Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Exploration

For Teachers 2nd
Are you looking for a terrific instructional activity on map activities for your second graders? Then, this resource is for you! The activities range from decoding, to fill-in-the-blank, to read-and-search. There is a website activity...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using the Landscape Picture Map to Develop Social Studies Skills

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Enhance your class' geography skills using this resource. Explore a variety of concepts including production and distribution, and people and the environment. Learners make predictions and identify locations on maps. This is a creative...
Unit Plan
Midwest Institute for Native American Studies

Introduction to Pre-Columbian Lessons

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Native peoples established civilizations all over Central and North America. Introduce native civilizations with a unit that promotes discussion, reinforces map skills, enhances reading comprehension, and exposes young historians to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Social Studies in Five Shared Reading Lessons: Geography

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages

For Teachers K - 4th
The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Second and third graders practice with basic map skills. They create their own map including a legend and a compass rose. This fabulous plan has many excellent websites linked which allow learners to explore maps of all kinds; including...
Lesson Plan
US Mint

Symbols in My Eyes

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
Explore the hidden meanings behind the images on US currency with this elementary school lesson plan on symbolism. Starting with a class discussion about symbols, children go on to brainstorm different objects that represent the...
Lesson Plan
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1
Federal Reserve Bank

Messy Bessey's Holidays

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Teach your class some fairly complex terms—factors of production, human resources, capital resources, natural resources, and intermediate goods—with a storybook (Messy Bessey's Holidays), plenty of visuals and handouts, and related...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Maps Through Dance

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Introductory Lesson on Maps

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students identify what a map is. They draw their own map using a simplified overhead view. After hearing the book, "Nikk's Adventure," students create their own maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My World

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young scholars study maps. In this social studies lesson, students draw a map of either their room at home or the route they take to school. Young scholars label items on their maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geo-Class Mapping My Neighborhood

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students create a map of the school and surrounding neighborhood.  In this mapping instructional activity, students discover their school's location and learn about its past.  Students use math skills and the steps in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Place of My Own: A Study of Maps

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate maps. They demonstrate their knowledge about maps and place landforms in the proper place as they create salt dough maps. They create a geography folder as well.
Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Community Bulletin Board

For Teachers K - 2nd
A project-based lesson has pupils create a bulletin board to share artwork, nonfiction articles, and messages based on social justice themes. The finished board is displayed in the community to create a place for discussion. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature: The Desert Alphabet Book

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Young scholars explore the geography of the United States. In this social studies lesson plan, students identify the major deserts on a map of the United States.
Lesson Plan
Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Maps and Homelands

For Teachers K - 2nd
You are never too young to learn about maps. To better understand the concept of a homeland, students work together to construct a map of their local area out of paper puzzle pieces. They'll put the maps together and then add details by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars examine what it was like to travel west on the Oregon Trail. They develop a list of questions about the trip, explore various websites, and create a story about the experiences of a 19th century family travelling on the...
Lesson Plan
World Globes & Maps

United States Map- Intermediate Directions

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students identify the four intermediate directions. For this map skills lesson, students use post-it notes to label the four intermediate directions on a map. Students locate various states using intermediate directions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

T-shirt Passport Lesson Plan

For Teachers K - 12th
Students locate their t-shirt place/name on maps, then share facts/artifacts (souvenirs) from their place/name location orally with whole class. They create a database using information gathered from the whole class.
Activity
PBS

Around the Block

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this...
Unit Plan
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program

The Backpack Travel Journals

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Follow the Leader

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Here is a phenomenal instructional activity on the three branches of government for your second and third-graders. It presents this often-confusing information in an easy-to-understand format. Many excellent activities and worksheets are...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

My Top Interdisciplinary Social Studies Lesson Plans

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Here are some top social studies lesson plans and activities which present concepts in a memorable fashion.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping America

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
While learning about the Louisiana Purchase, pupils practice map skills. This motivating lesson has them answer questions about the Louisiana Territory and the United States. It provides a quick and easy way review of skills and the...