Geography Through Living Books – Studying the Great Lakes
Geography Though GREAT Literature
So, what makes this curriculum so great? First and foremost are the books! They are amazing. It comes with four books by the same author (Holling C. Holling).
The first book, Paddle-to-the-Sea , is about a little hand-carved canoe, named Paddle-to-the-Sea. The canoe is placed in the headwaters of the Great Lakes to make it’s way to the sea. Traveling through all the Great Lakes and eventually the St. Lawrence Seaway, readers learn about the history, industry, geography, seasons, tides, currents, locks, inhabitants, animals and more of this fascinating region, one that we are lucky enough to call home!
The second book, Seabird, shares the history of America at sea. It is presented through the travels of Seabird, an ivory gull carved by a cabin boy. The story presents three generations of sailing families in America, traveling all over the globe.
The third book, Minn of Mississippi, shares the history of the Mississippi River Valley and is told through the adventures of Minn, a snapping turtle, as she travels hundreds of miles downstream. The book explores the fascinating world of the river; bayou’s, steamboats, river pirates, flatboats and keelboats, French and Spanish explorers, plantations, floods, and Mark Twain.
The fourth and final book in the curriculum is Tree in the Trail and tells the history of the Great Plains and the Santa Fe Trail, focusing on a cottonwood tree and the 200 years of events that happen around it.
Geography and History Together
The books are great, really. However, what I love about Beautiful Feet Books’ curriculums are the teacher guides. I’ve never seen one I don’t like. In this curriculum they separate 10 lessons per book (only 9 for last book) so you can take your time or go through it quickly, following your own pace as a family. For us, we spend a LONG time on the first book and will come back to it again (more on that later). We studied much more than Geography. If you didn’t already know, we live in the U.P. (Michigans Upper Peninsula) close to Lake Superior. A LOT of the book takes place very close to home. In fact, the little canoe starts off in Lake Superior! It travels through the Soo Locks and throughout all the Great Lakes.
In addition to great books and a wonderful teachers guide, the curriculum also comes with maps! BIG amazing maps.
Our Geography Summer Read A Loud List
Last year I shared our summer read aloud on my YouTube channel *check out that video here* but basically I wanted to read through BFB Early American History just as read alouds not following the curriculum and I think we are going to do the same thing this year, except with their Geography Through Literature. Mostly because of where we live, and because we have access to actually GO SEE so much of what was in the first book I thought it would be really fun to take loads of field trips and see as much of the little Canoes trip as we could. I’d also like to read the other books as a read aloud just for fun.
Want FREE Books?
Check out this amazing Giveaway Beautiful Feet Books is doing!
EMAILS OF ALL ENTRANTS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO BEAUTIFUL FEET FOR THE PURPOSE OF FOLLOW UP PROMOTIONAL EMAILS. You may opt out at any time and still be entered to win.
- Begins 5/5/2019 at 8 PM CT
- Ends 5/22/2019 at 8 PM CT
Giveaways are shipped only to USA addresses.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
