This year as I am doing school planning I have realized I need a subject with some *sparkle* for my 8 year old son. Kyle needs a bit of excitement and interest lead learning to give him the motivation to jump into school work with enthusiasm. As I looked through his subjects and work load I saw a space where we could add in an extra subject.
“What is your favorite subject in school?” I asked one afternoon while cleaning up the kitchen.
“Geography!” was his immediate answer.
Interesting… I actually was considering cutting that subject this year to make room for something else. Back to the drawing board.
A few days later it hit me. What if I connected Geography with something that both my boys are obsessed with, I mean, love? They discuss, watch, research, and have even more discussion over each Formula 1 race. When I sit and watch a few minutes of the race with them what I notice is how different the tracks are and how the locations affect the race.
So an idea was formed. What if I created a Geography Unit based on the Formula 1 race locations? Genius!
With some help from my teenage son (and Chat GPT) I have created something that I think will be a lot of fun this school year. I am sharing it here with all of you so that you can benefit as well.
Info: World Geography with Formula 1
This Geography Unit is based on the F1 Fall 2023 & Spring 2024 schedule.
Because locations often repeat each year this can be used again with some slight modifications.
Ideas for each race location:
- Read through the 10 facts about each geography location
- Look up the Track Information (see link in PDF)
- Find YouTube Links about culture, language, food, or climate of each location.
- Choose a few topics that are interesting.
- Watch and discuss
- Look up the location on Google Earth and in a World Atlas.
- Watch the race for that location after doing the study that week.
- F1 TV & app: https://f1tv.formula1.com/
- Or watch the race highlights online
Written Response:
Have the students write about what they have learned or what has interested them about this specific geographical location. I let my students choose a prompt or a topic to write about. I also created printables you can use for these written responses. (see PDF)
Other ideas for teaching Geography:
- group work
- I enjoy teaching geography as a subject for everyone to enjoy (including me).
- We gather around and learn together, taking turns reading from online sources or library books.
- When the younger kids get bored they are allowed to work on something else or lay on the floor with hot wheels cars. But we keep the lesson short (about 30 minutes) and they often stick with it.
- individual work
- grade level specific, match the geography study with that child’s history lessons
- books to read that are based on locations
- Example: Anne of Green Gables is connected to the geography and climate of Prince Edward Island
- historical geography
- What did Asia look like in the 1800’s? What changed in 1920? How does that compare to now?
- current geography and learning our current world
- Connect world events to their locations
- Incorporate music, food and culture
- There is so much more to learn than just what the land looks like. What is specific about the people who live there? How does that landscape shape their lives? What unique foods can you find there?
Questions for reflection:
How do you teach Geography?
What subjects are you having a hard time planning this year?
How is your back to school season going?
I hope this is helpful to you in your homeschool planning. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try something new! I am looking forward to this next year and I know my kids are excited too. It is small things like this that can make a big impact and give them information they will remember for a long time.
🏎️📑Happy Homeschooling! – April
P.S. – Here is the file one more time!
🌟If you are happy with this I would really appreciate it if you would give me a review on Teachers Pay Teachers. I just started my profile there and I would love to get some more followers. (It is free!)
🌟🌟https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Embracing-Home-Blog
Photos by Filipp Romanovski, Alex, Philip Myrtorp, Orxan Musayev on Unsplash