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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Malta: The Landscape

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students work in small groups to create a topographic map of Malta. They must include labeled line drawings of bordering countries and bodies of water. Students use salt and flour clay to make Malta three dimensional, showing the nearest...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Water is in That River?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students practice measurement using the Hudson River. They calculate the discharge measurement at a location on the Hudson River using ingenuity and a topographic map.
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Lewis and Clark's Expedition to the Complex West

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Lewis and Clark's famous expedition is a prime example of the United States' westward expansion. Aspiring historians examine maps from Lewis and Clark's journey, as well as discuss their interactions with Native American tribes. The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three Dimensional Geology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Salad Tray 3D Topographic Model

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore the characteristics of topographical maps. They examine the relationship of contour lines and vertical elevation. Students create a three-dimensional model of a landscape represented by a topographic contour map.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcano Contour Models Activity and Tracing the Highs and Lows in San Francisco

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate how to draw topographic contours and read topographic maps.They examine the topography of San Francisco and contrast the elevation of different points within San Francisco.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What You Can Learn From a Map

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students investigate the use of road maps, shadeded relief maps, and topographic maps.
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Teach Engineering

What is GIS?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Is GIS the real manifestation of Harry Potter's Marauders Map? Introduce your class to the history of geographic information systems (GIS), the technology that allows for easy use of spatial information, with a resource that teaches...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Investigations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils explore the components of a watershed and the factors that affect it. They read a topographical map and use geometry to determine the area of a watershed. Students estimate the volume of a body of water and perform runoff...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trailblazers- Now and Then

For Teachers 5th - 6th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map It!

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders demonstrate map making skills by using the computer to create maps of the geographic features, regions, and economy for their state.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders locate and label major sites related to the Revolutionary War in the Hudson River Valley. They examine topographical features of each site and list a few of these features and list two advantages of each military site.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building A Topographic Model

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners visualize, in three dimensions, features represented by contour lines on a topographic map. They see that the different elevations shown on a two dimensional topographic map can be used to build a 3-D model.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Production of the Lunar Relief Map Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers replicate the lunar surface. In this mapping skills lesson, students study the topography of the moon. Middle schoolers then use craft materials to create topographic maps of the lunar surface where the Eagle landed.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Play Doh Map of Your State

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Students 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. Students use four colors...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volcano Contour Models Activity

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners experiment with water levels and plastic topographic volcano models to determine the contour lines that would be used to create a topograpohic map of a volcano. They use the traced lines to actually develop the map.
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Activity
DiscoverE

LIDAR: Mapping with Lasers

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienteering

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Everything you wanted to know about orienteering, and more! Take your class on an adventure with this creative activity. You will need to gather some supplies and materials and maps for your specific location, but the unit sounds like it...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What You Can Learn From a Map

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students discover how to interpret maps. In this geography skills lesson, students explore geographic themes as they complete worksheet activities regarding road maps, shaded relief maps, and topographic maps.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Candy Bar Subsurface Geology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to drawing and interpreting topographical maps. They each cut through there Jell-o mountain at regular height intervals, and trace around the shape of the Jell-o cut off at the height, overlaying the different...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: The Trouble with Topos

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the uses of topographical maps including the many forms that they take. They discover that the map features show its intended use such as city maps, wilderness maps, and state maps. They complete a worksheet in which they...
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Seismic Activity and California Landforms

For Teachers 6th Standards
By the 19th lesson in the 20-part series, scholars realize volcanoes and earthquakes are related to plate boundaries. The lesson extends and applies the knowledge by having individuals create a bumper sticker for one specific area of...
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Activity
2
2
National Park Service

Leave it to Beavers

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Many people know cats mark their territories by rubbing the back of their necks to leave a scent, but not many people know beavers also leave a scent to mark their territories. During the first activity of two, scholars use their noses...
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Lesson Plan
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Wind Wise Education

Where is it Windy?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How is the wind up there? The class builds a topography model using materials available in the classroom, then place wind flags in different locations on the landscape. Using a fan as a wind source, pupils collect data about how wind...