Are You Smarter than a 7th Grader?

First place winner.
Second place winner.
Our winner.

Recently (last Friday) our home school co-operative held their 7th Annual National Geography Bee. We have even sent some to the state competition in years past. For many weeks, it didn't look as if our bee would happen this year as you must have 6 to participate and we only had three committed. We starting campaigning for more participants and convinced Farmer Girl to be a warm body for the bee "just in case". She has never participated or had much interest in geography. Often we will do the GeoBee questions on-line at The National Geographic website and she has taken a number of geography classes, although against her will at times. :) The morning of the bee, she was still reluctant to compete, afraid she would make a fool of herself since she had not studied or prepared. We arrived just in time for the bee to begin at 9 AM. There were 11 4th-8th graders lined up! She wasn't really needed after all so chose to sit it out. HOWEVER, many of her friends kept encouraging her to do it anyway, pressuring her with "they even have a participant certificate made out for you". She continued to sit in her seat and refuse. Just as time was running out to change her mind, two brothers walked in late and rushed to the front of the room. One was tall, like Farmer Girl, and she finally succumbed to peer pressure. She joined the large group at the front, numbering 14.
The Bee begins with 7 rounds, each with a different topic like Continents, Cities and States, Cultural Geography etc. Students go one at a time to the microphone to answer their own question within that topic. They know immediately if their answer is incorrect. They return to their seat to await the next topic and next question. Once all seven rounds are completed the scores are tallied (the Scribbler was a score keeper-one of two) and those answering 5 out of 7 correctly advance to the second part of the bee. Only 10 can advance. In previous years due to a low number of participants and to allow for more competition, those answering 4 out of 7 have advanced. I wasn't aware of that at the beginning of the bee.
Here are Farmer Girls seven questions. See how you fare. Answers are at the bottom of the post.
1. US Geography
Which state has shoreline on Lake Erie-Oklahoma or Pennsylvania?

2. US Cities
Which city is located in a region where dairy farming is a major activity- Green Bay, Wisconsin or Cheyenne, Wyoming?

3. Odd Item Out (choose the one that does not belong)
Alligators are not native to which of the following states-Georgia, Wisconsin, or Alabama?

4. Continents
Tijuana, Matamoros, and Windsor are border cities on which continent?

5. Geography of Extremes
Which is Africa's most populous country-Nigeria or Sudan?

6. US Historical Geography
The Oscar-Zero and November--33 Launch Facilities, both important Cold War-era sites, are located northwest of Fargo in which state-Maryland or North Dakota?

7. Cultural Geography
Sheep's wool is knitted into distinctive patterns on the Shetland Islands.These islands are located west of Norway and are part of which island country?

Farmer Girl answered 4 of the above correctly and I thought all along she would advance. I was wondering if she realized this as she still seemed a bit out of her element. However, due to the large group, she did not. There were actually 11 that got 4 or more correct and only 10 can advance. Those who answered 5 or more numbered 6. She was relieved to be released from the stage, but has stated she would like to do it next year as a prepared student! I only wish she had found out sooner that she liked to compete!

Here are the answers: 1. Pennsylvania 2. Green Bay, Wisconsin 3. Wisconsin 4. North America
5. Nigeria 6. North Dakota 7. United Kingdom

How did you do? Which ones did you miss? I know Farmer Girl missed number 4 and number 7, but I can't remember the other one......she would remember, but she is sleeping! So, are you smarter than a 7th grader? Her good friend, another 7th grader and pictured at the top of the blog, won the bee and he will be taking the 100 question written exam at the end of January. The top 100 scores will advance to the state finals with the winner at state advancing to the national in Washington, DC. THAT one is usually televised, but for this one, you will have to just content yourself with our pictures. Congrats to all the participants. They did a great job!