Understanding geography and government begins at the local level. Using maps and the parts of a newspaper, a unit plan introduces the concept of community. It starts with the creation of classroom and school maps, and then moves through...

Students research the climate patterns of various locations and make predictions based on their findings. They determine the importance of latitude and longitude in weather and climate. Students create graphs displaying their collected...

Students model a watershed and delineate one using topographic maps. In this hydrology lesson plan, students use aluminum foil to model a landscape and observe how water moves on it. They also observe the features of a topographic map...

There are an average of three human fatalities by bears in North America every year, which is low when you compare it to the 26 killed by dogs and the 90 killed by lightning annually. The lesson encourages researching human-bear...

High schoolers interpret information on a weather map in order to construct a graph, and discuss how the weather impacts their lives.

Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...

Students replicate the lunar surface. In this mapping skills instructional activity, students study the topography of the moon. Students then use craft materials to create topographic maps of the lunar surface where the Eagle landed.

Learners take a look at the local newspaper and focus on the weather section. They get into small groups, and each one looks at the same map, but of a different part of the country. They must prepare a presentation that shows how...

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.

Challenge geography classes to locate the major volcanoes and earthquake faults on a world map. In groups, they identify the pattern made and examine the relationship between the locations of the faults and volcanoes and tectonic...

Ninth graders explore how the environment affects health. In this infectious disease lesson plan, 9th graders investigate what environmental situations cause infections diseases. Students study the symptoms, treatments, prevention, and...

Students practice reading a national and local weather map. Using this information, they work together to make predictions about the weather for the next few days. They discuss the use of symbols and maps as a class and discuss how...

Students discover how land use in their community has changed. In this community and ecology instructional activity, students scan old newspapers to find articles about the development of community land. Students discuss and predict how...

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Fourth graders explore the components of a weather map, mark cities on the map and place the appropriate temperatures and weather conditions occurring in the cities on the weather map created.

Fourth graders study a map and locate cities, read information and create a chart.  In this weather lesson students place appropriate weather information on a map and write a script using their information to relay the weather to...

Fourth graders study how atmospheric conditions change while naming the things that make the weather change. They investigate the affects of air masses, weather fronts and high/low pressure by looking at weather maps from newspapers.

Young scholars 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...

Pupils use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Pupils complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the story...

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...

Students 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 an...

Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...

Young journalists create newspapers of individual biomes after researching their biomes. This instructional activity can be completed in three phases and concludes with each person publishing their individual newspaper pages.

Students observe and record different types of clouds. They use a cloud chart to discuss the three cloud types to see if students can identify the clouds they drew.