Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.

"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...

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....

This teaching packet is for grades five through eight, and it is organized around geographic themes: location, place, relationships, movement, and regions. There are four full lessons that are complete with posters, weblinks, and...

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...

Though it comprises only 5 percent of the world's population, the US generates 40 percent of the world's waste. Scholars learn about landfills, their safety, and other solid waste methods. They use experiments and research to learn more....

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

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...

Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...

The second instructional activity in a unit about how writers develop their central ideas and use evidence to support their arguments focuses on the role that scholars at Jundi Shapur, "The World's First True University," played in the...

After brainstorming reasons why Native Americans mapped their lands, your young critical thinkers will work together to review their ideas and determine the definition of a map. With today's extensive use of mapping technology and GPS...

To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...

To celebrate Texas, groups plan and create a commemorative map for a topic or theme in Texas history. The richly detailed plan and the approach could easily be adapted to any state. Samples are included.

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...

Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...

Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...

Understanding the ways a fire will act is a key factor in fire safety and fire prevention. Young campers focus on how the weather and terrain can affect the behavior of a fire with topographic maps and different...

What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

What's in a name? Historians consider the question as they examine places important to the Hopi people and the meanings of their place names. Included worksheets include maps and charts to help class members examine the geography of Hopi...

How are maps like fish? They both have scales. The chapter includes six different activities at three different levels. Scholars complete activities using natural resources, learn how to read a map, see how to make a compass rosette,...

Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...

Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...

Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.