Bee Study Suggestions

I've been involved with the National Geographic Society geography bee for 16 years, first as a parent of bee participants (who made it to the Maryland state bee three times) and later as a bee coordinator.

I have observed that there is no one way or best way to prepare for the bee. Some students really enjoy spending time poring over maps and atlases. Other students, including my kids, are much more interested in the historical and cultural geography. Although there are books about bee prep, most of those are geared towards the national bee, not the school-level bee, and tend to freak kids out.

Not having seen any of the bee materials for the 2020-21 bee, these would be my suggestions:

In terms of U.S. geography, know U.S. states, capitals, and major cities. Know where major lakes, rivers, deserts, mountains, and national parks are. Know if states are on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts or are east or west of the Mississippi River or the Rocky Mountains.
A knowledge of U.S. history is very helpful, as is a knowledge of famous landmarks, natural or man-made.
Knowing something about which products a U.S. state is (or has been) famous for (e.g., Idaho potatoes, Michigan automobiles, Florida citrus) is also useful, as is, somewhat surprisingly to many people, a knowledge of geology terms and weather patterns, which are components of physical geography.
In terms of world geography, all of the same basic principles apply -- capitals, major cities, major landforms, some history, famous landmarks, key products -- but swap out bodies of water like seas, bays, and straits for national parks.
Know Canadian provinces and don't forget about Antarctica and island countries.
Throw in a knowledge of which languages are spoken where so that it is easier to recognize place names and a knowledge of which religions and ethnic groups are associated with which countries.

I would not expect a bee participant would know, or need to know, all of this. But unlike a spelling bee, which often requires a student to learn a lot of words s/he will probably never use or even encounter, the geography bee at least encourages students to learn about things they encounter every day: place names on your mail, in the news, in a novel, on the labels of your clothes, in a history textbook, in a movie, etc.

In general, a child will find a wall map of the U.S. and a wall map of the world more useful than an atlas: an atlas stays closed most of the time, but a wall map is available for a casual glance or for more serious scrutiny whenever it is encountered. A subscription to National Geographic magazine is also a great idea for middle schoolers and older.

Whatever a student does to prepare for the bee should be guided by his or her own interests because drilling is really boring and unlikely to lead to meaningful long-term learning. More importantly, whatever a student learns about the U.S. and the world in preparing for the bee is his or hers to keep forever :-).

Online games:
www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm
www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA-georegion-click.html
freerice.com/#/identify-countries-map/835
freerice.com/#/world-capitals/13603
freerice.com/#/world-landmarks/1346450
www.geoguessr.com/seterra/en/vgp/3285
world-geography-games.com/
www.sheppardsoftware.com/World_Continents.htm
online.seterra.net/en/vgp/3094
www.nationalgeographic.org/bee/study/quiz
www.funbrain.com/games/where-is-that
online.seterra.com/en/vgp/3072
worldle.teuteuf.fr/
https://statele.teuteuf.fr/
www.digitaldialects.com/geography/physical_geography.htm

National Geographic material:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/resource-library

Supplemental learning:
www.thousandwonders.net/

Free smartphone/tablet apps (Android, possibly iOS):
Geo Bee (Thinkable Technologies): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weaselware.geography
Geography Quiz (Peaksel): play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.geographyquiz.triviagames
GeoBee Challenge (NGS): play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.ngs.geobee.geobee

I also post several maps worthy of discussion each week on my blog and on my Facebook page:
www.learningoutsidethebox.net/blog
www.facebook.com/LearningOutsideTheBox.LearnThinkExplore

Study Suggestions for the Geography Bee