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.

Young pupils develop their mapping skills and knowledge by designing their own islands, using geographic terms and physical features they have learned as features of their work.

Your young geographers will combine what they have learned about the five themes of geography and their inner creativity to design a physical map for an imaginary nation.

The complicated political history of Europe becomes apparent as young historians create a map of the borders of France when Napoleon's Empire was a its height in 1812.

Don't miss this gold mine of blank maps for your next geography lesson! Regions include traditional continents such as Asia, Europe, and Africa, as well as other major world areas such as the Pacific Rim and the Middle East.

Maps are great for helping you get where you're going, but what does that place actually look like? Geology scholars compare and contrast the features of topographical and geologic maps using an interactive lesson. The resource describes...

It wasn't just the great leaders of ancient Rome that shaped their civilization—the geography of the region played a major role as well. After first identifying major land masses, bodies of water, and city states on a map of Europe,...

You are never too young to learn about maps. To better understand the concept of a homeland, students work together to construct a map of their local area out of paper puzzle pieces. They'll put the maps together and then add details by...

Inspire your class to look at their environments as if they were seeing them for the first time in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of perspective. After exploring their communities and keeping a journal of major...

While it may not be possible to take an entire class to Egypt and explore the ancient wonders, it is possible to engage your young historians in activities that ask them to research these and other antiquities and place them on their...

How are maps like fish? They both have scales. The chapter includes six different activities at three different levels. Scholars complete activities using natural resources, learn how to read a map, see how to make a compass rosette,...

While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...

Explore ocean habitats with a lesson that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story about...

Here is a very fun idea that introduces young learners to how geographical location affects cultural development. They are introduced to four areas where Native Americans have lived in the past by reading stories and examining images....

The quality of a watershed has a direct impact on the community it services. Learners study their own watershed using a topographical map. They recreate the watershed components using colored pencils to track the upstream and downstream...

As part of a study of ancient Middle East geography, kids locate seas, rivers, regions, and cities on a map of the region. 

Young surveyors look for patterns in water flow around campus. Using a map of the school (that you will need to create), they mark the direction of the path of water. They also perform calculations for the volume that becomes runoff. The...

How many animals can live in a climate as cold as Mount Everest's? Find out with a science lesson all about biodiversity. Activities include research, presentations, group work, coloring maps, and a simulation of a food web.

Young adventurers embark on a journey, setting sail along the blue ocean with Christopher Columbus. Teachers will find that this unit makes their lesson planning smooth sailing!

A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question...

Designing a travel brochure is a classic project that will help your class members develop a variety of skills, such as researching informational texts, designing creative visual products, and communicating what you have learned.