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Geography Teaching. School Groups. Educational Practices. School Culture.
Geography as a subject that is taught inside the Brazilian territory context has been present since the colonial period, when the knowledge used by the Jesuit priests included the contents of this area. Later, during the Imperial years, it was consolidated as a full subject and as a curricular component of Colégio Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro afterwards. In the context of the 1st Republic, it was part of the teaching programs of School Groups across the states of Brazil. In that sense, this work aims to understand the History of Geography Teaching on School Groups in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, from 1908 to 1931. Methodologically, the investigation consisted in bibliographical research of authors such as Rocha (1996), Albuquerque (2011), Silva (2012), Vidal (2006), Magalhães (2004), and others who discuss about Geography Teaching, School Groups, Educational Practices and School Culture. In addition, we carried out analyses of documental sources, such as Brazil’s and Rio Grande do Norte’s educational legislation related to primary education during the 1st Republic and teachers' class diaries. Therefore, the decision to select this research theme is justified by the lack of deeper discussions about Geography as a subject on School Groups in the state and by the purpose of contributing to Rio Grande do Norte’s historiography, heeding to the educational practices of teachers when teaching Geography. At the end of the study, results indicate that School Groups complied with what was laid down by the legislation. Moreover, it is concluded that Geography was a subject present in the educational institutions, with teachers using innovative classroom practices for the time, as a matter of fact.