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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Topographic Maps: Guiding Students from Concrete Models to Graphic Representations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students interpret topographic maps and infer human activity as it is influenced by the landscape.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Watersheds with Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students model a watershed and delineate one using topographic maps. In this hydrology lesson, students use aluminum foil to model a landscape and observe how water moves on it. They also observe the features of a topographic map and use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Will There Be a White Christmas This Year?

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students examine historical weather data, and create map and color key that illustrates the likelihood of a white Christmas in different locations across the United States.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Skills

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Potato Mountain": Reading/Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how to read topographic maps.  For this map reading lesson students complete a topographic map activity. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: examining the Glacial Features of Cape Cod

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students examine satellite images of the glacial features of Cape Cod. They analyze where human activity is located in terms of those features. Students make models of the features, including kettle holes. They also use contour maps...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What do Maps Show?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders practice reading maps.  In this geography lesson, 7th graders compare a topographical map to a picture of the actual place. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Resources

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore Iowa geography and topographic maps. For this geography and topographic maps lesson, student investigate maps, newspapers, Iowa flora and fauna. Students gain an understanding of how different landforms can be identified...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Geography Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are told that Geography is the science that deals with the differentiation of the surface of the earth due to the influence of things like population, vegetation, geology, and land use. They explore the Geography Basics...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tooling Around Arizona: Reading Arizona Maps

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students study geography. For this Arizona maps lesson, students develop their map reading skills. They have class discussions and work independently with various copies of Arizona maps to practice those skills. This lesson mentions...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Thoreau Look at Our Environment

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders write journal entries o school site at least once during each season, including sketched and written observations of present environment. They can use sample topographical maps and student's own maps. Students can use...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

States with Attitude, Latitude and Longitude Dude

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders identify states whose boundaries are formed by lines of latitude and longitude or natural borders such as rivers. They trace a map of the U.S., and fill in borders, rivers and lines of latitude and longitude.
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Lesson Plan
Polar Bears International

Top of the World

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learn about polar bears and the Arctic circle with a lesson about the countries and conditions of the region. After examining how the area differs from Antarctica, kids explore climates, animals, and geographical position of countries in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living in the Oak Woodlands: Early People of the Jewett Mine Area

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine the archeology and native peoples of the Jewett Mine area of Texas. Using a map, they explain the economic patterns of the native groups and how the geography of the area affected activities. They compare and contrast...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Mountains Shape Climate

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils use raw data to make a climatograph; they explain the process of orographic precipitation and the concept of a rain shadow.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cartogram of the Great Compromise

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars create cartograms of populations during 1790.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cherishing the Water of Life

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students work in small groups to brainstorm a list of all creatures, plants, natural, and artificial processes that use or depend on fresh water. The class views an aquarium filled with water representing all the water in the world. The...