Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.

Pupils discuss the importance of "land." They review the four types of land classification--urban, rural, agricultural and conservation--and participate in an activity involving an apple that demonstrates the use of land in Hawaii. They...

Can you read a map? Scholars use an interactive technology tool to analyze maps of various kinds to gather evidence and data to better understand their meanings and usefulness. Using newly obtained knowledge, they form an interpretation...

How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...

Though it comprises only 5 percent of the world's population, the US generates 40 percent of the world's waste. Scholars learn about landfills, their safety, and other solid waste methods. They use experiments and research to learn more....

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...

While humans have always been on the move, the period between 1400 and 1800 saw vast migrations of people between the East and the West. These migrations—whether through slavery or a desire to colonize new lands—shaped the modern world....

The second instructional activity in a unit about how writers develop their central ideas and use evidence to support their arguments focuses on the role that scholars at Jundi Shapur, "The World's First True University," played in the...

After brainstorming reasons why Native Americans mapped their lands, your young critical thinkers will work together to review their ideas and determine the definition of a map. With today's extensive use of mapping technology and GPS...

To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...

To celebrate Texas, groups plan and create a commemorative map for a topic or theme in Texas history. The richly detailed plan and the approach could easily be adapted to any state. Samples are included.

Bring the ocean floor to life! Earth science scholars discover the process of deep sea mapping in the third installment in a series of five lessons about ocean exploration. The teacher's guide includes helpful resources, worksheets, and...

Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...

Using a Florida map from 1597, young explorers consider the physical characteristics they would need in a site for a new colony and the resources they would need to survive. After selecting a site, class members research to discover the...

Ever wonder what drones are doing high above us in the sky? This article gives your class an insight to what those robots in the sky are doing. After reading an article on drone technology, pupils are prompted to respond to a...

What is the connection between the spread of ideas and the expansion of the sugar trade? Class members continue their reading of Sugar Changed the World and use an analysis tool to identify how critical ideas in the chapters are...

Third graders analyze South Carolina maps. In this geography lesson plan, 3rd graders locate the five land regions in the state are and discuss how the regions are different. Students identify the major bodies of water and analyze...

Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

Students practice in analyzing spatial data in maps and graphic presentations while studying the distribution of fossil fuel resources. They study, analyze, and map the distribution of fossil fuels on blank maps. Students discuss gas...

What's in a name? Historians consider the question as they examine places important to the Hopi people and the meanings of their place names. Included worksheets include maps and charts to help class members examine the geography of Hopi...

Students understand the similarities and differences between English and Native American conceptions of the land and town settlement. They understand how the colony of Massachusetts developed and expanded. Students understand the...

How can we locate places? Maps, of course! Expose second graders to the tools available in maps and discuss how these tools can help people find locations. Students also look at communities, including what makes a community and the...

Show the class the world as they've never seen it before—from way above! Learners try to unravel the mysteries presented by rich satellite imagery, learn to interpret topographic maps, and study erosion by constructing their very...