Eighth Grade Physical & Political Geography (1880)
Comprehensive study of world geography including physical features, political divisions, and commercial geography. Heavy emphasis on memorization.
4
Hours/Week
8
Skills Expected
Gilded Age
Era
Geography was a major subject, often with more instructional time than today. Emphasis on commercial applications reflected industrial and trade interests.
Gilded Age (1880-1889)
Mental discipline through rigorous study. Memorization and recitation emphasized character formation.
- Map reading and interpretation
- Knowledge of physical features worldwide
- Understanding of political boundaries
- Commercial geography and trade routes
- Climate and natural resources
- Drawing maps from memory
- Geographic vocabulary
- Understanding of exploration and discovery
- Maury's Physical Geography
- Guyot's Physical Geography
- Mitchell's Geography
Free Resources (4)
Frye's Primary Geography
Traditional geography textbook teaching physical features, map skills, and world regions.
AmblesideOnline (Free Charlotte Mason Curriculum)
Free online Charlotte Mason curriculum with book lists, schedules, and nature study guides.
Internet Archive - Historical Textbooks
Massive collection of scanned historical textbooks from 1800s-1900s. Free to read and download.
HathiTrust Digital Library
Academic digital library with millions of scanned books including historical textbooks.
Premium Curricula (2)
Classical Conversations
Classical homeschool community program using memorization, discussion, and rhetoric. Based on historical Trivium model.
Simply Charlotte Mason
Complete curriculum based on Charlotte Mason's methods (1880s-1920s): living books, nature study, narration, copywork.