This study investigated the effect of instructional strategies on the academic performanceof secondary school geography students in zaria educational zone, kaduna state-Nigeria. It was observed that many students at senior secondary school I perceives geography as a difficult subject and hence run away from it. The research work has three objectives is, to examine the effects of instructional strategies on academic performance of senior secondary school geography students in zaria educational zone.The study was delimited to only class one ofsenior secondary school students of public senior secondary schools in zaria. First term senior secondary school one scheme of work was used in the six weeks administration of the geographical models. The researcher investigated that instructional strategies could be effective techniques that improve teaching and learning geography at senior secondary school one.The research design adopted for this study was of the quasi experimental design non-randomise and non-equivalent. There are 24 public senior secondary school located in the zone. The focused on the 10 co-educational public senior secondary schools found in the area. The study selected 2 co-educational senior secondary schools in zaria education zone. The instruments (content and face validity) were ascertained by given geography performance test items to two experts. A pilot testing was conducted at government secondary school dakace zaria. It showed that performances’ on the re-test are better.The mean and standard deviation was used to answer research questions while t-test used to answer all hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level of significant. From the findings it was confirmed that in teaching with geographical models; the mean academic performance of students was higher, because it has been compared with test and re-test scores. Male mean academic performance was higher than those of females’ counterparts. In retention ability male had higher mean performance. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that, the developments of geographical models for teaching geography should be encouraged. The ministries of education and stake holders should encourage geography teachers to design and create geographical models, since they can be produced locally