Students use jump ropes to form the state or country of the teacher's choice. When they finish, all students stand around the capital of the state

In this maps instructional activity, students answer short answer questions about comparing a map to a crumpled up piece of paper. Students answer 3 questions.

Thirds graders reinforce that a map is a drawing that shows what a place looks like from above. They use a map key and symbols to create a map of the school and its neighborhood.

How is life in Northern Europe different from other areas of the world? Historians journey through the various regions of Northern Europe discovering what type of climate, animals, and lifestyles exist in that section of the world. They...

Students examine the culture of the Maasai pastoralist. They identify traditional aspects of their culture and describe how the roles of men and women vary in their society.

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...

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.

Create and illustrate individual books that aid young learners in learning to count 1-10 in Swahili. They discuss and appreciate a different culture, and find out about Africa through illustrating individual books. 

What a model community would look like? Get your kids talking with an activity that allows them to create their own town. After printing out a "fold out village," groups of students use a variety of resources to help them build an actual...

Conduct an investigation on the plants used by the Hohokam tribe. To survive in the harsh desert environment the Hohokam used many natural resources. Learners read, research, map, and graph multiple aspects of Hohokam plant use as a...

Young explorers examine the route that Marco Polo and his father traveled to reach China. They examine online maps of the Silk Road and harsh terrain of Afghanistan to determine challenges that may have been encountered during travel.

Students examine how the European voyages of discovery influence American culture even today. They map eighteenth century Europe's impact on the United States.

Students research the impact of European voyages of discovery and colonial influence on different aspects of American culture. They access a number of online sources and reference maps to trace the influences of England, France, Holland,...

Students investigate diversity. In this diversity lesson, students look at a variety of apples in order to compare and contrast their physical characteristics. They apply the concept to people by listing how people are the same and...

Students learn how slaves communicated with each other.  In this slavery and freedom lesson, students learn how slaves used quilts as maps, learn what different quilt patterns meant, draw a picture for their class freedom quilt and...

Why do some places in the world have more people living there than other places? Learn about the ways the countries have formed around natural resources with a reading comprehension activity. After kids read a short...

Mayim, Mayim is an Israeli folk dance done to celebrate the discovery of water. The dance is done in a circle with everyone moving the same way at the same time. If your dancers are shy and do not want to hold hands then perhaps use...

If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive lesson allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...

Students create a travel agency from favorite vacation destinations. The skill of reading and using a database is covered. Profiles of travelers are used to teach sorting into different categories during inquiry.

Students study weather and climate patterns using computer and Internet resources. They collect temperature information and share it with other classes via e-mail using graphs

Include this presentation in your social studies lesson about world flags. Each slide contains a vivid illustration of a flag and its country. The slides are organized in alphabetical order. Designed for an ESL class, the slides would...

Students examine the geography and culture of Mongolia. Individually, they cut out cut-outs of animals to place on their maps and label the grasslands and desert areas. They locate major cities and rivers along with vegetation.

Third graders study the Mediterranean Region by locating and identifying Italy, Greece, France, Spain, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.

Students research the names and locations of Spanish speaking countries throughout the world. They use a world map to become familiar with the locations of these countries and use the Internet to conduct further research. They sing...