Are you looking for a way for your students to learn the world’s countries over the course of one school year? Do you want to instill the curiosity to learn more about the cultural geography of our world? Are you looking for a geography program that is adaptable to multiple age levels – both elementary and middle school?
Look no further. The Passport Club will give your students a foundation in geography and inspire them to dig deeper to learn more about the diverse cultures all over the world.
How Does It Work?
Each student participating in The Passport Club is issued a passport and each month, a study map with selected locations highlighted. Each month of the school year has five levels – beginning with the introductory level (perfect for lower elementary ages) and increase in difficulty to the “Geo Whiz” level (perfect for upper elementary and middle school ages).
Students who choose level one will learn to identify all the continents and 40 countries over the course of a school year. Students who choose to learn all five levels will learn all of the world’s countries as well as 40 capital cities, oceans, seas, deserts, as well as the major mountain ranges. The student may choose which level she desires to aim for, however if a student wants to study at level three, she needs to study levels one and two also.
At the end of each month, students choose from a selection of “stamps” representative of the countries they have learned. They adhere these in their passports as recognition for their efforts. They are also given a new study map with the countries highlighted for next month.
Special Itinerary Projects
The subject of geography is much more than describing “foreign” places or memorizing the names of capitals and countries. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks to understand the world – its human and physical features – through an understanding of place and location.
Geography is the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries.
Students will be more excited, and retention will increase, if they have context for the locations they are studying. Therefore, one of the things I like best about The Passport Club is the resources page which provides a variety of “special itinerary” project suggestions and Prezi presentations.
Students are encouraged to undertake these additional geography projects each month to correspond with the locations they are learning. There are even pages in their passport to recognize students for these projects where they can adhere “special itinerary” stamps.
How to Get Started?
The Passport Club was developed for teachers by teachers. While the order form is designed for a whole school – for a single family, I would recommend the following materials:
- One passport for each student (.75 cents each)
- One set of the Color “Stamp” Image Pages ($5.95)
- One set of “Special Itinerary” Stamp Pages (.55 cents)
- One set of legal size study maps ($30)
- One of each of the three 24×40 inch wall maps ($7 each – optional)
If you should have questions about The Passport Club or how to adapt it for your homeschool, please do not hesitate to reach out to The Passport Club or myself.
Eva is passionate about education. She has extensive experience in both formal and informal settings. She presently homeschools her two young children (Academia Celestia), teaches professional development courses through the Heritage Institute, and writes a middle level science curriculum called Science Logic. In her spare time she enjoys reading, traveling, learning new languages, and above all spending time with her family. ♥
Hi, I am looking at the Passport Club order form, and see your recommendations for what to order. Do you think that a homeschooling family needs to purchase the homeschool start-up kit ($75), or just the items you have listed in your review? I don’t see any instructions in your list of items, so I am thinking that the start-up kit is probably necessary. ?? Thanks!
If you order the wall maps (which I noted were optional), the total for one student is $58.25. Ordering the start-up kit ($75) would provide instructions and activity suggestions. If you are uncertain how to organize a long-term study such as this, this would be very useful. It is really a personal choice.