Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magical Maps

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders discuss the importance of using maps and how they are used. After they listen to a folktale, they develop their own story line maps and write their own folktale to accompany a map. They also identify and locate the seven...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tear the Continents

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners tear paper into representative continent shapes and configure them with world oceans through relative location, direction and latitude and longitude starting points. They recognize the shape of the continents. Students recognize...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About the Equator, The Seven Continents and the Four Oceans

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students use a globe or map to locate the equator, oceans and continents. Using the internet, they spend time surfing through predetermined websites on continents and oceans. They write facts on different parts of the globe on index...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Your Way Using Maps and Globes

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students identify the similarities and differences between different maps and globes. Individually, they create a map of their classroom along with a compass rose. They also practice reading maps as a class and finding specific locations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting to Know the Seven Continents

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students are introduced to basic map and globe skills. Using the internet, they identify and locate the seven continents and complete a blank map to reinforce the names of the continents. They also distinguish between land masses and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring an Atlas

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners explore global geography by participating in an atlas activity. In this countries of the world instructional activity, students collaborate in small groups and analyze an atlas while researching continents, countries and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography Puzzles

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Learners study the continents of the world. In this Internet geography lesson, students connect to online mapping games. Learners collaborate in order to develop their understanding of world geography, including countries and capital...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flat Earth Society

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore map distortion. In this geography lesson, students compare Mercator projection maps to globes in order to understand the strengths and weaknesses of projection maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Global Grapefruit - Representing a 3-Dimensional Globe on a 2-Dimensional Map

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students compare and contrast world maps and globes. They convert a 3-dimensional globe to a 2-dimensional map. They are introduced to the Mercator map projection. They observe map distortions of shape, area, distance, directions and angle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparison of Snow Cover on Different Continents

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students use the Live Access Server (LAS) to form maps and a numerical text file of snow cover for each continent on a particular date. They analyze the data for each map and corresponding text file to determine an estimate of snow cover...
App
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

EarthViewer

For Students 6th - Higher Ed Standards
Can you imagine Washington DC and London as close neighbors occupying the same continent? Learners will be fascinated as they step back in time and discover the evolution of the earth's continents and oceans from 4.5 billion...
Activity
It's About Time

Effects of Plate Tectonics

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Explore our world from within as you lead young scientists on a thrilling adventure. Pupils examine the location of plate boundaries to determine earthquake and volcano distribution around the globe and explore the cause of hot spots in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Around the World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use a globe to answer questions such as which continent they live in and the country in which they live. They identify at least two bodies of water near their state and two foreign countries. In groups, they complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dinosaurs

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders classify and analyze living things by structure and function and make predictions based on observations rather than random guesses. They make predictions about where dinosaurs lived and correctly place their databases onto...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get the Drift?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
The anticipatory set is clever: give groups five minutes to work on the puzzle and then discuss what strategies they used to match the few that connected. This introduces middle schoolers to the concept of continental drift. A portion of...
Unit Plan
California Polytechnic State University

Australian Geography Unit

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antarctica

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders become familiar with Antarctica, the Earth's southernmost continent, by researching its environment and inhabitants. They reference maps, conduct Internet research, identify animals, create graphs and write reports.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thematic Unit on Cats

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students discover in which climates the cats of the world live in. They review the different climates of the world and use maps and globes to help them locate continents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Do We Know About Africa?

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore Africa, its geography and climate. After completing a KWL chart, 1st graders locate Africa on a globe and discuss how its location on the earth affects its climate. Using the Internet and a given fact sheet,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If These Walls Could Talk: Seeing a Culture Through Human Features

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students read Talking Walls and discuss the walls presented and their importance to the culture. For this geography lesson, students locate and label each country/continent discussed in the book on a world map. Students take a walk and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the World Am I?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to geography skills. They answer questions on a worksheet using the internet and maps. They examine the area of Japan as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pangaea Puzzle

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students test evidence for the existence of Pangaea in the Earth's past. They create a current map of the Earth's continents and put them together like a puzzle. They compare this result to a a picture of the shape of Pangaea.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Around the World

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars use the internet to identify the seven continents. Using maps, they locate and identify major physical features of Earth. They are read different books by various authors on the Earth and answer questions related to it....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Size It Up

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students practice their math skills in determining the water/land proportions of the Earth. Using globes, they locate the seven continents and oceans and determine which covers more space. They use this information to participate in...