Mapping the World by Heart Lite 7th Edition (Ring-bound)

by David Smith (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Grades 5 - 12

Can your students draw detailed maps without an atlas?

They can now! Perform a miracle with Mapping the World by Heart. It's a complete and proven approach to teaching geography. You'll see the most amazing results! Picture your students confidently penciling in the countries of central Africa, the expanse of the Rocky Mountains, and the nations of Southeast Asia. All by heart. As seen on NBC and in Time magazine! The stunning results of David Smith's curriculum were featured on NBC's Today show, in Time magazine, and in newspapers across the country. Now you can get the same results in your classroom!

What's Included

Comprehensive Teacher's Guide, detailed lesson plans, reproducibles, and blank outline maps. Mapping the World by Heart Lite includes master outline maps (one for each of the 9 world regions).

About the Author
David J. Smith has 26 years of experience teaching geography, history, and English in public and private schools. The U.S. Department of Education honored him in 1992 with their "Breaking the Mold" Award for this curriculum, and that, along with feature stories on The Today Show, and in Time Magazine, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, The International Educator, and other media, propelled him out of the classroom and into a full-time consulting practice.

Since 1992, he has given workshops, seminars, and addresses in 30 countries and 38 states, both on "Mapping The World By Heart" curriculum and on geography and geographic literacy generally, focusing on what he refers to as "world-mindedness across the curriculum".

Product Details

• Ring-bound: 121 pages
• Publisher: Tom Snyder Productions (January 20, 2003)
• ISBN-10: 1590093836
• ISBN-13: 978-1590093832
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #265,230 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Positive Review from Forsyth School, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mapping The World By Heart Lite (Ring-bound)

Our school has been using David Smith's "Mapping the World by Heart" curriculum for three years. My fourth grade class studies US History, and I have adapted the curriculum so that my class maps the United States by heart. Our sixth grade, for their last project before graduation, maps the world by heart. This is truly a wonderful project that challenges even the most gifted students, yet also gives different students a chance to shine in the classroom. Every year students, faculty, and parents come to the final dispay of our maps and exclaim, "There is no way that I could do this!" Imagine the pride that a ten or twelve-year-old feels when they have acquired knowledge that their parents find astounding. Many parents have framed their children's USA and world maps and have put them up in the home as artwork! The curriculum is broken down into mini-lessons and is very easy to follow. Even if you did not want to use the entire curriculum, there are plenty of good geography resources and lessons included. In my opinion, every student in the United States should be required to use this curriculum. It is truly incredible what geography our students know when they leave our school!

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Results, May 15, 2003

By	Joan Brancaleone (Nazareth, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

I used this curriculum with a homeschool co-op. I taught twelve children ranging from grades 4-12. Our "before" world maps from memory hardly contained any information and very unusual continent shapes and locations, even the one done by grades 9-12.
As we mapped and labeled each continent, we also did a study of the history and culture of the countries in each continent. Every week, each student researched a different area of each culture and gave oral presentations in class.(these ideas/activities are given in the curriculum.) Our end of year maps from memory are the best endorsement I could give. I wish you could see them. The continents were accurately drawn and 70 to 80 percent of the details like landforms, political divisions and capital cities were included. Our best map was completed by a 6th grader who was able to list every single item on the "mapping the world by heart list" given in the curriculum. There is some teacher preparation in doing extra activities recommended in the curriculum. My only complaint was that the map sheets were not available in smaller quantities so we had to come up with our own outline maps to label. I highly recommend that every student be required to complete this curriculum before reaching highschool. My history class no longer has to ask "Where is that?"

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geography made fun!, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mapping The World By Heart Lite (Ring-bound)

I am very glad to now see that 'Mapping the World by Heart' is now available at Amazon. This wonderful geography program is just great for homeschool kids. Would you believe that at the end of the year your kids could draw a world map from memory? They could if you follow all the lessons in this book! I love the lessons and the way the whole book is put together. David has recently updated the book and I was lucky enough to review it. My kids really love the lessons and look forward to geography twice a week. You get all the maps that you will need for all the lessons, (you will need to copy or order more for all your children). I would even say that all the map drawing and coloring could be counted towards your art credits for the year. There are so many other projects that can stem from this as well...like for social studies fair with a homeschool group or just for grandma! This would be a great curriculum to start as a unit study where you would pause and research areas that you were studying on the map.