Curriculum Highlights: Geography

In grades K-6, Geography is taught within the Science Program (for a full quarter in grades 3 – 6). In 7th and 8th grades, geography is taught as a separate class for one quarter of the academic year. In the early grades (K-2nd), the focus is on basic and increasingly sophisticated map skills. In 2nd grade, students also learn about the United States and its five geographical regions. At each subsequent grade level, in addition to the primary focus of that year’s geography curriculum, students review states and capitals of one of the regions of the U.S.

The Geography Program offers students a perspective that avoids a stereotypical view of the world’s people and places. This is achieved by presenting current and accurate information and by emphasizing the five themes of geography recommended by the Joint Committee on Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers: place, movement, human-environmental interaction, regions, and location. Focus on specific regions of the world is coordinated with the grade-progressive Classical Studies curriculum, adding resonance to both areas of study and increasing the global perspective of the entire Westminster program.