Lesson Plan
Curated OER

GPS Sports Field Activity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students practice using GPS receivers and explore how knowing the coordinates of two locations allows them to determine the distance between those two points. They use the theory that they already had knowledge of and apply it to a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Water Around Us

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss importance of reading maps and knowing about the geography of the United States, and locate bodies of water on different types of maps and examine how they are used in the state or local community.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Summertime Travel

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders write about a summer event they participated in. For this paragraph writing lesson, the teacher models how to write about a place they have visited. Students then write their own paragraphs.  Students will point out on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Finding Your Way Around A Map

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students use the Internet to learn and/or review map and globe skills and will recognize the difference in perspectives as shown on maps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Projections

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify map projections and examine polar maps. In this map skills lesson, students use a flat world map to identify various projections and calculate the distances between locations by using a map scale.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New: Around the World

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify and demonstrate how symbols and models are used to represent features of the environment. They use a map and a globe to label where the students in the book came from, point out the continent, and show which ocean...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Put Me in My Place: Using Alphanumeric Grids to Locate Places

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students practice locating points on a large wall grid and create and label a neighborhood map. In this geography lesson, students spell and discuss places as the teacher places them on the map. They discuss the concept of an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bunyans Lesson Plan

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learners practice their map skills. In this early childhood lesson plan, students use a map of the United States and identify the location of several natural wonders included in the book The Bunyans by Audrey Wood.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three Mapping Activities

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Pupils label three maps of China after being introduced to background information about the country. In this geography lesson plan, students color two maps and label various points of interest in China. Finally, pupils draw...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where is Flat Stanley?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students create a story map of the basic elements and significant events of the book Flat Stanley. Students brainstorm places they would like to visit if they had been flattened and then, write about an imagined experience. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Sense Of A Round World On A Flat Surface

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the development of geography skills. They take part in a number of activities that center around finding and traveling to different locations. The lesson has resource links that can be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Class Is On the Map

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders review map keys, symbols, and the purpose of maps, then students design a poster size map of their classroom.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring Precipitation

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A little engineering design is mixed into this lesson on precipitation measurement. Groups plan and construct a rain gauge, and use it to collect precipitation. As part of the PowerPoint presentation, learners view a satellite map of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Global Grapefruit - Representing a 3-Dimensional Globe on a 2-Dimensional Map

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students compare and contrast world maps and globes. They convert a 3-dimensional globe to a 2-dimensional map. They are introduced to the Mercator map projection. They observe map distortions of shape, area, distance, directions and angle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping with a Compass: A Simulated Survey

For Teachers 4th
Students use compasses and grids to map the locations of artifacts found in a simulated dig site. In groups, they role-play as future archeologists excavating a school site. Groups begin at their assigned datum and site the artifacts...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using My Nasa Data To Determine Volcanic Activity

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars use NASA satellite data of optical depth as a tool to determine volcanic activity on Reunion Island during 2000-2001. They access the data and utilize Excel to create a graph that has optical depth as a function of time...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

How To Travel On Earth Without Getting Lost

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography lesson that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.
Lesson Plan
August House

The Clever Monkey Rides Again

For Teachers 1st - 2nd Standards
Use a West African folktale to practice several different skills in your first grade classroom. Learners read The Clever Monkey Rides Again and focus on rhyming words, reading comprehension, measurement, art, movement, and word...
Lesson Plan
August House

Go to Sleep, Gecko!

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
A cute folktale from Bali tells the story of Gecko, Elephant, and Buffalo, and Gecko's struggle to sleep. After reading Go to Sleep, Gecko, learners focus on comprehension questions, singing and learning about geckos, building...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Altitude: What's in the Air?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Introuduce your scientists to the differences in air at varying altitudes with a colorful explanatory graph. After some discussion, they view unbelievable footage of mountain-climbing Leo Houlding and a narrative about how he might do...
Lesson Plan
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Chicago Botanic Garden

Faces of Climate Change

For Students 5th - 6th Standards
Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography and Culture in South Carolina

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore South Carolina. In this cultural heritage lesson, students investigate the topography of South Carolina using maps. Students are engaged in identifying the different regions of the state and examine the cultural heritage...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fractile vs. Equal

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students compare and contrast methods of categorizing data. In this data collection lesson plan, students complete worksheet activities that require them to note the differences between equal and fractile intervals. Students also discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying Snow and Ice Changes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners compare the change in snow and ice over a 10 year period. In this environmental science lesson, students use the live data on the NASA site to study and compare the monthly snow and ice amounts on a map of the entire...