Friday, October 15, 2010

Review: Soli Deo Gloria Resources Map Skills

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew I had the opportunity to use and review Map Skills by Soli Deo Gloria Resources. I was excited for this review because of our in depth geography study that we are currently doing. Map skills and geography go hand in hand.

About the product:
Map Skills is a complete unit study which includes map reading, supplemental math skills related to maps and geography, language arts, bible, and geography. This product is recommended for K-6th grade although the website indicates K-3rd. Once you read the until overview you will see that it can be used with K-6th graders. When using this unit study you will only need to add a standard math curriculum and a phonics program for a young reader. Otherwise, this product is a complete 2-3 week curriculum.

The objectives of this unit study include:

  1. Learn basic directional skills
  2. Demonstrate basic map reading skills at the appropriate grade level
  3. Concept of "direction" (map and in life) will be discussed as it pertains to the bible
  4. Demonstrate basic language skills related to map reading,  geography, and directionality.
In addition to this unit study you will need to supply basic maps and atlases. There is also an optional workbook that you can add to this study. This workbook is optional and in no way is required to adequately complete this study.

How we used the product:
As I mentioned, we are completing an in depth study of geography this school year. In addition to being a fun supplement to our normal curriculum I knew my boys would learning to read maps better, something I have been lacking in our school studies. We currently school 5 days a week so this unit study took us about 2 weeks. If you school 4 days a week or take time off during the week from this study you will complete this study in 3 weeks or more. For us 2 weeks was the perfect amount of time for this in depth study. I did not purchase this optional workbook and did not experience an issue learning from this study. 

During our 2 weeks of study our school room was transformed into a map reading haven. The walls were labeled with directions, names of local and far away towns decorated our walls, and my boy's ability to read maps soared. Since completing this study I have noticed a considerable increase in my boy's ability to read maps that we encounter in our geography studies. No longer am I explaining basic map characteristics, they are both adept at reading and translating the maps on their own. This aspect has obviously added a tremendous amount to our overall learning.

I was thoroughly impressed with the completeness of this unit study. I have purchased or received for free other unit studies that are sorely lacking in certain aspects of the unit. Kim Kargbo at Soli Deo Gloria Resources has done a wonderful job with this unit study!

Pricing Information:

$11.50 for the Map Skills ebook.


I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Please visit The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews on Map Skills.

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