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Activity
DiscoverE

LIDAR: Mapping with Lasers

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!

For Teachers K - 1st
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,...
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Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Classroom Activities for The Call of the Wild by Jack London

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Three activities are designed for readers of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. First, class members research and create posters that reflect the setting of the novel. Next, groups create posters with images that represent each chapter...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Map of the Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
With the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson roughly doubled the size of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase not only grew the new country, but also it gave rise to the legends surrounding westward expansion and accelerated the...
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Activity
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Museum of Science

Make a Map

For Students 1st - 6th
It's important to know the final destination. Scholars first measure distances in a region of interest using a standard measuring device or by counting steps. They then use an appropriate scale and graph paper to create a map of the...
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Activity
Exploratorium

Measuring and Mapping the Playground

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
The school playground is a great place to learn about math. Pupils measure the dimensions of a playground using baby steps and individual strides. They use their measurements to create a scale drawing of the playground by applying an...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Watching in 3D

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Mapping the Deep-Ocean Floor

For Teachers 7th - 8th
How do you create a map of the ocean floor without getting wet? Middle school oceanographers discover the process of bathymetric mapping in the third installment in a five-part series of lessons designed for seventh and eighth graders....
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Lesson Plan
NOAA

Wet Maps

For Teachers 5th - 6th
How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Valleys Deep and Mountains High

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed
Sometimes the best view is from the farthest distance. Satellite imaging makes it possible to create altitude maps from far above the earth. A three-part activity has your young scientists play the role of the satellite and then use...
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Lesson Plan
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NOAA

Mapping the Ocean Floor: Bathymetry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Bathymetry is not a measure of the depths of bathtubs! Through the three lessons, scholars explore two different types of maps and how they are made. The resource focuses on topographic and bathymetric maps and teaching the techniques...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Who Can Make the Best Coordinate System?

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Working with a map that does not have a coordinate system on it, small, collaborative teams must come up with a coordinate system for their map. Groups then explain their coordinate structure to the class.
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Lesson Plan
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Rainforest Alliance

Knowing the Essential Elements of a Habitat

For Teachers 1st Standards
To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then write...
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Lesson Plan
Civil War Trust

Map the Civil War

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Mapmaking was a very important element in successfully planning attacks on enemies during the Civil War. Guide pupils through the process of pacing to find the average length of their steps, measure the distance between one object to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Those Who Have Come Before Me

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Class members are transformed into explorers as they work in groups to locate hidden items and map their journey along the way. They then leave clues for other groups of students to follow, and ultimately discover how past explorations...
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Activity
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Curated OER

Designing a Hiking Trail

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Put your students' map skills to the test with this engaging cross-curricular project. Given the task of developing new hiking trails for their local community, young cartographers must map out beginner and intermediate paths that meet a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land Plan Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Links to two different versions of this mapping activity are available. In "The Small Version," youngsters design a town, keeping the water supply in mind. In "The Large Version," they also design a town, but they consider services and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read maps and artifacts for information indicating the existence of a trade network in Old Babylonia and beyond. They list goods imported to and exported from Babylonia. They indicate trading centers on a map of ancient...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do the Tallywalker

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study the basics of mapmaking, then make a tally walker, (geographic location device used in secret).
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Road with Marco Polo: Marco Polo in China

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate who the Mongols were and where their empire was located. They research Kublai Khan and the region he ruled. They study the major products of 13th Century China.
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Lesson Plan
Edgate

Great Grids

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners use grid boxes as a measurement tool and discover how grids are used for mapmaking and scaling down an area. They begin by attempting to draw a model shape drawn by the teacher by using the gridding process. At the conclusion of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fantasy / Art Maps

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders analyze a fantasy art map by Jeremy Anderson, paying careful attention to the way the topographic features of the land are represented. They create a similar map of Sacramento that includes topographical features as well as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whole Language Approach to Map Making

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, after reading Island of the Blue Dolphins, explore map making using the Whole Language Approach.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grid Frame Mapping

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students map and describe a small area of the schoolyard.