Curated OER
Facts, Fictions and Perceptions of Regions
Students examine the different characteristics of the regions of the United States. They discuss places they have visited in the U.S., and in small groups conduct research on a selected region of the U.S. Each group labels a map of...
Curated OER
Exploring Maps: Lesson 2 Guide: Navigation
Students explore and examine how maps have been used in navigation. They research how travelers collected observations to keep track of their positions and plotted information on maps. Each student then makes a Mercator projection...
Curated OER
Creating a Map
Third graders examine the process of creating an accurate map, and create a map of their playground. They identify what objects are on their playground, and discuss what is found on a map. Students then draw a map of their playground...
Disney
Where Do Brown Bears Live?
What do brown bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park need to survive? Pupils explore the unique habitats, diet, and survival needs of this animal. They predict the consequences of removing any integral part of the bear's survival,...
It's About Time
Effects of Plate Tectonics
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...
Curated OER
The Water Around Us
Students discuss importance of reading maps and knowing about the geography of the United States, and locate bodies of water on different types of maps and examine how they are used in the state or local community.
Curated OER
The Challenges Ahead
Young scholars examine the physical obstacles that the Lewis and Clark expedition encountered on its journey. They report what challenges these physical obstacles might have posed. They review a modern-day map and explain if the...
Curated OER
Solving the Puzzle
Students create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where, how/why a...
National Geographic
The Monsoon
Few things are as fascinating as the challenge of climbing Mount Everest. This lesson investigates how monsoon weather impacts climbers. To begin, you are instructed to show various video clips. The only one directly provided, however,...
Curated OER
Map Reading
After examining a map from 1803 and 2003, they explore how to become map readers. They describe what they see on the map from 1803 and compare the information to the map from 2003. Young scholars create their own map of the neighborhood...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
EarthViewer
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...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Continental Differences
Students break into groups and closely investigate primary sources associated with the seven different continents. After deciding which continent their primary sources relate to, representatives from each group present their...
Curated OER
Mapmaking
Students examine the craft of cartography and how the Lewis and Clark expedition created and used maps. They analyze maps, read a handout, create a map, participate in a mini expedition and map out a route based on travel directions,...
Curated OER
Why Koala Has A Stumpy Tail
Students examine Australian folktales. In this folktales lesson, students read the Australian folktale, Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tale. Students list characteristics of the characters from the book. Students act out these characteristics...
Curated OER
Absolute Location
Fifth graders examine the geographic concept of absolute location. Using a variety of resources, they create a life-size classroom grid and locate the coordinates of a point, identify latitude and longitude of different locations, and...
National First Ladies' Library
Brrrr! Expeditions to the North and South Poles
Young scholars examine the first successful explorations of the North and South Poles, through a study of the four men who accomplished them. They present the fruits of their research on posters, or with PowerPoint presentations.
Curated OER
Celebrating the Solstice and Equinox
Fourth graders graph the number of daylight hors throughout the year and examine why day length varies. They discover that seasonal changes and latitude on Earth affect the number of hours of daylight in each day. Students listen to...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Locating Earthquakes
There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...
Curated OER
Aboriginal Peoples And The Universals of Culture
Sixth graders research specific features of a province or territory of Canada. In this Canadian history lesson plan, 6th graders identify aboriginal culture areas on a map, identify cultural features represented in their region,...
Curated OER
Using Vegetation, Precipitation, and Surface Temperature to Study Climate Zones
Young scholars begin their examination of the climate zones found around the world. Using a software program, they identify the relationship between the vegetation, climate and temperatures of the different zones. They also plot...
Curated OER
Iraq, Where's That?
Students identify the Middle Eastern countries on the map and the oil-producing countries of OPEC in the region. They examine whether the presence of important producing oil fields qualifies as a characteristic of this region.
Curated OER
Rain Forests: A Disappearing Act?
Students examine and locate rainforests on maps, and research the patterns of their destruction. They develop a bar graph of rainfall and temperature data, write a journal entry, and research the people, animals, and plants/products of...
Curated OER
Thematic Unit on Cats
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.
Curated OER
Where Should We Put a Store?
Young scholars analyze population data. They convert population data into simple density maps to help make decisions about their world. They select the best location for a school store based on population density. They present their...