TOS Review - Memoria Press - Geography I

One subject I feel is very important to students is Geography. Nearly everything we learn, especially in history, can be traced back to a geographical location. In our home maps are on the walls pertaining to areas of study, missionaries we are supporting, and current events we see on the news. In my humble opinion knowing where we are located in this big world and where other countries, towns, cities, continents, etc. are located is a very worthwhile learning activity. Memoria Press must have thought so as well. They currently offer a product, Geography I, that addresses learning Geography in a straight forward manner. Our family was asked to review Geography I through the TOS Review Crew. Below you will find all the information about this product as well as our thoughts and how we used it.

Memoria Press is a family run company that publishes Classical Christian learning materials. This company was founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994 to have products available for families that teach classically. Memoria Press is well known and respected in the homeschooling community, especially for their Latin, Logic, and the Famous Men Series. If you are not familiar with teaching classically I would recommend reading the About Us page on the Memoria Press website to gain more knowledge about teaching a student in the classical methods. Memoria Press products are created and published with three characteristics in mind:

• Simplicity - families with no experience teaching classically can pick them up and run with it.
• Quality - creating a product that will ignite learning with high academic standards and that parents will be happy with, completing the entire curriculum.
• Affordability - the materials are designed to be budget friendly.

Geography I - What You Need to Know

Age Recommendation:  4th grade and up

Price:  $48.00 for the 5 book set

Geography I Table of Contents

Geography I Text Sample

Geography I Workbook Sample

We received this set as five physical books. Included in the set were: Geography I Student Text, Geography I Student Workbook, Geography I Teacher Guide, The United States Student Workbook, The United States Teacher Key, Quizzes and Tests.

The first three books present information and map work dealing with the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. The Geography I Text and Workbook are basically broken down into 96 lessons which translates to 96 countries studied once the text is completed. Each lesson/country consists of one page of information about the history of that country, a chart of fast facts, and a tour of what the country is like today. The second page of the lesson is a mp with important cities, countries, and geographical highlights pertaining to said country. Once the student completes the reading and study of a presented country they will then go to the student workbook to answer questions about the country as well as fill out a map with terms from a word bank. Reviews, quizzes, and tests can be found in the back of the student workbook.

The last two books deal with the United States, learning states and capitals. The student workbook is 26 pages teaching students states and capitals broken down by regions. The teacher's key provides multiple types of quizzes and tests to review what your student has learned.

How We Used the Product and What We Thought

Once we received the five book set in the mail we hit the ground running. At the time we received this I didn't have any particular Geography program going. I asked Grace to use this product three days a week which translated to three countries a week. The first item I noticed was the fact that I could hand this off to Grace to use and I didn't need to really do any teacher planning to incorporate it into her schedule. The straight-forwardness of the product is a plus for us too. Grace likes using a product where she reads the information then answers the questions from said information. In other words it wasn't intimidating to her to use this book on her own and that makes her a happy student. Geography I actually came at a good time for us. The past few months have found us watching CNN Student News every morning before we start our day. Nine times out of ten they present a news story concerning the Middle East. Some of these countries Grace had never heard of or had very little knowledge of them. Now she has something to connect and relate to through both learning environments. Isn't it great when lightbulbs start going off and connections are made. Reading about countries in the Middle East from this curriculum like Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey have helped her understand more in the current events realm. My last positive is about the affordability. Purchasing the five book set basically means you are getting the books for less than $10.00 each. $9.60 to be exact. Easy to use, informative, and affordable makes it a great fit for this family. Take a moment to visit Memoria Press and check out all the products they have to offer. Also visit the TOS Review Crew and see what their families think about the products they reviewed.