Parent Tips for Geography Lessons
Recommended Books and Magazines:
1. Our World: A Child’s First Picture Atlas, published by the National Geographic
Society. This is a terrifically informative and beautifully illustrated first atlas.
Many kids read this for fun. Very entertaining. Ages 5-10.
2. True Books series, by various authors. Published by Children’s Press, a division
of Grolier Press. Gorgeous photographs and easy-to-read text are a hallmark of
this series that spotlights different wildlife and ecosystems. Tropical Rainforests,
by Darlene Stille, is a good one to start with. Ages 6-10.
3. Don’t Know Much About Planet Earth by Kenneth C. Davis. Very clever text,
amusing illustrations and accurate maps make this one great book for older kids.
Ages 8-12.
4. National Geographic “KIDS” Magazine. This is a wonderfully entertaining
monthly magazine that children love. Beautiful photos and informative games
abound here. Ages 8-12.
5. Whoever You Are by Mem Fox & Leslie Staub. A gorgeous picture book that
illustrates different countries while managing to make gentle points about
acceptance and tolerance. Ages 6-8.
6. Blast Off to Earth: A Look at Geography by Loreen Leedy. A clever book that
emphasizes beginning geographic concepts through the eyes of space aliens
visiting Earth. Wonderful drawings. Ages 8-10.
Games and Activities:
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Inexpensive map placemats can be bought at many toy and mass market stores.
Great for discussions at the dinner table. You can also make your own by taking
a map and laminating it (a service available at most copy stores). There are
several web sites where you can print out a free map. There are also free ones
available at many embassies or tourist information sites. Just email or call them
and they will send you one.
There is a fun game you can play in the car, in which someone names a city and
the next person has to identify the country it is in. This works with countries and
continents also. You can also play the capitals game in the car.
Another fun game is naming a geographical place that begins with the last letter
of the previous one. For example, if someone said “Kentucky,” the next person
has to name a place that begins with a “y.” Answers can be challenged.
Take a walk around your neighborhood some weekend and point out geographic
features, such as forests, mountains or lakes, and cultural geographic features,
such as a school or a restaurant. Look up in an atlas which climate zone you live
in. Your child can make a map of their own!
There is a really fun card game called “Borderline” that is available off the
Internet or at toy stores. The cards consist of countries (for the “world” version)
or cities (for the “U.S.” version). Great for kids ages 8- adult.
Recommended Movies:
1. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. This is a beautifully animated movie with a
positive message. Young kids love this one. Ages 6-8.
2. Around The World in 80 Days w/ Michael Palin. This is a fun series with the
former Monty Python funny man seeking to copy Phileas Fogg’s journey.
Recommended for ages 10-adult.
3. National Geographic videos. There are so many good ones available, from
aardvarks to zebras, from Asia to Zimbabwe. These can be taken out from your
local library or found on the National Geographic Website. Ages 6-Adult.
4. Planet Earth: The Discovery Channel Series. Incredible exploration of our
planet with in-depth focus on different habitats, such as deserts and oceans.
Parent Tips for Teaching Fractions
Recommended Books:
1. Fraction Fun, by David Adler, Illustrated by Nancy Tobin. Terrific
introduction to basic fractions. Ages 6-8.
2. Fraction Action, by Loreen Leedy. Beautiful and creative book about
fractions. Entertaining and fun! Ages 6-10.
3. Decimals and Fractions by Rebecca Wingard-Nelson. Step-by-step guide
to solving simple fraction addition and subtraction problems. Clear and
helpful diagrams and instructions. Ages 10-12.
4. Fun Food Word Problems Starring Fractions, by Rebecca WingardNelson. A wonderful picture book that kids will eat up! Ages 6-8.
5. Fabulous Fractions by Lynette Long. A terrific introduction to fractions,
with clear explanation of concepts through amusing illustrations. Ages 710.
Activities and Games:
1.
Next time your family orders a pizza, put the box right in the middle of
the table. Ask your child how many equal slices there are. If there are 8,
ask them how much of the pizza they will eat if they have 1 slice (1/8 of
the pizza). If they plan to eat 2 slices, they will eat 2/8. Pull out the 2
pieces and the child should see that 2/8 is the same as ¼. If the child is
really hungry and plans to eat 4 pieces of pizza, ask them what 4/8 is equal
to (1/2!).
2. Your child can make their own equivalent fractions using paper plates.
They use a ruler to divide each plate into halves, quarters and eighths.
Then they should color the halves with one color, the quarters with
another color, and the eighths with a different color. When they play with
the pieces, they discover the equivalencies.
3. When you and your child are looking for a quick game (while waiting at
the doctor’s office, for example) pull out your spare change and make a
game about fractions! Take out four quarters and tell your child that 4
quarters equal one dollar. Say that each quarter is a quarter of a dollar
(that is why it’s called “a quarter”). Then you can expand the game using
dimes (1/10) of a dollar, and nickels (1/20) of a dollar. If you have 100
pennies at home, you could even show them that 1 penny is 1/100 of a
dollar!
4. When you are making lunch for your child, you can cut their sandwich
into halves and show them, and then quarters. Show them that 2/4 of the
sandwich is the same as ½. Point out each fraction as you cut the
sandwich. Ask which is the smallest, and the largest.
5. When you pour milk or juice for your child, use a clear measuring cup.
Point out how much ¼ is, and then add another to make ½. Let your child
figure out how many fourths go into one cup.
Parent Tips for Teaching About the Solar System
Recommended Books:
1. What is the Solar System? By Carmen Bredeson. Clear and
concise explanation of the planets. Beautifully illustrated, this
book discusses the latest discoveries, including why Pluto is
now a “dwarf planet.” Ages 6-10.
2. The Planets in Our Solar System by Franklyn M. Branley,
illustrated by Don Madden. In-depth discussion of the planets
for older kids. Some good experiments for kids to try, and nice
illustrations. Ages 10-12.
3. Don’t Know Much About the Solar System by Kenneth C.
Davis. Terrific questions about the solar system answered,
such as what gravity is. Entertaining and informative, with
cute cartoons. Several good projects for older children to do.
Ages 10-12.
4. Dogs in Space by Nancy Coffelt. Hilarious picture book that
teaches the order of the planets using our canine companions.
Ages 6-9.
5. The Sun: Our Nearest Star by Franklyn M. Branley & Edward
Miller. A wonderful book that explains our important
relationship with the sun. Ages 8-12.
6. The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna
Cole. An informative, entertaining look at our planets. Great
for projects and further space study. Ages 10-12.
7. Skippyjohn Jones: Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner. A laughout-loud picture book that utilizes Spanish and English to introduce concepts about space through the main character --- an
intrepid Siamese Cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua.
Games and Activities:
1. To give kids an idea of the difference between the size of the
planets, gather a basketball, a ping-pong ball, and a pencil.
Tell them the sun is approximately the size of the basketball,
the ping-pong ball is about the size of Jupiter, and the pencil
point (make a dot on a piece of paper) is about the size of
Earth.
2. Here is an activity that will give children the idea of the
distance between the planets. You need a wall that is at least
10 feet long. Stand at a spot on one end of the wall. You are
the sun. Two inches away from you, make a small mark with a
sticker. That represents Mercury. One inch beyond, place
another sticker for Venus. One inch beyond that is Earth. Two
inches beyond that is Mars. One foot, 3 inches beyond that is
Jupiter. Two feet and 5 inches away from that is Saturn. Three
feet and 3 inches beyond that is Uranus. Have your child
stand10 feet away from you on the wall. That is where
Neptune is.
3. Take your child outside in the early evening and see if you can
spot Mercury. It is usually low on the horizon, but you have to
look carefully because it is not very dark out when it is most
visible.
4. See if you can spot Venus and Mars in the night sky. Venus is
usually one of the brightest “stars” in the night sky. Mars is
reddish in hue, and extremely bright also.
Recommended Movies:
All of these are easy to find at the local library.
1. The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space from the popular
book series. Very fun and educational look at the planets and
solar system. Ages 6-12.
2. The Magic School Bus Space Adventures. An expanded
version of their adventures, that includes talk about gravity and
black holes. Ages 8-12.
3. Planets, by Eyewitness DVD. Beautiful documentary based on
the Discovery channel show. Ages 8-adult.