Geography is the study of the earth, including land and countries, features, phenomena, and the people who live there. Today's itinerary is a virtual tour around the world, learning about all the ways the land and the people are both similar and unique.
-
Kids needing to learn countries, states, and capitals will find this site a helpful tool. Lizard Point features interactive map quizzes with a "practice" option that gives hints, as well as a "test" option without the hints. With the variety of geography quizzes available, you'll be able to find a helpful quiz even if your child is studying something very specific, like Irish or Welsh geography. "Repetition reinforces memory, so do these quizzes often."
-
Visit National Geographic's Map Maker site to explore interactive world maps with a variety of interesting themes, such population density or volcanic eruptions. There are also printable maps in black and white for use in the classroom. Be sure to explore the top menu bar for variety of unique content, including satellite imaging of islands and glaciers, and a cartoon explaining geography (with a vocabulary list and a short quiz.)
-
This outstanding site from Rader focuses on physical geography, which encompasses all the earth sciences, such as geology and climatology, but does not cover countries and people. The site is navigable via the graphics at top of the page, by following site tour, or (for those who like text-based navigation) by jumping to the site map. Each illustrated section concludes with a ten-question quiz. "Which of these is NOT a renewable energy source? Oil, wind, solar energy or hydrothermal?"
-
Practice locating and naming countries and capitals with these well-designed map-based Flash games that are both fun and educational. Start by choosing your region and quiz level, which ranges from Tutorial up to Expert or Cartographer. For a printable, black-and-white map of your selected region, look at the top of the left-hand menu when exploring quiz options. "By playing Sheppard Software's geography games, you will gain a mental map of the world's continents, countries, capitals, and landscapes!"
-
Did you know that more people in the world speak Hindi than Spanish? Or that Aswan, Egypt gets less than 0.02 inches of rain per year? This world atlas lists all sorts of interesting facts about the earth and its inhabitants. Not only does this make it a useful resource for any child doing research for a report, but also fascinating to browse. Interspersed throughout are links to additional information and resources, such as a locator map to find the world's largest islands, or a list of all countries in the world listed by population.
-
By Barbara J. Feldman. Originally written on Mar 19, 2012. Last Modified on Mar 20, 2012.
-
Buy Geography Printable for $2.00 or try a FREE trial of the Printables Club
-
Honorable Mentions
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
-