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Lesson 3: Seven Day Road Trip
Students plan a seven day road trip. In this travel lesson, students plan a driving trip that includes five major cities or attractions in Florida or another state of their choice. They show the trip on a map, calculate distances that...
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Playground Mapping
Students convert their physical models of a playground from a previous lesson into a map of the playground that includes a scale and key. They examine and discuss examples of maps, view an image to map photo essay, and create a map using...
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Map the Civil War
Students explore the Civil War through original maps. In this mapping lesson, students calculate distance and show it on an original map. Students examine the type of landscape and its landmarks and draw symbols on the map.
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Mt. Whitney to Death Valley
This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...
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Designing a Hiking Trail
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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Oral Language
Students use distances on a map to draw a route, give directions, and follow directions. In this map lesson plan, students explain their route and directions orally.
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Couriers in the Inca Empire: Getting Your Message Across
Students examine how the Inca communicated over large distances. They locate the Inca Empire on a map, define key vocabulary terms, play the game, 'telephone,' and create a quipu to show the year they were born.
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Discovering New Mexico
Seventh graders discuss the elements of maps and using basic linear measurement. They calculate the distance between the cities and create a simulated journey around New Mexico using a road map. They write out the directions for their...
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Journey on the Underground Railroad
Young scholars use Indiana and Michigan state road maps to trace a route to Canada from Madison, IN. with the many possible stops along the way. They make a picture book that depicts a runaway slave's journey on UCR.
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Trade in the Silk Road Cities
Students use Google Earth to map cities along the Silk Road trade route. In this Silk Road trading instructional activity, students complete a worksheet examining production, transportation, and value of goods and research trade items....
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Project Whistlestop:Missouri Vacation Learning Unit
Fourth graders reserach the state of Missouri. In this Missouri History instructional activity, 4th graders plan a vacation to a region of Missouri. Students work in collaborative groups to determine all aspects of the trip. Students use...
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Playground Mapping
Students review their physical models of the objects on their playground at school. Using the model, they convert it into a map with a scale and key. To end the lesson, they use the map to locate different objects and measure the...
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Mud Maps
Students discuss the location of stores, buildings, and homes in their community. Afterwards, they create a 'mud map' demonstrating the route from one point to another. In pairs, students read travel directions from a brochure, while...
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Zipping Through Our Solar System and Beyond
Launch your class on an exploration of the solar system. Learners construct solar system models to scale and get a better understanding of our place in the vast void of space. This is a great way for them to cement their understanding of...
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See the State
Fourth graders are given a map of Indiana and have to plan a road trip including at least two major points of interest with 100% accuracy. The students estimate the distance between their two chosen locations with 100% accuracy.
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Taking Its Toll
Students explore ratios. For this rates lesson, students create a ratio to compare the price of a toll to the distance travelled. They compute the average cost per mile, determine the slope between two ordered pairs, and make...
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What if the Mormons had not come to Utah?
Fourth graders use critical thinking, evaluation, and geography skills to find alternative locations that Brigham Young could have taken the Mormons to settle.
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Desert Views - First Impressions: Travelers on the Gila Trail
Students draw animals and plants that are described to them as they read passages of people who traveled across the Gila Trail in the Southwest. In this Gila Trail lesson plan, students also write a letter describing a plant or animal in...
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All Aboard!
Students, in groups, create a display showing a "train trip" to a destination of their choice from a teacher-made list. They also answer a series of questions related to their trip. Groups present their displays.
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That Was Then
Learners compare and contrast their community in the past and today. Using primary sources, they develop their own history of their community. Individually, they create maps of the local area and complete sketches of local gravestones.
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Signs in the Stitching
Learners exercise their creativity by designing an original quilt and a written explanation of its meaning. They use primary sources to develop an understanding of Underground Railroad routes through Indiana.
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Coast to Coast Virtual Trip
Learners complete a variety of exercises and activities as they plan a coast to coast trip across America. They keep a journal that includes where they went, what they did, what they saw, etc. They compare two cities they visited along...