Geography Bowl Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn’t my child’s teacher give them time to work on the packets in class?

The GeoBowl is not a part of the official curriculum, so we cannot require teachers to include time for the program during the school day. There are already many required tasks competing for time in school.  Before and after school and on weekends, students are encouraged to work on their packets with a friend, sibling, parent or caregiver.

If it’s not part of the official curriculum, why are we doing it?

The GeoBowl is a way to enrich the Social Studies content outside of the official curriculum. Several MCPS schools are now using this program, and we hope to send a message to MCPS about the importance of geographic literacy.

Why does the GeoBowl itself take place during the school day? If it were held at night, I could see my child compete.

The goal of the program is to reach every student in the school and keep all of them as involved as possible in the program. By holding the Bowls during the day, we ensure that all students and all teachers get to experience the excitement of the Bowls. Parents will be notified of Bowl times for each grade/pod and are welcome to come and observe.

Why aren’t there more complex questions in the packet—the type of questions that would lead my child to open an atlas, come to me with questions, or go on the Internet for answers?

The goal is to reach as many students as possible, so the packet must be self-contained. We cannot assume that a student has an atlas, a computer, or a parent at home to help with the packet. Of course, we do hope that the packet will inspire further exploration.

Why is there a quiz to get on a GeoBowl team? 

The quiz encourages students to study their packets.  All students who 1) complete a packet by the due date 2) study for the quiz, and 3) indicate they want to be on a team will be placed on a team.  We do our best to put together teams of kids with diversity in regard to gender, ethnicity and quiz scores.