I think geography needs to be taught rigorously in at least 4th - 6th grades as a separate subject.

Geography was taught as a separate subject in my fourth-sixth grades (1950-52), but by then it was too late. My knowledge of names and places had come from doing jigsaw puzzles - United States (half-inch plywood), The World (quarter-inch plywood), Dominion of Canada (pressed cardboard). As a result I can't tell which one is Colorado and which is Wyoming when I look at a map: same size, same shape. But I know all the other ones. Now I'm not nearly as adept - a lot of the names have been changed, and faster than new puzzles can come out! I certainly couldn't find any good ones for my own kids, more's the pity.