This article reports on the possibilities and challenges of starting problem-oriented learning in geography lessons. The article focuses on the features of motivating problems, because one of the essential functions of the problem to start with is to animate learners to solve it. The analysis of various introductions to problem-oriented learning of geographic topics in primary schools shows that generating a cognitive dissonance is highly suitable for inducing a desire to learn. As a motivating role relative to the problem, the helper and expert roles were seen as being ideal.