Students examine the use of topographic maps as two dimensional representations that show elevations and slopes with contour lines. They read maps of the Salt Lake City, Utah area and complete the associated worksheets that show map...

Students identify the characteristics of topographical maps. Using examples, they practice reading them and describing the information they gather from them. They also discover how to use the website from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Students investigate the use of topographic maps.

Introduce middle or high schoolers to topographic maps with this PowerPoint. After a review of longitude and latitude, display and describe contour lines and intervals. Also explain map scale. This is a useful presentation for a social...

This teaching packet is for grades five through eight, and it is organized around geographic themes: location, place, relationships, movement, and regions. There are four full lessons that are complete with posters, weblinks, and...

Put your students' map skills to the test with this engaging cross-curricular project. Given the task of developing new hiking trails for their local community, young cartographers must map out beginner and intermediate...

After examining a physical map of the world, learners conduct a close reading of Yesenia Montilla's poem "Maps." They note the interesting words and phrases, the way the poem is structured, and list questions they might have. After...

Students discuss different types of maps, their similarities and differences. Using a Topographical Maps CD-rom program students create their own map.

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...

Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...

In this geography worksheet, students read an excerpt about topographic maps and why they are useful for various jobs. They also respond to eleven questions that follow related to the excerpt and locating specific map points on the map...

Students identify a variety of topographic map symbols. They make generalizations about an unidentified community by reading and interpreting map symbols.

Students create a 3-D topographic map.  In this map building lesson, students use cardboard to create a topographic map of the Catskills mountain region.

Learners, after reading a novel, utilize geographic skills to map out the places described in the novel. They collect data, envision spatial features and then design a map to work off of to complete their assignment. Each student also...

In this geography skills activity, students respond to 37 multi-part questions that require them to read and interpret topographic maps.

Young scholars read and use topographical maps. They also use a compass to find bearing to an object on a map and in the classroom. Ask your students how they might travel to somewhere they have never been to befo

Students design a train route using a topographical map. In this historical and spatial thinking lesson plan, students must plan a route through the Sierra Nevada mountains that a train could physically travel. Links to printable student...

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, students...

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...

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...

In this map reading worksheet, students determine the distance from a plotted treasure on a topographic map. They must adjust for magnetic declination.

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

In this geography skills activity, students respond to 9 questions that require them to read topographic maps and interpret them. The topographic maps are not included.

Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...