Curated OER
Latitude and Longitude
Students demonstrate how to locate places on a map using a grid. In this map skills lesson plan, students are introduced to latitude and longitude lines. Students define these terms and view a large map of a state. Students come up to...
Curated OER
Stellar Navigation
Students are introduced to the concept of stellar navigation. Inside a portable digital planetarium they identify various stars that were used as a navigational tool. They go through several activities in which they attempt to identify...
Curated OER
Latitude and Longitude
Fifth graders study latitude and longitude. They estimate the latitude and longitude of their hometown and find the latitude and longitude of other cities using a map. They use a website to find out the cities' actual latitude and...
Curated OER
Latitude and Longitude
Learners find latitude and longitude on a map or atlas. They create maps with a cruise route. They practice plotting locations given latitiude and longitude.
Curated OER
Can You Find Me Now?
Students locate points using longitude and latitude coordinates. They locate their home using longitude and latitude, explore the uses of GPS, and accurately use a GPS.
Curated OER
Map Skills
Do you need to practice map skills? Children with a range of abilities will complete a KWL chart about maps, practice important map vocabulary and then read a few pages from their textbook. They will use their vocabulary words and...
Curated OER
Plot Your Course
Students determine distance and direction on a nautical chart. In this nautical lesson, students identify obstacles and characteristics of common aid to navigation on a nautical chart.
Science Matters
Ring of Fire
Over a period of 35 years, earthquakes and volcanoes combined only accounted for 1.5 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in the United States. The 15th lesson in a 20-part series connects the locations of earthquakes and...
Curated OER
Maps, Charts, and Graphs
Students define key geographic terms and track a hurricane on a map. They examine various types of maps and find locations on them,including rivers, cities and mountains.
Curated OER
Mapping the News
Students explore cartography. For this map skills and map making lesson, Students work in groups to create wall size world maps including legends, compass roses, latitude and longitude, and physical features. Students collect current...
PHET
Where to See an Aurora
Where can you see an aurora in North America? After completing an astronomy activity, scholars can locate the exact coordinates. Pupils plot points of the inner and outer ring of the auroral oval and answer questions based on their...
Curated OER
Geometry: Mountain Rescue Mission
Fifth graders improve their skills using map coordinates by playing a mountain rescue game. In pairs, they roll dice to determine their moves up a mountain. The team that reaches the rescue site in the shortest distance on the grid...
Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
Curated OER
Creating Station Models
Students review weather conditions at various cities and create station models on a weather map.
Curated OER
The West "The People": The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Fourth graders become familiar with the conditions facing the members of the Expedition in the early 1800's, as well as the causes and consequences of the Expedition. They describe the conditions of the land in the 1800's and during the...
Curated OER
Principles of Flight: Where are We?
Students explore the concept of topographical maps. In this topographical map lesson, students discuss how airplanes know where to fly. Students use topographical maps to simulate a field trip on the computer.
Curated OER
Navigation Across the Seas
Students examine nautical navigation and discover the differences between nautical charts and other types of maps or charts. Students practice setting a course, taking a bearing, and dead reckoning. This gives students an example of...
Curated OER
Typhoon Project
Students graph and outline the path of a typhoon. In this algebra lesson, students measure the path of the typhoon and create a graph with their data. They analyze the data and make predictions.
Curated OER
Identifying Continents and Oceans
Learners locate and identify the four major oceans and the seven continents on a world map. They use an unlabeled world map and compass rose to describe relative locations of the continents and oceans.