Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...
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TED-Ed

A Digital Reimagining of Gettysburg

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Why would Robert E. Lee order Pickett's Charge, an action that changed the course of the Civil War? Geographer and historian Anne Knowles uses digital technology to explain what she thinks is the missing piece in trying to understand...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Red Dirt Groundbreakers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Discover Oklahoma's first farmers. Read about 14 different agriculture workers and their contribution to Oklahoma's farming. After reading, have your class complete several activities such as researching an agriculturist, writing a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sexton and the Compass

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students evaluate how movement patterns create and affect interdependence. They analyze the interactions within and between regions and engage in artistic inquiry, exploration, and discovery in collaboration with others. They design...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Putting It on the Map

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider the purpose of various types of maps and their different uses throughout history. They create their own maps and reflect on the map-making process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Flight: Where are We?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the concept of topographical maps.  In this topographical map lesson, students discuss how airplanes know where to fly.  Students use topographical maps to simulate a field trip on the computer. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Are Maps For?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create a story about a problem someone could have which could be solved by the use of a map. They complete a worksheet that guides them through the features of a map of Chicago. Then they calculate story problems using the...
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Strategy for Elementary Students

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners of all ages solve historical mysteries. Elementary learners research historical topics by organizing information presented by their instructor, formulating hypotheses, and considering solutions to mysteries presented about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Robbing the 'Hood?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer Values in Willa Cather's My Antonia

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

The Monsoon

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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,...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

I Speak for the Polar Bears!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Then and Now, A Watershed in San Francisco

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students compare recent and historic maps to explore landscape changes. Using photos provided, students identify prominent features on the maps. They discuss differences in landscape, human impact on watershed, and changes in natural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cemetery Mapping Lesson

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore historical records. For this cemetery mapping lesson, 8th graders analyze local community data as they examine gravestones and read epitaphs. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Topographic Map Unit Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine topographic maps and discover how to decipher contour intervals, use contour lines and apply information to complete a topographic map lab. Working in groups, they identify the scale of the map, latitude and longitude,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction of the Lunar Relief Map Project

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students investigate the geographic features of the surface of the moon. In this lunar relief map lesson plan, students watch and discuss the Apollo II Moon landing and make preliminary plans for their lunar maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Your Community

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students define the boundaries of their community by comparing the community's official boundaries with other historical, political, physical, and perceived boundaries of the area and create a community map.
Lesson Plan
Edgate

Great Grids

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners use grid boxes as a measurement tool and discover how grids are used for mapmaking and scaling down an area. They begin by attempting to draw a model shape drawn by the teacher by using the gridding process. At the conclusion of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Figures

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders identify a historical figure, his or her societal contributions and basic biography using a Kidspiration graphic organizer and library resources. They use the Internet to conduct an historical treasure hunt in groups.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Heroes and Character Sketches

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars write a character sketch and present it in first person.  In this historical heroes and character sketches lesson, students "meet" Harriet Tubman (played by their teacher) and discuss her...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the West

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students determine how Americans' perception of the geographical features of the West changed following the Lewis and Clark expedition. They analyze historical maps of the West.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Resources of Indiana

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the resources of Indiana and how they are used to produce goods. In this resources of Indiana lesson, 4th graders explore historical periods in Indiana as they relate to its resources. Students discover that the...

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