Our Great Big World is a one-year world geography curriculum for students ages 5-10. We recommend it for 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, or 4th grade. You can use it with multiple children in that age range at the same time.
Watch this video walkthrough with author Mary Evelyn McCurdy to understand how all the components fit together.
Our Great Big World has 90 lessons for use during one school year (30 units of 3 lessons each). Lessons feature natural wonders, animals, man-made landmarks, and stories about real people. We include many stories about what life is like for Christians around the world and how they are spreading the gospel. Students can read the richly illustrated lessons on their own, or you can read the lessons aloud.
After you read each lesson, you will see an Activity Ideas box. The number of activities for each lesson varies. The activities include:
- Finding a particular place on a globe. (We recommend purchasing a globe if you don't already have one.)
- Completing an assignment in the Atlas Workbook.
- Answering questions in the Lesson Review.
- Coloring a picture in the Coloring Book.
- Reading and listening to a folktale or song.
- Completing a creative writing assignment.
- Working on a fun family activity.
- Reading from one of the recommended literature titles.
You can choose the assignments you want your child to complete. For example, you might expect a 4th grader to do all of the suggested assignments while a 1st grader might only complete a few. The choice is yours.
We recommend the following seven literature titles to read along with the lessons. Each book is assigned at a particular point in the course and takes place in a different region of the world.
- The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye (Middle East)
- Akimbo of Africa by Alexander McCall Smith (Africa)
- A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (Europe)
- Race for the Record by Dave and Neta Jackson (Asia)
- The Muddleheaded Wombat by Ruth Park (Australia)
- Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat (North America)
- Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina (South America)
The weekly family activity is related to a country or a topic you have been studying. These projects include crafts, recipes, and other hands-on activities.
If you already have the curriculum, our Quick Start Guide will launch you to success in using the literature, suggested supplements, and bonus downloads.