies from her unschooly youngest child's adventures. You can find her writing about these things as well as her love of books and homeschool life in general over at Starts At Eight.
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