Trail Guide To U.S. Geography [Paperback]

Cindy Wiggers (Author)

Book Description

Easy-to-follow resource to teach essential geographical facts and features of each of the 50 U.S. states. Includes 5-minute daily drills, mapping, building a geography notebook, and a wide variety of additional project choices. Student study the 50 states at the rate of about 2 states each week. The literature unit on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (using "The Captain's Dog" by Roland Smith) provides a thrilling way to drive home the relevance of knowing geography.

Students complete assignments by using atlases, outline maps, and other research materials. Incorporating the 5 themes of geography students learn capitals, place location, climate, physical geography, and much more. These simple, yet thorough, assignment choices include: Daily trails for an overview of geography Interesting digging deeper activities Geography through Literature There are a variety of ways to use the three-part manual. Teachers simply select which parts of the book will best meet their needs and objectives. And yes... there are answers in the back of the book!

This interesting approach to teaching makes learning fun and memorable. No student workbook is needed because students will develop their own personal notebooks full of colorful maps, intriguing facts, and surprisingly pertinent information.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is the second book in the Trail Guide books. This one looks just as promising as the first one, reviewed above. This book concentrates on U.S. Geography and takes you on a tour, state-by-state, using the same basic format as above: the five-minute Geography Trails, and the Points of Interest, which take a little bit longer to explore. This is an EXCELLENT resource for U.S. Geography. Your child will be very familiar with the United States and each state independently when they are through with this course! --Holly Cameron, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Reading on, I saw that this book is one in a series of three, "all written with the busy teacher in mind." More and more promising! And then I read, "With a little guidance the first 2 or 3 weeks most students will work independently the remainder of the year." Well! Put that together with "multiple ages" and I'm practically sold! Now if the book will just live up to the promises...
...which I am happy to report, it does. --Eclectic Homeschool Online

Reading on, I saw that this book is one in a series of three, "all written with the busy teacher in mind." More and more promising! And then I read, "With a little guidance the first 2 or 3 weeks most students will work independently the remainder of the year." Well! Put that together with "multiple ages" and I'm practically sold! Now if the book will just live up to the promises...
...which I am happy to report, it does. --Eclectic Homeschool Online

About the Author

Cindy Wiggers is an, author, publisher, and national speaker. She established a family business, Geography Matters, with her husband in 1989. She has a heart to help parents inspire their children with a love for learning. She is the author of Trail Guide to U.S. Geography, Trail Guide to World Geography, and The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide with Maggie Hogan. Her interests include nutrition and fitness, spending time with her grandchildren, and engaging in adventure with friends.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Geography Matters; 2nd Stdt edition (August 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931397198
• ISBN-13: 978-1931397193
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cindy Wiggers - is an author and national speaker. She has a heart to help parents inspire their children with a love for learning. Her books focus on teaching the connectedness geography naturally has with other subjects of study. She home-schooled her three children and has been active in the homeschool movement for over 20 years. She makes her home in rural Kentucky with her husband, Josh, where she enjoys gardening, pursues a sustainable living lifestyle, and loves spending time with her family.

Her accomplishments include:
Home schooling 3 children through high school
Author: Trail Guide to World Geography and Trail Guide to U.S. Geography
Co-author: Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide and Trail Guide to Bible Geography
Publishing Director and co founder of Geography Matters
Publisher of the Trail Guide to Learning Series curriculum by Debbie Strayer and Linda Fowler
Articles published in various homeschooling magazines
General workshop speaker at numerous state conventions over the past 20 years
Former candidate for Colorado State House of Representatives
Interpreter for the Deaf
Leader of women's in-home Bible study group
MOPS mentor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Starting Point for US Geography, April 18, 2010

By 

M. E. McCombs (Monroeville, AL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trail Guide To U.S. Geography (Paperback)

As a previous reviewer stated, this book is merely a starting point for the study of United States geography. It is only a teacher's manual, not a gepgraphy course as many homeschool sites state in their recommendations for it. So while the lesson plans and outlines are very useful to a homeschooler, it is not until you've purchased the book and begun to read the Introduction and Overview that you learn you need to outlay another twenty-eight dollars to the author, via their own website, for the student notebook used with the course. You also need to purchase additional books both a current edition of The World Almanac and, depending on the grade level of the student you are teaching, one of three Rand McNally World Atlases. So, while I will use this book to teach geography, I am not pleased to discover that this is solely a Teacher's Manual and not a complete course as the title initially suggests.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful program, September 11, 2010

By 

H Whiting (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trail Guide To U.S. Geography (Paperback)

I actually found this program because it was listed as an additional resource for a different geography program. I like this one much better than the first one. It gives ideas for different level students. You really do need the additional atlas and almanac resources suggested to get the most out of this program. We tried without the suggested atlas and almanac and found it difficult to find some of the landmarks.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, February 22, 2011

By 

Pamela Jones (Pemberton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trail Guide To U.S. Geography (Paperback)

I purchased this curriculum last summer and started using it in September. I was very pleased with the product until we reached the second section which covers the Mid-Atlantic region. During the first section which covers the New England region I liked how the daily questions pertained to that particular state. When we started the Mid-Atlantic section I noticed that the questions no longer pertained to the states that were being covered that week. While studying N.Y. one of the questions was "What is the capital of West Virginia?" While covering N.J. a question was "What state has Annapolis for its capital city?" While studying Pennsylvania one of the questions was "What river flows through Washington, D.C.?" Not only is this not pertinent, Washington, D.C. is not even covered in the Atlas that was suggested for this curriculum. I, as well as my second grader, find this very frustrating. I could understand if those states had already been covered and a little review was being thrown in but that is not the case. My excitement over this curriculum turned to disappointment. I now spend time before each state rewriting the questions so they pertain to that state.