Oregon State
World Map of Plate Boundaries
Young geologists piece together the puzzle of plate tectonics in an earth science lesson. Given a physical map of the world, they search for land formations that indicate the location of different types of plate boundaries.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
Sharp School
Travel Brochure Project
Designing a travel brochure is a classic project that will help your class members develop a variety of skills, such as researching informational texts, designing creative visual products, and communicating what you have learned.
Star Wars in the Classroom
Star Wars Geography Unit
What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...
DocsTeach
Around the World with First Lady Pat Nixon
Travel the world with the First Lady! Academics study images from Pat Nixon's travels as First Lady to discover her role in Richard Nixon's presidency. Historians match images to world locations, complete a worksheet, and...
Big History Project
Human Migration Patterns
Humans have been on the move for millennia. Using an article from The Smithsonian, pupils chart human movement before written history on a world map. In addition, they examine the modes of transportation used by different waves of human...
It's About Time
The Changing Geography of Your Community
Lead your class in exploring their local communities as well as the general environment. As they determine continental distributions by investigating minerals, rocks, and fossils located in their local region, pupils construct...
Owl Teacher
Five Themes of Geography Book Project
Young geographers choose a country to research and design a book explaining how their country applies to the five themes of geography, including three facts or details for each of the themes.
Environmental Education in Wisconsin
Biome Travel Guide
In a perfect marriage of social studies and science, groups work together to research and create a travel guide presentation to share with the class. Not only do kids learn about the climate and geography of a biome, but also the...
Teach Engineering
What's Wrong with the Coordinates at the North Pole?
Here is an activity that merges technology with life skills as individuals use Google Earth to explore the differences between coordinate systems and map projections. The self-guided worksheet is the fourth segment in a nine-part unit....
Curated OER
The Seven Continents Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn't enjoy an engaging scavenger hunt? Here, scholars listen to, and discuss, the informative text, Where is my Continent? by Robin Nelson. They then explore the seven continents and four major oceans using...
It's About Time
Plate Boundaries and Plate Interactions
How does the Earth continually repair itself? Explore the answer to this question, and others, with a unit on plate boundaries and interaction. Pupils classify the types of movement at plate boundaries and identify the...
Mesa Public Schools
Country Project
Give your young learners the chance to discover more about countries in their world community with a research project. Class members write reports on an assigned country and include such major features as geography, important historical...
Speak Truth to Power
Abubacar Sultan: Children’s Rights
This is an excellent resource for introducing and exploring the topic of child soldiers. Ethics, history, or theology classes will benefit from the high-quality information. This includes detailed instructions for an introductory...
Curated OER
Those Who Have Come Before Me
Class members are transformed into explorers as they work in groups to locate hidden items and map their journey along the way. They then leave clues for other groups of learners to follow, and ultimately discover how past explorations...
The New York Times
Decision Point: Understanding the U.S.’s Dilemma Over North Korea
Simulate the Situation Room and analyze the US's relationship with North Korea. The plan starts off with a quick review and an examination of a online timeline that updates as the situation continues. Next, the class reads an article and...
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
Curated OER
Modern Europe Research Project: How Changes in Late 20th Century Europe Helped To Shape Our Global Society Today
Students research a topic relevant to the late 20th century. They create a project while following the conditions explained in the rubric.
Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, Stevens Institute of Technology
Ciese: Musical Plates: A Study of Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics
This activity has students access USGS earthquake information to plot the their locations on a world map. Doing this will help students discover for themselves the boundaries of tectonic plates.
Read Works
Read Works: Our World
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read facts about seven continents. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in classifying and categorizing.
Read Works
Read Works: Celebrations Around the World
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about festivals and celebrations from different countries around the world. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in classifying and categorizing.
Read Works
Read Works:north America:comparing Data From Different Countries Around the World
[Free Registration/Login Required] A chart with land and population data from Canada, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Japan. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Read Works
Read Works: World Wonders
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about six famous landmarks: Mount Rushmore, Machu Picchu, the Great Sphinx, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Wall of China, and the Sydney Opera House. A question sheet is...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Saxon Activity Center: Real World Investigation: Elevation Changes [Pdf]
Math and geography are the focus of this internet investigation. Learners must plan a road trip to several cities and plot the elevations of those cities using a line graph. Acrobat Reader required.