Curated OER
How Much Water is in That River?
Students practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
Curated OER
Three Dimensional Geology
Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...
Curated OER
Watershed Investigations
Students explore the components of a watershed and the factors that affect it. They read a topographical map and use geometry to determine the area of a watershed. Students estimate the volume of a body of water and perform runoff...
Curated OER
Science Jeopardy - The Earth Sciences
The earth sciences are the focus for this Jeopardy-style review game. Categories include geology, space, scientific investigation, meteorology, and oceanography. Diagrams and pictures are involved with most of the questions, making this...
Curated OER
Play Doh Map of Your State
Students create a state map using Playdoh. In this hands-on state geography instructional activity, students work in groups to form a three-dimensional map of their state using Playdoh made at home following a (given) recipe. Students...
Curated OER
MAPS AND TOPOGRAPHY
Students analyze the details of a topographic map and create one of their own by utilyzing a map of elevations.
Curated OER
Common Themes
Tenth graders test usefulness of a model Earth by comparing its predictions to observations in the real world. In this landforms lesson students construct an island from a contour map using model clay then analyze the landscape features...
Curated OER
Mapping Potato Island
Students create their own topographical map using a potato. In this hands on lesson students construct a topographical map and explain what contour lines are using a potato.
NOAA
Into the Deep
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second instructional activity of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear,...
National Wildlife Federation
Go with the Flow
The quality of a watershed has a direct impact on the community it services. Learners study their own watershed using a topographical map. They recreate the watershed components using colored pencils to track the upstream and downstream...
Curated OER
Making Maps
In this map making worksheet, students learn about the science of making maps, which is cartography. They then answer the 11 questions on the worksheet. The answers are on the last page.
Curated OER
Listen to the Land
Students discover how we use land. They gain insight into the way we use the land, both for benefit and consequence. Students explore how to 'listen to the land' as they make decisions on how it should be used and the consequences of...
Curated OER
Is Urban Sprawl Causing Us To Lose More Than Ground?
Pupils map the changes that occur in the land as a result of urban sprawl. They explore the problems that paving and building have on the watershed and the habitats on the Northshore.
Curated OER
River Study
Students explore a stream in their area and show the class the topographic map of the stream. They locate the topographic map and name the streams, lakes and ponds in their watershed. They write a paragraph about their stream and...
Curated OER
Mapping the Sea Floor
High schoolers review their prior knowledge on topographical maps. Using a map, they examine the sea floor off the coast of San Diego, California. With a partner, they chart the sea floor of an area and use cutouts to create a visual...
Curated OER
Design an Island
Young scholars make a map of an imaginary island using the topographic symbols provided from a worksheet. Students place lakes, dwellins, reefs, etc. in areas where they would logically be located from understanding how the topography...
Curated OER
Design an Island
Students explore islands. They create a two- or three-dimensional map of an island. They explain how the topography of an area influences the location of water sources, ecosystems, and human settlements. Lesson includes adaptations for...
Global Change
Impact of Climate Change on the Desert Pupfish
A fish that lives in the desert? You and your class can meet the desert pupfish as they examine its habitat, the role humans play in diminishing water supplies, and how climate change might impact this fishy friend. There are four short...
Curated OER
From Maps to Models
Fourth graders study topography maps and learn the importance of their contour lines. In this map lesson plan students create their own topography map.
Curated OER
Introduction of the Lunar Relief Map Project
Students investigate the geographic features of the surface of the moon. In this lunar relief map lesson, students watch and discuss the Apollo II Moon landing and make preliminary plans for their lunar maps.
Curated OER
Volcanoes!: Forecasting the Path of Mudflows
Students construct a mockup of a volcano by crumbling up newspapers and piling them into the shape of a volcano. They place a tarp over the newspapers making sure the tarp is large enough to simulate a flat area at the volcano's base....
Curated OER
Tracing Highs and Lows in San Francisco
On a topographic map, students identify the scale bar, north arrow, and contour interval. They then locate a hill on the map and make note of the contour lines. Students then locate other places with similar contour line patterns....
Curated OER
The Delicate Balance - Iowa's Natural Resources
Discover the natural resources in Iowa by studying it's history. In this environmental lesson, your students will observe a topographical map of Iowa and identify where its most valuable resources are. They complete an Iowa name...
Curated OER
Forcasting the Path of Mudflows
Young scholars visualize consistency of mudflows and how they move down stream valleys away from a volcano's summit. They use topographic maps of Mount St. Helens before the 1980 eruptions to forecast the path mudflows might take during...