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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienteering - Lesson 4 - Distance and Height

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pretend that you've been dropped onto a mountain, in the middle of nowhere,  and all you have to find your way is a topographical map and a compass. Could you find your way to the nearest town? Orienteering teaches the skills of map...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil

For Teachers 8th - 12th
More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...
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Lesson Plan
Polar Trec

Playground Profiling—Topographic Profile Mapping

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Potato Mountain": Reading/Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students investigate how to read topographic maps.  In this map reading lesson students complete a topographic map activity. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Big is the Playground: Creating a Map

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students create a topographical map of an area outside of the school. In this mapping lesson, students compile data on angles, distances, and key landmarks for a predetermined area on the school grounds to create a map using Geometer's...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Topo Map Mania!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students 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
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Read a Topographic Map

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate the use of topographic maps.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geographic Regions and Backyard Geology with the USGS Tapestry Map

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A beautiful tapestry map of North America is examined by geology masters. The map incorporates the topography and geology of different regions. You can purchase printed copies or a large poster of the map, or if you have a computer lab...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Story Mapping

For Teachers K - 2nd
Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

On This Day With Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

3-D Topographic Maps

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create a 3-D topographic map.  For this map building lesson, students use cardboard to create a topographic map of the Catskills mountain region.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Maps to Learn About Antarctic Topography

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore maps and familiarize themselves with features of Antarctica. They utilize a topographical map to create a three-dimensional model of Antarctica. They identify and describe the different regions of Antarctic ice.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Changing Planet: Sea Levels Rising

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Topographic Maps

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders create a topographic map and see how it represents  different elevations. In this topographic maps lesson students read and interpret topographic maps. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Generate an Accurate Landscape Profile from a Topographic Map

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students enerate an accurate landscape profile from a topographic map. They determine the correct interval needed to accurately graph the change in elevation on a single piece of graph paper.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Topographic Maps and Mountain Profiles

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students study how to mark inclines and construct a mountain profile.  In this topographic map lesson students mark contour intervals and draw mountain profiles. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Flight: Where are We?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the concept of topographical maps.  For this topographical map lesson, students discuss how airplanes know where to fly.  Students use topographical maps to simulate a field trip on the computer. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working With Electronic Topography Maps

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Junior geologists examine topographic maps online and learn how to read them. they answer seven associated follow-up questions. This lesson plan is only a general outline and does not provide the details or the websites that you would...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Mount St. Helens

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students study topographic maps and contour lines and construct a simple three-dimensional model of Mount St. Helens before the May 18, 1980, eruption. They use topographic map skills to interpret the impact of the May 18, 1980, eruption...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marine Energy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
In small groups, energy engineers research and make a topographic map of a marine natural resource. They report to the rest of the class pros and cons of extracting their assigned resource. The two activities may take up to four class...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Watered-Down Topographic Map

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the ocean floor. For this topography lesson, 8th graders compare topographical maps to bathymetric charts. They will create a topographic map and note landmarks and other land features.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slope and Topographic Maps

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners investigate slopes as they study topographic maps. In this algebra instructional activity, students discuss and apply the concept of slopes to graphing and analyzing data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil: Topographic Mapping, Crustal Deformation, Rock Porosity, and Environmental Pollution

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students review an interpretation of geologic history and relate it to the formation of oil deposits. They explore and explain factors controlling the porosity and permeability of sediments and sedimentary rocks. Pupils also interpret...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienteering - Lesson 1 - Maps & Map Scales

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Lesson 1 of 10 lessons in this orienteering unit is about maps and map scales. After all, orienteering is all about maps, compasses, and finding ones' way around. It is imperative to be able to read maps and understand the relevance of...