Maps Lesson Plans

By examining and creating maps for a variety of places they are familiar with, your students are introduced to the idea of a mental map of a familiar place. Students draw their mental maps, then work in groups to create a map of their classroom.

Measurement and map skills are the focus of this lesson, where students crawl through a "cave" made out of boxes, desks and chairs, observing the dimensions.  Your young geographers measure various aspects of the cave and practice math skills needed to create a related map scale. By observing a variety of authentic cave maps and create their own cave map representing the classroom cave students can solve and write related story problems.

Here is a well-designed, very thorough lesson plan on mapping for very young children. Within the six-page plan, you will find everything you need to implement the lesson. They will identify various landforms found in Colorado on a map, learn about the most common symbols found on maps, work with a partner to create their own map, and color in a worksheet which depicts the Colorado quarter.

Learners consider the various ways that maps help people in everyday life by analyzing and discussing maps on National Geographic's MapMachine, and writing paragraphs explaining how maps are helpful in planning a fictitious international festival.

Students see how temperatures across the United States vary. They use technology in order to find, print, and produce a color-coded weather map. They utilize worksheets and websites imbedded in this plan to help them with their project.

Identify the unique personal attributes of your class.They view a Visual Thesaurus and discuss displayed attributes associated with famous American leaders. Using these identity maps as models, students generate nouns and adjectives that describe themselves. Students use these words to create a personal identity map to share with their classmates.

Students create identity maps to introduce themselves to peers. In this ice breaker lesson, students use a Visual Thesaurus map as inspiration for creating an identity map to identify their own multiple roles, qualities, and attributes. Students use the map to introduce themselves to peers.

Young scholars pretend to be cartographers and specify which types of map projections would be the most valuable for their clients. They do the Globe Projector activity in the Xpedition Hall and take notes on the different map projections.

Students use different types of maps to examine the region of Asia. They examine how the region of Central Asia is defined. They develop their own scavenger hunt based on maps to complete the lesson.

Students discuss resource maps and examine examples from library resources. Working in groups, they create edible resource maps by drawing examples, such as popcorn on the border of Iowa and Nebraska. Then they use cookies in the shape of the United States to place items, such as chocolate chips to represent coal.