Geography Curriculum Elementary: 7 Easy Topics You Will Love
A strong geography curriculum elementary teachers can rely on doesn’t have to start from scratch every year. There are 7 topics that make up a solid 2nd grade geography unit, and once you’ve got them mapped out, the whole year basically runs itself. These topics come with built-in hands-on activities your students will actually get excited about, landmarks, maps, continents, and more. Here’s exactly what to teach and how I do it in my own classroom.
How to Build a Geography Curriculum Elementary Students Love
There are 7 topics for a 2nd grade geography curriculum that I like to teach in my classroom every year. I am so excited to share with you what my second graders learn, as well as some of my favorite resources for each topic.
Let me start off by giving you an overview of the 7 geography topics that I teach:
- Famous U.S. landmarks
- Map skills and features
- Continents and oceans
- Types of landforms
- Natural resources: renewable and nonrenewable
- The 5 U.S. regions
- Types of communities
Now, let’s jump in to how I teach each topic!
1. Landmarks
Landmarks are one of the first 2nd grade geography topics that I discuss when we start our geography curriculum. I like to focus on my state and famous U.S. landmarks.
Students love looking at pictures online, researching facts about famous tourist attractions, and sharing their vacation trips/connections to some of the different landmarks.
2. Maps
The next topic that students find engaging is learning about map features. Students learn to read maps by studying the different parts. One of our favorite activities we learn about during our 2nd grade geography curriculum is to make our very own treasure maps. Students love sharing their maps with one another to find hidden treasures around the school.
3. Continents and Oceans
After maps, the next 2nd grade geography topic we learn about is continents and oceans. In third grade, students go more in-depth but it is fun to touch on the surface about the different continents.
Once students have learned how to read maps, I have them use a globe to create puzzles and find facts about the different continents and oceans.
There are tons of engaging fact books about continents and oceans that my students love looking though during library time. I love giving my class brochures and flip books to jot down facts about the different places. Students LOVE to share what they have learned about each one.
4. Landforms
Landforms can be a little overwhelming for second graders, mainly because there are SO many of them. I like to narrow down my list by what is common in the area that we live. We still touch on the popular ones too.
A great activity to have in your geography curriculum elementary students will enjoy is drawing and writing prompts. My students love to pretend to go on adventures and draw/label new things that they have learned.
5. Natural Resources
A great time to teach about natural resources is around Earth Day. Students focus on taking care of natural resources and the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources.
6. U.S. Regions
Teaching about U.S. regions is another 2nd grade geography topic that can sometimes be a bit harder for students to grasp. I like to review maps, continents, and oceans, then have students focus on one region at a time.
U.S. regions are a great topic to have students research. In my class, we only learn about 5 regions. I have students look at the different states in each region, the climate, landforms, famous tourist attractions, and popular things to do and see.
7. Types of Communities
The last topic I teach in my geography curriculum elementary students respond to best is types of communities. I love ending our geography unit with this topic. In second grade, students learn about urban, suburban, and rural communities.
To teach the different types of communities, I like to show students different pictures as examples and go over different characteristics of each community. We end this topic with a fun flip book activity to review what we have learned.
To teach the different types of communities, I like to show students different pictures as examples and go over different characteristics of each community. We end this topic with a fun flip book activity to review what we have learned.
More Activities for 2nd Grade Geography Topics
As you build upon your geography curriculum elementary students will love, make sure to have fun… and throw in as many real-world activities that students can connect to. Students love learning about new places around the world!
All of the activities in this post are part of my geography worksheet and activity bundle.
If you are currently virtually teaching or looking to spice up your technology center check out my Geography Activities for Google Slides.
FREE Yearly Pacing Guide for 2nd Grade Geography Topics
Hopefully, you were able to gather some ideas to incorporate into your 2nd grade geography curriculum. To help you plan out your year, I also created a free yearly overview for social studies, which makes planning stress-free. Make sure to grab a copy to help simplify your lesson planning!
Happy Teaching!
Sarah
