Mapping the World with Art

What Reviewers Say

Reviewers consistently describe Mapping the World with Art as an integrated program that combines geography, history, and art through multi-sensory activities. According to Cathy Duffy Reviews, the curriculum utilizes an approach that links history with drawing to provide interactive learning opportunities. The Curriculum Choice notes that the program is intended for students aged 10 to 16 and highlights the flexibility provided by its various media formats and extensive library of reinforcing worksheets. Regarding instruction quality, Nonnie's Notes considers the drawing lessons to be more detailed and user-friendly than those found in competing curricula. However, Cathy Duffy Reviews points out a specific trade-off, noting that the content prioritizes physical landforms over political boundaries. This focus on cartography through a historical lens provides a chronological framework for the lessons, though the curriculum maintains a distinct emphasis on the physical mapping process rather than political borders.

How It Works

A typical lesson begins with the student reading a short history lesson, one double-sided page, that provides context for the region being studied, followed by a drawing lesson in which the student draws that area of the world from scratch on a blank sheet of paper by following step-by-step pictures in the book. Video demonstrations of the drawing lessons are an optional supplement, and the publisher advises keeping the printed lessons at hand for sharper sketch lines and labels. A single session generally takes 40 to 60 minutes; the publisher suggests one chapter per week, with the history lesson and drawing on one day and one or more activities on another. Students work with a pencil, black pen, compass, ruler, and protractor for most of the map drawing, and the activities call for other art supplies such as paints, crayons and card stock. The course suits a family or group class better than independent study: a student can read the history sections and complete the drawing lessons alone, but a parent or teacher may need to coordinate the lessons and present the review activities.

Switching to This?

Because this is a single-level elective rather than a multi-year sequence, the publisher does not offer a placement test; families can start with Lesson 1, and lessons can be rearranged to match another history program, though some later drawings build on earlier ones, such as the Nile River drawn early and reused in the Africa lesson. It is most appropriate for students in grades 5-10, though artistic younger students can participate with parental help. Families can easily start this curriculum mid-year as a supplement or a dedicated geography elective because each lesson is self-contained. Parents switching from a standard textbook program should prepare for a shift in focus: instead of memorizing lists of capitals from a map, students will be learning to visualize and recreate global proportions through kinesthetic movement.

Curriculum Details

Price

$18.95 - $36.95

The digital download (book only) is $18.95. The DVDs of the drawing lessons are $27.95, the CD with the PDF text plus the DVDs is $29.95, the video e-course (streaming videos plus a digital copy of the text) is $35.95, and the USB drive with the PDF text and all drawing videos is $36.95. All are one-time purchases. The publisher's paperback is out of stock on its own store and is sold through Amazon and other book retailers.

Grades

5 - 10

Available As

Digital Print Video Workbook

Coverage

Single subject

Subjects

History/Social Studies Art

---

Pacing

Flexible

Parent Time

5-15 min/day

Student Independence

Semi-independent

---

Academic Level

Above grade level

Worldview

Neutral

Teach Multiple Ages

Yes

Engaging for Reluctant Learners

Yes

Videos

Reviews We Consulted

Updated: June 2026

How This Compares

Compared to the 'Draw the World' series, which uses a printed book of static diagrams, McHenry provides video instruction that is often more helpful for students who struggle to visualize where a line should begin or end. When weighed against 'Trail Guide to World Geography,' which is a research-based program involving atlases and almanacs, this curriculum is much more focused on art and 'stealth learning' through drawing rather than data retrieval. Parents looking at 'Memoria Press Geography' will find that while Memoria Press focuses on the rigorous memorization of political boundaries and facts, McHenry’s program prioritizes the physical shapes of landmasses and their historical discovery. Against literature-rich programs like 'Beautiful Feet Books,' this curriculum is far more hands-on and better suited for visual or kinesthetic learners who prefer 'doing' over long periods of reading. Finally, compared to 'Map Trek,' which uses pre-drawn maps for labeling, McHenry requires students to start with a blank page, which results in a much deeper internalization of global geography.

Getting Started