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What Do Maps Show?
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...
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Introduction To Topographic Map Activities
Students discuss different types of maps, their similarities and differences. Using a Topographical Maps CD-rom program students create their own map.
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Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 1: Mapping Biotic Communities
As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...
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3-D Topographic Maps
Students create a 3-D topographic map. In this map building lesson, students use cardboard to create a topographic map of the Catskills mountain region.
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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...
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Understanding Topographic Maps
Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...
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Orienteering - Lesson 1 - Maps & Map Scales
Lesson 1 of 10 lessons in this orienteering unit is about maps and map scales. After all, orienteering is all about maps, compasses, and finding ones' way around. It is imperative to be able to read maps and understand the relevance of...
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Planning A Railroad Online Lesson
Students plan a route across Donner Summit using topographical maps in order to understand the challenges involved in constructing the railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this history lesson plan, students first discover how to...
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Map It!
Fourth graders demonstrate map making skills by using the computer to create maps of the geographic features, regions, and economy for their state.
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Play Doh Map of Your State
Young scholars create a state map using Playdoh. In this hands-on state geography lesson, students work in groups to form a three-dimensional map of their state using Playdoh made at home following a (given) recipe. Young scholars...
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Elements of Civilization
High schoolers create their own ancient civilizations based off of topographical maps of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yellow River. In this social studies lesson, students are assigned one topographical map to use to...
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Map Your State: Regions of Arizona
Fourth graders define vocabulary and locate physical features on maps. In this mapping instructional activity, 4th graders explore regions of Arizona through landforms found on topographic maps. Students research the history...
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Mapping School Grounds
Middle schoolers map and analyze the natural and cultural environment of the school grounds. In small groups, they sketch the natural and cultural features of each side of the school building, create a map, participate in a class...
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Map It With Pixie
Fourth graders use the computer program 'Pixie' to create a topographic, detailed map for the state they live in. In this mapping skills lesson, 4th graders use Pixie to make a map of their state that includes topographic features, state...
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Boundaries and People
Students map watersheds to find their boundaries. In this watershed activity students map and then give their "watershed address." Students show the trail from stream, larger stream to oceans. Students describe the...
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Geography and Culture in South Carolina
Students explore South Carolina. In this cultural heritage lesson, students investigate the topography of South Carolina using maps. Students are engaged in identifying the different regions of the state and examine the cultural heritage...
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Planning a Railroad Online Lesson
Students design a train route using a topographical map. In this historical and spatial thinking lesson plan, students must plan a route through the Sierra Nevada mountains that a train could physically travel. Links to printable student...
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Welcome to My World!
Students use maps to locate information. They read the story, "It Looked Like Spilt Milk", view images of the continents and discuss the various continents. Afterward, they make their own Atlas to record information that they can later...
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Listen to the Land
Students discover how we use land. They gain insight into the way we use the land, both for benefit and consequence. Students explore how to 'listen to the land' as they make decisions on how it should be used and the consequences of...
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Map It!
Fourth graders collect and explore different maps and their uses before using the program Pixie to create maps of geographic features, political features, and economic information for the state in which they live.
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Mapping My Trip to the 2002 Winter Olympics!
Eighth graders map their route from their local community to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Winter Olympics. Using atlases, they gather topographical information and use the internet to research any landmarks they might pass on the way....
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Topography: Know the topography of your neighborhood
Middle schoolers 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.
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The Great Topo Race
Students create a three dimensional island out of cardboard to examine how to read and use a topographical map. They make sure that their island can sustain life and that it has one volcanic mountain peak. They trace the parts of their...
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Where are the Watersheds in San Francisco?
Students create a mental map of San Francisco. They compare it with actual topographical maps of the city. Then they label various locations on the San Francisco Hillshade map and locate watershed boundaries.