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.

Students explore the terrain, structures, plants and signs of habitats around their schoolyard. They draw a sketch map showing the different areas around the schoolyard. Students identify the location of weeds and native plants on their...

Second graders familiarize themselves with the town they live in by practicing their imagination, library research and writing skills.

Students explore the different kinds of maps and the purpose of each.  For this Geography lesson, students work in small groups to create a map which includes the use of a map key.

Fourth graders read Roxaboxen and draw a map of the Roxaboxen community. In this language arts and geography lesson plan, 4th graders use specifications given, adding features to the map as described in the book and creating a legend.

Students access the Oregon Trial website to find information on what it was like to experience traveling the Oregon Trial. Then, in groups, they create dioramas depicting events that could have happened along the Oregon Trail.

Students generate, share and display ideas as a group. They break into small groups to work on hand-drawn maps made up of concentric circles. they come before the group and make a similar diagram by charting each other's characteristics.

Fourth graders imagine what North Carolina looks like from the air. Looking at a map, they list the different kinds of views we might find, (i.e., beach, mountains, cities, farms, etc.) then attempt to draw their own version of a map.

Students create a time line and map about how chocolate traveled the world. In this chocolate lesson plan, students also create and taste chocolate.

Students design an interactive map with modes of transportation that actually move across the ocean. They construct transatlantic maps of the northern hemisphere and imagine what it would be like to operate various modes of...

Learners examine our society's fascination with Mars.  In this journalism lesson students read an article that outlines the various ways Mars has captured our imagination and are given topics for discussion and a chart to...

Students make a map of an imaginary island using the topographic symbols provided from a worksheet. Students place lakes, dwellins, reefs, etc. in areas where they would logically be located from understanding how the topography of an...

Students develop maps based on a virtual internet expedition of The Louisiana Purchase land area. They create the maps based on an actual outdoor expedition of their communities. Student create two maps, one based on the Louisiana...

Students create a story map of the basic elements and significant events of the book Flat Stanley. Students brainstorm places they would like to visit if they had been flattened and then, write about an imagined experience. Students...

Students study European cities and label countries on a map, match cities to countries, and answer true and false questions. For this European cities lesson plan, students also guess the names of cities they see pictures of.

Students create an artistic response to the book, The Polar Express. In this creative writing lesson plan, students read the book and visualize an imaginary journey they would like to go on. Students create a train car from construction...

Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...

Students explore issues and situations that make for a city and its local environments. In this local government lesson, students design maps, define issues and create brochures that illustrate their understandings of these concepts and...

NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This instructional activity is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the...

Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...

A light, and humorous lesson on "street cows" is here for you. Learners listen to the story, "Street Cows," which is embedded in the plan. On a map of the US and the World, they locate the cities where the "Cows on Parade" exhibit was...

Explore Samburu culture as students examine art work by many artists and compare and contrast their styles. They view Kenyan images and find Kenya on the map. Students identify conflict in the animal world and draw animals and record in...

Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...

The Alaskan wilderness contains every imaginable element of the water cycle: it has flowing streams, cool spring rain, and frozen glaciers. Pupils use a series of worksheets to identify and define evaporation, condensation, and...