Geography Through Movies

Geography Through Movies

Have you ever wanted to learn geography in a fun, hands-on way?  You can!  Simply follow the steps to make geography one of your childrens' favorite subject.

Step 1.  Scroll down and choose a movie.

Step 2.  Go to the library, alone, and choose as many books as you can check out on state or country associated with your movie.  If your library has books-by-mail, use that!  My kids used to love getting packages from the library, even when they were educational books I had chosen.  If you do not have that option, simply place all the books in a big box.  To make it more exciting, wrap up the box in fun wrapping paper and place the box on the front porch before your kids wake up.

Step 3.  Once they watch the movie, go to the wall map and find the country or state on there.  How close is it to the equator?  What does that mean?  (The closer to the equator, the hotter it is)  What do they think the weather is like there?  Season?  What is the capital?

Step 4.  Have them tear open the package.  Give them time to pour through the books and choose their favorites, put the other books aside to send back.  Sit down and look at their favorite.  Read it together, writing down various facts for their game.  You may not want to read it word-per-word, but stop on topics that interest you.  How do they dress?  What do they eat?  How does that compare to how you dress?  What language do they speak?  These are topics that you can discuss.

Step 5.  On the next page find your state or country for a list of fun ideas you can engage in and learn about.

Step 6.  After you're done cooking your recipe, sit down and enjoy your meal in front of a slide show on your country.

Movies

***These earlier states that are smaller can be difficult to find movies for.  The ones I have found, may not be kid-friendly.  If you come upon this, try watching more episodes of 'Liberty Kids' instead.  You could also just  pick some random movie, or just continue without the movie, your choice!

Heidi- Switzerland
Swiss Family Robinson- Switzerland

Little Mermaid 2- Monaco

Pippi Longstocking- Sweden

Captain Philips-Oman

Animated Cartoon- Portugal
**-this is a subtitled cartoon, to help kids learn the language.  If you enjoy this, there are several links to the right with more cartoons!



Peter Pan- England

Lady and the Tramp- England
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang- England
The Hobbit- England

Mary Poppins-England

Aristrocats-England

Black Beauty- England

Oliver Twist- England

The Great Muppet Caper- England

A Christmas Carol- England

Bed Knobs and Broomsticks- England

Oliver!- England

Sword and the Stone- England

A Little Princess- England

Treasure Island- England

National Velvet- England

The Wind in the Willows- The River Lerryn, (England)

Monsters Inc-Nepal

Dead Poets Society- Delaware
Days of Thunder- Delaware

Marley & Me- Pennsylvania
The Blob- Pennsylvania
My Girl- Pennsylvania
Mannequin- Pennsylvania
Robocop- Pennsylvania
Inspector Gadget- Pennsylvania
Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory- Pennsylvania

Annie (1982)- New Jersey (filmed in)
Big- New Jersey
The Sorcerer's Apprentice- New Jersey

Fireproof-Georgia
Footloose- Georgia
SpongeBob Movie, Sponge out of Water- Georgia
Smokey and the Bandit-Georgia
Remember the Titans- Georgia
James and the Giant Peach- Georgia

The Dragon that Wasn't-Netherlands
Lepel-Netherlands
Mariken-Netherlands
Fuchsia-Netherlands
The Little Vampire-Netherlands


Planet 51-Spain
**According to IMDb movie site, when searched, "20 movies from Spain" this was on the list....all I can say is it was on there, and the only movie I could find, lol..

Two Brothers- Thailand
(I never heard of this one, so show a link)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338512/

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull- Connecticut

 Anne of Green Gables (1919) Massachusetts
Jaws- Massachusetts
Jaws the Revenge- Massachusetts
Little Women- Massachusetts
Zookeeper- Massachusetts
Parent Trap-Massachusetts
Babes in Toyland- Massachusetts
(one believed origin of the real 'Mother Goose' according to Wikipedia)
The Scarlet Letter (1934) Massachusetts
Mall Cop- Massachusetts
Johnny Tremain- Massachusetts
The Pink Panther 2- Massachusetts
The Next Karate Kid- Massachusetts
Little Monsters- Massachusetts

 Chances Are- Maryland
Guarding Tess- Maryland
Hairspray-Maryland
National Treasure, Books of Secrets- Maryland

Spy Kids- Chile


Ace Ventura, When Nature Calls- South Carolina
Forrest Gump- South Carolina

The Jungle Book (1994)- May be a good time to discuss Rain Forest


Jumanji- New Hampshire
On Golden Pond- New Hampshire

Evan Almighty- Virginia
Lassie (1994)- Virginia
Pocahontas- Virginia

Smurfs- New York
Muppets Take Manhatten
Stuart Little- New York
The Great Gatsby(1974)- New York
Men in Black- New York
Spiderman 3- New York
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :Half Shell-New York

Ratatouille- France
Beauty and the Beast- France

Flight of the Red Balloon- France

Adventure's of Elmo in Grouchland- North Carolina
Richie, Rich- North Carolina
Muppets from Space- North Carolina

Hachi: A Dogs Tale- Rhode Island
Underdog- Rhode Island

Beetlejuice- Vermont
Pollyanna- Vermont
Batman and Robin(1997)- Vermont

Rain Main- Kentucky

Hannah Montana: The Movie- Tennessee

Rain Man- Ohio 
Little Giants- Ohio
Because of Winn-Dixie- Ohio
The Blob(1988)- Ohio
The Dukes of Hazard- Ohio
Left Behind(2014)- Ohio
A Christmas Story- Ohio
http://www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/

The Rescuers- Louisiana
Princess and the Frog- Louisiana

Uncle Buck- Illinois

Fox and the Hound 2- Arkansas

The Yearling- Florida
Flipper- Florida
Dolphin Tale- Florida

 Here Come the Littles- Texas
Old Yeller- Texas

Karate Kid (original)- California
Herbie the Love Bug- California
Freaky Friday- California
Herbie Rides Again- California
Herbie: Fully Loaded- California
The Shaggy Dog- California
The Apple Dumpling Gang- California
Return from Witch Mountain- California
E.T.- California

Homeward Bound 2:- San Francisco

The Muppet Movie- Hollywood

The Muppets (new one)- Las Angeles

Cinderella- Germany
The Never Ending Story- Germany
Pinocchio

The Muppet Movie- Nevada (where they broke down)

Charlotte's Web-  (animated) Nebraska

R.V.- Colorado

Charlotte's Web- (real life, recent one)- Filmed mostly in Victoria, Australia
The Rescuers Down Under- Australia

Herbie Goes Bananas- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Sleeping Beauty- Italy

Tangled- Austria

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo

Benji the Hunted- Oregon
Goonies- Oregon coast

Superman- Kansas
Wizard of Oz- Kansas

Harry and the Hendersons- Washington
Sleepless in Seattle- Washington

Superman 2- Idaho

Fox and the Hound- Wyoming
Bambi- Yosemite National Park/ Wyoming

Where the Red Fern Grows- Oklahoma

The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner movie- New Mexico

Alladin- Arabian Peninsula

The Black Stallion- Algeria

Popeye (movie)- Malta
 http://popeye.wikia.com/wiki/Popeye_Village

Mulan- China

Santa Clause Movie- Ontario, Canada
Santa Clause 2- Alberta, Canada
Santa Clause 3- British Columbia, Canada
Follow that Bird- Ontario, Canada
My Side of the Mountain- Toronto, Canada

The Adventure's of Milo and Otis- Japan

An American Tail- Russia
Anastasia- Russia

The Chipmunks Adventure-Bermuda/Athens, Greece, Egypt

The Princess Bride- Croatia

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs- Belguim

Hop- Easter Island

Madagascar- Madagascar

Frozen- technically it's 'Lappland', but Disney says it's Norway

Rio- Brazil 

Polar Express- North Pole

Sound of Music- Austria

The Rescuers Down Under- Australia (pick a province)

Nemo- Coral Reef

Ice Age- Antarctica

Gremlins- Japan

Happy Feet- Alaska

Lilo and Stitch- Hawaii

Pippi in the South Seas- (pick one from the link)
http://www.southseas.co.uk/

Miracle on 34th Street-origin of 'Santa' (St. Nicholas) or Christmas around the world



Mighty Mouse and the Great Space Chase- solar system

Escape to Witch Mountain- Solar System or just choose a mountain

Any Star Wars movie- followed by a planet study (choose a planet for each one, maybe stars, choose a favorite you want to study!)

Any  Winnie the Pooh- Find a forest to look at

Here Comes Peter Cottontail- history of Easter


,
The Land Before Time- The Great Valley (also known as 'The Great Appalachian Valley)

Little Nicholas- Belguim


The adventure's of Tom Sawyer- Mississippi River/states
The Adventure's of Huckleberry Finn

Castaway- Explore the ocean and have kids pick an island

Lion King- Choose a province in Africa, one for each sequel

Homeward Bound- Rocky Mountains, (that or pick a state it goes through)

Dumbo- Circus (choose an aspect you want to study)

Open Season- Pick a state park

The Little Mermaid- Denmark/Choose an ocean

The Absent-minded professor/Flubber 
- Do this toward the end, it's setting is a 'fictitious university' that Disney has created for a variety of shows...  choose a few colleges, (I will give a list of links, if needed) and have them send you info.  What to do?  Create your own college!
What would you name your college?
What majors would be available?  How long would it take?
What classes would be required?
What would the rules be?  Would there be housing?
Where would it be located?  Why?
Would there be tests?  Why/why not?
Have fun and go with it!!