Curated OER
Take Me Out To the Ball Game
Students use a map to graph and locate major league teams of different sports. In groups, they analyze the population data of the United States and compare it with the amount and location of the major league teams. They share their...
Curated OER
World Cities of 5 Million or More
Students consult online resources to identify and map the world's largest cities and metropolitan areas. They analyze birth rates, settlement patterns and other demographic data and make predictions for the future. They write essays...
Curated OER
Urban and Agricultural Settlements Why are They There?
Seventh graders identify types of human settlements, urban and agricultural, and determine geographic influence on why people settle where they did by use of maps and charts. They, in groups, identify the needs of a new settlement, which...
Curated OER
Urban Rivers
Students discuss how urban rivers have shaped the region in which they live. They research river geology and ecology. They examine a case study of life and living along the Delaware River.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Population Distribution
Students create a population distribution map of Goodland Island indicating where people live by marking the locations with dots. After reading a written description of the island, they write short paragraphs explaining and justifying...
School Improvement in Maryland
Smart Growth
New roads, new businesses, new developments, new mass transit systems. All growth has both positive and negative effects on communities. Government classes investigate the principles of Maryland's 1997 Smart Growth program and the...
Curated OER
Cities
Students examine U.S. Census figures. In this urban centers lesson, students compare city populations across the span of 50 years. Students create line graphs based on the data.
Curated OER
Shrinking Spaces
Students describe the impact of population growth on the environment. They describe how cities affect their surrounding environment and explain how cities are handling growth and its resulting effect on the quality of life. They visit...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Job Market for Babysitting in Your Neighborhood
Students conduct research on a neighborhood in Canada. In this data analysis instructional activity, students use data from the 2006 Canadian census to draw conclusions about a population group.
Curated OER
Feeling the Heat
Learners investigate the urban heat island effect. In this urban heat island effect instructional activity, students learn how trees, grass, asphalt, and other things on the school grounds effect temperature. They use the information to...
Curated OER
A Whale of a Problem
Young scholars evaluate the possible causes contributing to the decline of the killer whale population from a number of differing perspectives. They present their findings in a talk show format and in letters of advocacy regarding
Center Science Education
Feeling the Heat
What is an urban heat island? Middle school meteorologists find out by comparing temperatures at different locations on campus. They relate their findings to what might be happening in a concrete jungle and how it impacts local weather....
Japan Society
A Remade Environment
Art is a wonderful way to express feelings of social unrest or change. Learners will examine the works of two contemporary Japanese artists, and how they each have used art to say something big. They analyze the work of Katsuhiro Saiki...
Curated OER
Modeling Reality
Students identify what a role model is and what characteristics such a person should possess. They discuss a new trend in character role model figurines, which some believe perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes.
Curated OER
These Maps are for the Birds
Students identify and study New York State Breeding Bird Atlas maps to learn where different bird species nest and how their distributions have changed over time. They also identify how maps serve as representations of a geographic...
Curated OER
Phoenix Growth and Environment
Learners participate in a discussion dealing with the relationship between Phoenix's particular history of growth and the environment issues it faces today. They read and examine various documents and charts to propose possible solutions...
Curated OER
Latin American Music
Learn about the music of Latin America! Four types of music are defined by their instruments, uses, and cultural impact or influences. Indigenous, Iberian, African influenced, and Urban music are all discussed.
Curated OER
Will There Be Subsistence Farmers in the 21st Century?: Feeding the World
Students examine the topic of subsistence farming. They research the future of subsistence agriculture, identify the types and locations of subsistence agriculture, and write about subsistence farming in regards to developing nations and...
Curated OER
The World's Fair of 1893: A Tribute to Agriculture and Advertising
Students identify connections between agriculture, advertising, and mail order catalogues during 1890s as expressed at World's Fair of 1893. Students interpret photographic exhibit and discuss how reactions of rural fair visitors...
Earth Watch Institute
Entering Local Groundhog Data in an Excel Spreadsheet
Here is a cross-curricular ecology and technology lesson plan; your learners create spreadsheets depicting the location and number of groundhog dens in a local park. They research groundhogs and analyze data about where the groundhog...
Curated OER
Gwynns Falls
Students investigate the question: What is the impact of urban development and expansion on the health of a decidious forest ecosystem and humans? They examine the issue of land development by responding to a specific scenario and...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Canadian City Comparison
Students research Canadian population distribution while comparing and contrasting the quality of life in two cities. They discuss issues and problems that cities and rural towns face. Students apply various methods, such as graphs and...
Curated OER
Geography of the Wasatch Front
Students identify the three main types of urban environments by learning characteristic land-cover types. They examine and analyze a thermal image of Salt Lake City. Then they predict surface and air temperatures from aerial photos.
Curated OER
Transportation in East Asia
Students engage in research about the subject of transportation in Eastern Asia. The size of countries and population pose challenges that are studied and reflected upon in student writings from the information found.