Geography Terms Bingo for Middle School

Have some fun by adding geography terms bingo to your middle school geography lesson plans.

Do your kids know the difference between a pond, lake, sea, and gulf?

How about a savanna, grassland, and mesa?

If you were stranded in the middle of a pond vs. a gulf you would probably figure out the differences between these geography terms very quickly!

Middle School Geography

During our middle/high school geography studies with North Star Geography, we learned an important new geography term – topography.

“Topography – the shapes and features of an area.  You can think of topography as the lay of the land.” – North Star Geography, Lesson 5

Physical maps depict topography and will include data such as:

• Terrain (also called relief) including landforms such as mountains, dunes, and caves
• Surface water features including rivers, lakes, and waterfalls
• Man-made features including towns, bridges, and villages

As you can imagine, there are a number of interesting geography terms to understand when learning about topography.

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In North Star Geography, we were introduced to more than 125 terms — everything from archipelago, butte, and cape to volcanoes, waterfall, and whirlpool.

Geography Terms Resources

We have discovered a number of resources to help us learn the meaning of all of these terms. A few of our favorites are:

Student Atlas Glossary

Recently we told you all about how we use atlases in our geography studies.  Don’t forget to look in the back of these great books for the glossary which will include geography terms and definitions.

Geography Glossary

We have used this resource since our earliest homeschool days!  The Enchanted Learning Geography Glossary offers terms with definitions and graphics.

National Geographic Education online Glossary 

One of the most comprehensive lists we have found, the National Geographic Education Glossary includes geography, science, and social studies terms.  Many terms also include a link to the National Geographic online Encyclopedia where students can find photos and additional information.

North Star Geography by Bright Ideas Press

In Lesson 5 of this middle-high school geography curriculum, students will learn new topography terms, find definitions, and examples. The student Activity Guide includes topographical maps for students to print, color, and label to help reinforce their understanding of these important terms.

Geography BINGO

My kids enjoyed learning these geography terms. Some terms they already knew, but many others sounded familiar, but they weren’t sure of the definitions. Because there were so many terms to learn, it was a bit challenging trying to keep them all straight!

We created a game to help reinforce our learning — Geography Terms BINGO! It’s one of our favorite geography board games.

Supplies:

• A printed copy of the Geography Terms BINGO game for each child.
• Pencils or pens
• World Altas or access to online resources to help define geography terms (suggestions are listed above)
• Chips or markers for marking the BINGO squares (you could use plastic chips but we usually use M&M’s to make the game a bit more fun).

Instructions:

1. Students work independently.  Each student will need a printed copy of the Education Possible Geography Terms BINGO game document.
2. There are more than 50 terms on the “Geography Terms” page.  Students individually select 25 terms from this list that they want to learn more about.
3. Students write the 25 terms on the “Defining Geography Terms” page, then use online or printed resources (such as the atlas glossary) to write a short definition for each term they selected.
4. Students then write the 25 terms selected in the squares on the “Geography Terms BINGO” page (one term per square).
5. Parents will use the “Geography Terms” page and randomly call out terms from the list, one at a time.  If a term on their card is called, students place a marker on that square.
6. When a student gets 5 in a row (across, down, or diagonally) they shout out “BINGO”!  In order to win that round, the student must correctly give the definition of the terms marked.
7. Continue playing additional rounds until students are familiar with the geography terms and definitions on the list.

More Geography Ideas

There are so many fun geography activities for tweens!

• Play these map games for kids together.
• Add online geography games to your lesson plans.
• Middle school geography games help kids learn.
• Use these world geography activities in your homeschool.

Don’t forget your copy of the Geography Terms BINGO!

We hope you enjoy learning these interesting geography terms with your family!