Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Water is in That River?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three Dimensional Geology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salad Tray 3D Topographic Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the characteristics of topographical maps. They examine the relationship of contour lines and vertical elevation. Students create a three-dimensional model of a landscape represented by a topographic contour map.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planning A Railroad Online Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students plan a route across Donner Summit using topographical maps in order to understand the challenges involved in constructing the railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this history lesson, students first discover how to read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Investigations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map It!

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders demonstrate map making skills by using the computer to create maps of the geographic features, regions, and economy for their state.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders locate and label major sites related to the Revolutionary War in the Hudson River Valley. They examine topographical features of each site and list a few of these features and list two advantages of each military site.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map It With Pixie

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use the computer program 'Pixie' to create a topographic, detailed map for the state they live in. In this mapping skills lesson, 4th graders use Pixie to make a map of their state that includes topographic features, state...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Play Doh Map of Your State

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners create a state map using Playdoh. In this hands-on state geography lesson, students work in groups to form a three-dimensional  map of their state using Playdoh made at home following a (given) recipe. Learners use four...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trailblazers- Now and Then

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine and study the routes of trailblazers. In this American history lesson, students find a route on a map and compare that to the route of trailblazers. Students will then compare that map with a topographical map to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MAPS AND TOPOGRAPHY

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students analyze the details of a topographic map and create one of their own by utilyzing a map of elevations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements of Civilization

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars create their own ancient civilizations based off of topographical maps of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yellow River. In this social studies lesson plan, students are assigned one topographical map to use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waldseemuller's Map: World 1507

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate the 1507 word map. In this world geography lesson, students examine the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions about how the people of 1507 understood the world. Students are evalated on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Common Themes

For Teachers 10th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building a Topographic Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the features of a topographic map. They make paper models that portray, in three-dimensions, features represented by contour lines on a topographic map. Students demonstrate different elevations shown on a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Potato Island

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Learners create their own topographical map using a potato. In this hands on instructional activity students construct a topographical map and explain what contour lines are using a potato.
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Into the Deep

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, young scholars...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Go with the Flow

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping School Grounds

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students map and analyze the natural and cultural environment of the school grounds. In small groups, they sketch the natural and cultural features of each side of the school building, create a map, participate in a class discussion,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Listen to the Land

For Teachers 7th - 9th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!

For Teachers K - 1st
Students are introduced to the state quarter program and examine the Colorado state quarter. They locate Colorado on a map and create a map with a key. They discuss the state motto and examine pictures of the state's geographical features.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Urban Sprawl Causing Us To Lose More Than Ground?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars 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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boundaries and People

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars map watersheds to find their boundaries.  In this watershed activity students map and then give their "watershed address."  Young scholars show the trail from stream, larger stream to oceans.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 4 Activity 1: Mapping the Third Dimension

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners work in pairs to construct a simple stereoscope.