Curated OER
This is My Neighborhood
Young scholars predict the things that they may see, smell, or hear in their neighborhood. They take part in a neighborhood walk, creating a rough map of their neighborhood as they go. Upon return to the classroom, students create a...
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson 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 what they...
Curated OER
Maps
Maps, globes, and computer software aid young explorers as they locate state capitols, major cities, geographic features, and attractions for states they are researching. They then use desktop publishing software to create a map to share...
Curated OER
Finding Your Spot in The World; Geography, Maps, Multi-Culturalism
Students use a variety of maps to locate their home, their school and the origin of their ancestors.
Curated OER
Maps and the Pictures in Our Heads
Geographers of all ages examine different types of maps. They draw maps of their environment, utilizing both three-dimensional and picture maps. They interpret map information, noting how it can sometimes be misleading. Some good...
Curated OER
Mapping Perceptions
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.
Curated OER
How Do I Get There? Planning a Safe Route to School
One much-needed skill for young learners is direction giving. Have your class plan and draw a safe route for them to travel from home to school. They will also draw places and items that are in between home and school in order to build a...
Curated OER
As the Kids Come and Go: Mapping a Classroom
Map the classroom with your kids to help them understand how maps work and how to read them. The lesson starts off with a story about animals living and moving around the globe, and then kids create maps of their classroom to show how...
Curated OER
Topography: Know the topography of your neighborhood
Young scholars read and identify features on a topography map. In this topography lesson plan, students learn how to read a topography map, and then go out and take pictures of their own and discuss the topography pictures they took.
Curated OER
Your Galactic Address
Students discover their place in the universe. In this astronomy lesson, students identify their location on various maps that have increasingly larger scales. In the end, the students write their address in terms of their location in...
Curated OER
Learning about Maps and Colors
First graders discuss "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and his drawings. In this neighborhood geography lesson, 1st graders learn to detect and classify places on a map including their home. Students recognize their address as a specific...
Curated OER
School Neighborhood Walking Tour
Students list specific boundaries in their school neighborhood and explain their possible purpose. They examine a neighborhood and see what connects us and what divides us. They, in groups, make maps of various neighborhoods and present...
Curated OER
Ticky Goes to Jr. Map School
First graders sing "We All Live Together," by Greg and Steve. They look at a map and sing the "Soggy Waffle Song" to study about the compass rose. Students write N, E, S, W on the borders of paper that goes under a 100's chart. The...
Curated OER
Shoes and the Backyard Landscape
Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and draw...
Curated OER
Putting It on the Map
Students consider the purpose of various types of maps and their different uses throughout history. They create their own maps and reflect on the map-making process.
Curated OER
Understanding Geography
Young scholars create a map of their own neighborhood to show the relationships between the geography of the neighborhood and its economy and culture. They view and discuss an introductory video on how geographers study an area then go...
Curated OER
Understanding: Geography
Students explore their neighborhoods. In this geography lesson, students make a map of their neighborhood. They must include a key, natural terrain, buildings and streets. They also write a descriptive paragraph about their neighborhood.
Curated OER
Navigating Your Community
Students draw a map from memory describing the route between their classroom and the gym including a legend, a compass rose, a map scale, symbols, and a landmark at every change of direction. They then retrace their steps in their maps...
Curated OER
How Far Did They Go?
Students create a map. In this direction and distance instructional activity, students come up with familiar places in the community and calculate the distances from these places to the school. Students create a map that displays these...
Curated OER
Neighborhood Map Machine
Second graders study building placements in a neighborhood. They discuss businesses, roads, houses, rivers, police/fire stations, and use Neighborhood Map Machine to create a new map. They complete an exploratory map and community of...
Curated OER
My Neighborhood: A Webquest
Students engage in a Webquest to discover their school and community. They interview staff members of the school, create maps and take digital photographs of the school. As they write about their school, they use Microsoft Word to...
Curated OER
Schoolyard Geology
Discover that maps show information about an area and that they have common features like scales and legends. View an aerial map of your school and find features on the map such as the playground, roads, and trees. Trace the outline of...
Curated OER
FINDING A RESOLUTION
Young scholars examine detailed Moon and Earth views provided by the NASA-sponsored "World Wind" computer program. They work in groups to create maps of different scales using landmarks of their choice, and challenge their classmates to...
Curated OER
In the Heart of Your City
Learners analyze the changes in the community described in "Still a Contender on the Waterfront" and evaluate how the history of a city can be seen, regardless of changes, in a city as it exists today.