First graders explore Chinese folktales. In this Chinese folktale lesson plan ,students read Chinese folktales, locate China on a map, and color the Chinese flag. Students are given sentence strips to hold and must arrange...

Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.

Capture the engagement of young mathematicians with this upper-elementary math lesson on measuring time and distance. Using Google Maps, students first measure and compare the distance and time it takes to travel between different...

Get your young historians thinking about East Asian culture and history during this partner research project, in which they analyze a variety of East Asian aspects to prepare for a presentation. After an initial "what do we already know"...

Get out the compass and a pencil its time to use a coordinate grid to practice mapping skills. Young cartographers use the prompts and provided grid to plot locations, draw parallel lines, and determine distances between points. 

Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...

Topographic, political, and satellite maps establish the world of the Middle East for your class- a land about which they have heard quite a lot, but might not really understand. This presentation would be a good introduction into a unit...

Keep your class headed in the right direction with this printable compass rose. Large and easy to read with a smiling picture of Arthur in the middle, this resource would make a fun addition to the desk of any primary grade...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...

Students create and analyze a weather-related data table and a thematic map based upon information provided.

Sometimes it's helpful to read certain passages in a novel slowly and carefully, and to read other parts more quickly to move the plot along. Learners tread carefully through Chapter 20 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, noting which...

Teaching learners about latitude and longitude can get a little complicated. Present the concept by first representing it as a graph. Just like finding a location on a graph using the x and y-axis, learners will be able to locate items...

Students create their own life map in which they introduce themselves to each other by sharing what they are most proud of. They use a life map to expressive themselves creatively.

Sometimes it is difficult to grasp topographic maps. Here is a clever presentation designed to help your middle school earth scientists understand. Beginning with a side view of a pair of mountains, a graphic guy walks up one slope. As...

“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...

Students demonstrate how to locate places on a map using a grid. In this map skills lesson, students are introduced to latitude and longitude lines. Students define these terms and view a large map of a state. Students come up to the map...

First graders identify and demonstrate how symbols and models are used to represent features of the environment. They identify the directions on a map as east, west, north, and south. Finally, 1st graders play a direction game, move to...

Students analyze life in a village of Tanzania including its language, geography, health, and hygiene issues. In this African village lesson plan, students locate Tanzania and its capital city on a map. Students compare aspects...

Young scholars study a region. In this history lesson plan, students discover how different people and events have affected the Middle East in its efforts to be a peaceful area. They work in small groups on an assigned topic and present...

Students access prior knowledge and locate the North and South Poles on the map. In this mapping lesson, students understand the position of the United States relative to the poles. Students answer questions about the globe.

Students explore geography by creating a poster presentation in class. In this mapping lesson, students identify the different components featured on a modern day map and how to utilize them in order to navigate. Students read a book...

Students provide oral multi-step directions when helping someone follow a route on a map. In this directions lesson plan, students read examples of directions and then practice giving them on their own.

Put your pupils' orienteering skills together. Reading a compass and reading a map. For this assignment the class will use their compass and the map scale to determine the distance of a given route.  If they finish their assignment,...