Atlas Lesson Plans

Students use the classroom atlases, the Internet or textbooks to draw a freehand map. They work in groups using the maps in the book The Broken Spears (Portilla) and The Conquest of New Spain (Diaz) to draw a freehand map identifying the cities and lakes. Students use butcher paper to draw the map.

Learners identify that the crust of the earth is constantly moving and that with the exception of faults accompanied by earthquakes, this rate of movement is far too slow to notice. Then they print a copy of cross-section map A and cross-section map B from the lesson on Rocks, Rails, and Trails. Students also explore the earthquake section of the Digital Atlas.

Students use maps and atlases to locate two cities. They calculate the distance and amount of time from two locations. They read the document, A Teenager's Diary of Coming Overland from Ohio in 1846, and keep a running tally of cost and progress made.

Students work in teams to research specific landforms in Great Lakes Watershed, compile information into data table, and write legend explaining landform for children's book. Students then research area surrounding landform, compile data into food web, and develop specialized map for Great Lakes Atlas.

Fifth graders sketch and identify line segments, midpoints, intersections, and parallel and perpendicular lines. They examine scale drawings of rooms or houses and geographic features in an atlas, then create a drawing of an outline of a building. Next, they create a scale drawing on a smaller scale.

Students are introduced to the purpose of dichotomous keys and create one together as a class. In groups, they use a digital atlas to examine the different types of amphibians in Idaho. Using this information, they make their own dichotomous key and discuss the amphibians characteristics.

Students plan a trip around the world and create a PowerPoint presentation of the journey. In this map, atlas, and technology lesson, students plan a trip around the world in which they avoid using an airplane. Students will consider risks and dangers of particular areas and create a PowerPoint of their journey, including sound effects, animations, and pictures.

Students examine the differences between primary and secondary documents. In this primary and secondary source lesson, students examine three distinct sets of primary and secondary sources dealing with the eagle as a national symbol. They play a eagle matching concentration game, and examine world maps, a Salem Impost book, and an atlas.

Students investigate what type of climate and physical features certain Indigenous groups live in using an atlas and a provided worksheet. They then match the tribe and its location to the sustainable stategy employed in agricultural practices. This will help them realize the positive effects Indigenous groups have had on the environment.

Students give & follow directions given in Spanish, using oral, written and graphics. They use maps, globes, atlases, and remote sensing, GIS, and GPS to acquire and process information about places.