Students investigate different types of maps and their purposes.  For this mapping lesson students complete a worksheet, participate in a class discussion and do a hands on activity. 

Kirk Beckendorf, a middle school teacher, joined researchers at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica to help maintain automatic weather stations. The lesson encourages pupils to track his travels around the region. They connect with the...

Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...

Students examine how Christopher Columbus determined his latitude.

Mathematicians can be famous, too! Introduce your class to Eratosthenes with a reading passage. After they complete the passage, learners respond to five questions, some of which require opinions and others reading comprehension skills.

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...

The greater the latitude, the less of the Earth is north. Scholars graph the relationship between the latitude and the percentage of the Earth that is north of the latitude. Using the graph and the table, class members interpret values...

Ancient texts, like Homer's Odyssey, mentions navigating ships by observing constellations. Pupils learn about the link between history and astronomy as they relate to navigation in the Bronze Age. Scholars complete two hands-on...

Students study things the you need to know to read a map and explain location.

Around 93 percent of the reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef have been bleached, and almost one quarter of them are now dead. Scholars research the sea temperatures, especially around the areas with coral reefs, to make connections...

Swirling and churning, the waters of the North Atlantic play a vital role in Earth's climate! Discover the many factors that produce circulation using a multimedia instructional activity from PBS's Weather and Climate series for high...

Young scientists know it is hotter along the equator, but why is it also rainier? Through the process of completing two experiments and a worksheet, scholars discover the answer is the intertropical convergence zone. First, they...

Students use longitude and latitude to locate various cities, regions, landforms, and bodies of water around the globe. They use The New York Times Learning Network's crossword puzzle 'Longitude and Latitude' to sharpen their atlas skills.

Students use Cartesian coordinates or degrees of latitude and longitude to locate important locations within their specific countries. They Use a grid to apply the concept of latitude and longitude, or positive and negative Cartesian...

Students answer the following question: "Using the lines of latitude and longitude, what is the distance (in degrees) if you were to travel from NASA Dryden to NASA Ames?" They use the distance formula to find the distance (measured in...

Learners locate and identify the seven continents. They use longitude and latitude in establishing a location. Students enhance the knowledge of geographical location with cultures. Individuals or small groups research multiple aspects...

Students use the World Wide Web to access additional information needed to complete a set of questions. They demonstrate an understanding of latitude and longitude by interpreting a lunar map.

Learners are shown the very basics of navigation. The concepts of relative and absolute location, latitude, longitude and cardinal directions are discussed, as well as the use and principles of a map and compass.

Students tear paper into representative continent shapes and configure them with world oceans through relative location, direction and latitude and longitude starting points. They recognize the shape of the continents. Students recognize...

Learners 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 coordinates...

Students read about a volcano and use the latitude and longitude information to plot and describe the volcano on the map. They discuss patterns seen on the map. In addition, they color code a map according to zones, plates, etc.

Learners identify their location in the world after studying latitude, longitude, relative location, and absolute location. They use assigned web site to find information to make a flipbook that answers questions about their location in...

Young scholars participate in a GPS activity and answer questions about Canada. In this Canada lesson, students identify location by using a GPS Unit and latitude and longitude. Young scholars find an Inuksuk (station) and a complete...

Students explore marine life by conducting a rubber duck experiment. In this water currents lesson, students practice identifying latitude and longitude coordinates on a map and define the currents of major oceans. Students discuss the...