Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Combining Map and Compass

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students practice using the map and compass to find a location. In this geography lesson series, students identify basic requirements needed when traveling in the wilderness. They plan a healthy menu for a backpacking trip.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

State Maps

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students work together in small groups to create a state map. They include specific details about the state. They share the information with the class and the map is hung on the wall.
Unit Plan
California Polytechnic State University

Australian Geography Unit

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.
Lesson Plan
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Library of Congress

Investigating the Building Blocks of Our Community’s Past, Present, and Future

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning lesson, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of...
Lesson Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Teaching Geography: Workshop 4—North Africa/Southwest Asia

For Students 9th - 12th
Can Jerusalem be equitably organized? Can Israel and Palestine be successfully partitioned? Part one of a two-part workshop looks at the geo-political history of Jerusalem while Part two investigates Egypt's dependence of the Nile River...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Globe Skills Lesson 8 Dust Bowl Travelers

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students develop their globe and map skills, In this geography lesson plan, students examine the Dust Bowl as they complete an activity that requires them to plot latitude and longitude.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Globe Skills Lesson 4 The Colonial Period

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students practice their map skills. In this Colonial geography lesson, students complete an activity that requires them to locate English colonial locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map Lesson

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore basic map skills. In this United States geography lesson plan, students define "country" and "state," locate their state on a United States map, and identify and trace state boundaries defining their state and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map - Lesson 9

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore the concept of cardinal directions. For this geography lesson, students identify the compass rose on a large U. S. map and then discuss the cardinal directions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Features - Lesson 2 - U.S. Political Map Grade 4-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students locate water features on maps. In this geography lesson, students complete worksheets that require them to identify water features on a U. S. political map.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map - Lesson 11

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore lakes of the United States. In this geography instructional activity, students identify noteworthy lakes on a map of the United States.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Globe Skills Lesson 11The Vietnam War

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners develop their globe and map skills, In this geography lesson, students examine the Vietnam War as they complete an activity that requires them to plot latitude and longitude.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Holocaust Map Studies

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze maps and answer discussion questions related to WWI. In this geography lesson, students analyze historic maps to determine causes and effects of WWI in Europe. Students read testimonies of Holocaust survivors and label...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 1: Map Data and the Census

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars learn about the history of the census. For this U. S. Census lesson plan, students develop an understanding about how the United States Constitution grants and distributes power and discover how the spatial organization of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Map as a Tool

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Students study the concept of using a map as a tool with the usage of a balloon designed to mimic the features of the Earth with the major features marked and shown on the balloon.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Maps

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students develop their map skills. In this geography lesson, students participate in an activity that requires them to survey their social studies book in order to find different types of maps and purposes for their uses.
Unit Plan
Association of American Geographers

Project GeoSTART

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Investigate the fascinating, yet terrifying phenomenon of hurricanes from the safety of your classroom using this earth science unit. Focusing on developing young scientists' spacial thinking skills, these lessons engage...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

How To Travel On Earth Without Getting Lost

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charting Neptune's Realm:

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore how to construct and interpret maps and globes and find information about people, places, regions, and environments.
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...
Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Borders with the World: Mexican-American War and U.S. Southern Borderlands

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the News

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners 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.  Learners collect...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Place of My Own: A Study of Maps

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate maps. They demonstrate their knowledge about maps and place landforms in the proper place as they create salt dough maps. They create a geography folder as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cacao Tree Geography

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students use a map to learn about where chocolate comes from. In this lesson on the cacao tree, students locate various regions where the cacao tree grows. They will discuss why the cacao tree grows more favorably in particular climates...