A case study of Seattle, Washington permits class members to compare and rank how different areas of Seattle are impacted by environment burdens. Groups investigate different zip codes, collect data on five categories, and color-code a...

As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...

Different varieties of Christmas trees provide an interesting way to combine social studies, science, math, and technology. Class members not only research the history of the Christmas tree holiday tradition, they compare and...

Measurement and map skills are the focus of this instructional activity, where students crawl through a "cave" made out of boxes, desks and chairs, observing the dimensions.  Your young geographers measure various aspects of the...

The Kuril islands stretch from Japan to Russia, and the ongoing dispute about their jurisdiction prevents many scientific research studies. Scholars learn to create a topographic profile of a specific area around their schools. Then they...

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...

How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...

What's it like to climb Mount Everest? An educational resource encourages an in-depth knowledge of Mount Everest's scientific missions through a variety of activities, including an analysis of maps, a KWL chart, videos, a simulation, and...

What caused the collapse of the environment on Rapa Nui (Easter Island)? Who constructed the Moai? What was their purpose? Class members assume the role of investigators and use evidence drawn from field studies, ships' logs, and...

Imagine having to give up cell phones, computers, and TV? What would be lost? What gained? An examination of the Drokpa, a nomadic people who live in the grasslands of Tibet, provides class members an opportunity to consider how access...

The devastating changes happening to the Native American inhabitants of an island off the coast of Louisiana are the topic of an informational lesson plan. After scholars break into groups to explore particular topics, they come back...

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Take a virtual trip with a geography instructional activity that uses longitude and latitude, the position of the sun, an astronomy app, and a classroom globe.

Young geographers discover not only how to read and recognize coordinates on a map, but also gain a deeper understanding of latitude and longitude and how climate changes can vary significantly across latitudes.

West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man and a two-page scientific article about the same topic provide the text for a reading comprehension exercise that asks individuals to craft a one page summary of information gathered...

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...

Students map and describe small area of the schoolyard and discuss habitats.

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, learners...

A controversial construction project in South America, the Belo Monte dam, is endangering local cultures, ecosystems, and communities. High schoolers create a concept map based on an online article they read before engaging in...

Middle schoolers examine the concept of food mapping . In this agriculture lesson, students explore food and agriculture systems in the United States in the past and today. Middle schoolers complete food mapping activities.

A series of independent learning activities teaches learners about global warming as it relates to economics and industrialization. The culminating project requires them to create a multimedia presentation identifying the problems,...

How do scientists provide evidence to support the theories they put forth? What clues do they put together to create these theories? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation class members engage in a series of...

Teams of Texas tourists gather into groups to analyze what they can do with $50 worth of an alternative fuel. They write checks, keep a balance sheet, and map out their sight-seeing route taking into consideration the location of...

Junior ecologists examine Arizona's biotic communities and research an animal or plant that is found in this community. In this instructional activity, learnerss write a narrative essay about their assigned animal or plant. They research...

Young scholars 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. Young scholars...