Measurement and map skills are the focus of this instructional activity, where young scholars crawl through a "cave" made out of boxes, desks and chairs, observing the dimensions.  Your young geographers measure various aspects of...

Native American studies is fun, educational, and highly motivating. Fifth graders will gain a deeper understanding of the six major pre-Columbian culture areas on the North American continent. They will choose one group and conduct...

Students research early explorers from selected nations, routes, or time periods. After finding maps of exploration routes over water and land, they create a time line. Presentations are created in the form of three-dimensional models...

Students explore the ancient civilization of Mali and examine various historical and cultural aspects of the civilization. In this ancient civilization of Mali lesson, students examine trade with respect to geographic locations, discover...

Did you the message? Scholars listen to a read aloud of The Wings of the Butterfly to summarize and determine the message of the text. They discuss the folktale and vocabulary in groups, then use a double bubble map to compare the story...

If your students are just starting a unit on Geography this could be the introduction you're looking for. This PowerPoint presents a clear and organized overview of the different types of maps people use and why each is important. Tip:...

Students work in small groups to: make a mental map of the world by tearing paper shapes of the seven continents and locating them on a flat surface in their relative positions, compare their finished mental map to a reference world map,...

Young scholars compare a globe and a two-dimensional world map and explore how they both represent the planet Earth. They locate the Hawaiian Islands on the globe or the world map and describe how the geographical position is unique.

The tradition of the First Thanksgiving is really a story of immigration. Connect the feelings and customs of the early Pilgrims to the experiences of the immigrants in your class with an introduction to the 13 colonies, the Mayflower,...

Hop into a covered wagon and follow Laura Ingalls Wilder through the Midwest. A series of lessons based on Little House on the Prairie encourages young pioneers to see the world through Laura's eyes as they map her...

Learners examine the use of topographic maps as two dimensional representations that show elevations and slopes with contour lines. They read maps of the Salt Lake City, Utah area and complete the associated worksheets that show map...

How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...

It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...

How do the five themes of geography relate to the country of Iceland? Pupils learn about everything from the differences between relative and absolute location to how humans both adapt and change the environment. The presentation...

Hydrologists create a concept map about how water is used and a sentence strip defining water and describing its unique properties. Small groups work together to fill a small milk carton and compute the mass of water inside. The next...

Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet," design and create a map of the Aztec Empire at the time of the first contract with the Spanish. They create the map from...

Students study the Book of the Dead and its importance to Ancient Egyptian culture, identify with ancient Egyptians through reading about their culture and religion, and use scroll-shaped paper and colored pencils to create their own...

Students identify the symbol for cities on a political map. In this world map lesson, students identify specific cities on the World Political Map. Students should identify the country in which the city is located. Students discuss the...

Don't miss this gold mine of blank maps for your next geography lesson! Regions include traditional continents such as Asia, Europe, and Africa, as well as other major world areas such as the Pacific Rim and the Middle East.

Learners make puzzles from world maps, dramatizing how much of the globe is covered by ocean.

Students create and read maps. In this map skills lesson, students draw a map of their neighborhood, then use skills acquired during map-making to interpret a classmates map and a map of the Ming Dynasty.

Explore the world (our world) of melting ice caps. Why are these caps melting? What is the effect of melting ice caps? Dive into the ever-present issue of global warming with a resource that has learners looking at data and participating...

Students locate some of the 1,500 active volcanoes on a world map. Then by comparing their maps with a map of the world's tectonic plates, they discover that volcanoes occur because of the dynamic nature of the Earth's lithosphere.

Students examine Ernest Shackleton's journey through the Antarctic and trace Shackleton's Actual Route on a map using longitude and latitude coordinates. Students compare his intended route with his actual and determine how far off...