Curated OER
Running Water/Rivers-Life Cycle
Learners explore the parts of a river system and use topographical maps to determine the stage of the river.
Curated OER
Tour De Texas
Pupils are given a budget and an alternative-fuel vehicle. Using a map of Texas, they are given a starting point and determine how to arrive at their destination within 72 hours. They use the internet to research the alternative fuel...
Curated OER
The O Zone-Code Read Alert
What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...
Curated OER
Colonial Vacation Planner
Looking for a good lesson plan on the Colonial Period for your upper-elementary class? Then, this lesson plan is for you! They use website designs, U.S. travel publications, and maps to plan a family vacation to states which were part of...
Curated OER
Volcano Contour Models Activity
Students 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.
Curated OER
From the Heights to the Depths
Students create a relief map of Asia and Australia. They work in small groups on sections of the map to make one complete map of the continents.
Curated OER
Cartography Project
A lesson involving mapping, the use of a compass, writing and following directions, and exploring the first two themes of geography is here for you. Learners create original maps that show the routes they take through their own...
Curated OER
Rosie's Walk
Learners use maps and globes to locate and describe locations, directions and scale. Using the maps, they identify man made or natural features of different environments. They practice using geographical terms to describe a specific...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Planets
Students become familiar with the members of the solar system and planetary order. They identify differences and characteristics of individual planets. Finally students visualize the great size of the solar system and make the image more...
Curated OER
How do we measure global earthquakes?
Students examine three seismograms of a recent South American earthquake recorded by USGS stations. They measure the S-P distance and use a P and S wave travel-time graph to find the epicenter distance for each seismogram. In addition,...
Curated OER
The Artifact Problem
Learners work in small groups and make a map of a familiar room. In this artifact lesson plan, students decide on a suitable scale for their maps, the tools they will use and how they will make it and decide on strategies they would use...
Curated OER
The Solar System
Students describe the different bodies that make up our solar system, explain the place of our solar system within the Milky Way Galaxy and the universe, explain day and night and the Earth's movement, and describe the relationship...
Curated OER
Ocean Currents
Fourth graders work in groups to research ocean currents and create posters with their findings. They locate the patterns and names of major ocean currents and identify them on a map. Students also use red pencil to show ocean currents...
Curated OER
GPS Art
Middle schoolers design their own logo or picture and use a handheld GPS receiver to map it out. They write out a word or graphic on a field or playground, walk the path, and log GPS data. The results display their "art" on their GPS...
Curated OER
Learning About the Basin
Students use watershed maps to explore the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in Louisiana. In this geography lesson, students identify important features such as elevation, vegetation, cultural, historical and land use on a map of Lake...
Curated OER
Development Issues in the Northern Suburbs
Students demonstrate the ability to obtain geographic information from a variety of print and electronic sources. They use a variety of maps and data to identify and locate geographical features of Minnesota and Anoka County. in...
Curated OER
Science: Draining the Land - the Mississippi River
Students use topographic maps to identify parts of rivers. In addition, they discover gradient and predict changes in the channels caused by variations in water flow. Other activities include sketching a river model with a new channel...
Curated OER
Journey Through Earth
Pupils study plate tectonics. In this plate tectonics lesson students build a cutaway scale model of the Earth.
Curated OER
Plot Current Earthquake Data
Students review earthquakes larger than 2.5 that have occurred over a span of several days using a given website reference. In this geology lesson, students plot epicenters on a world map and depth of the quake. All necessary...
Curated OER
The Mekong River
Junior geographers explore the region through which the Mekong flows, its pathway, the landscape, how people depend on the Mekong, and future uncertainties. They apply the five themes of geography to examine the region. They create a...
Curated OER
Who's Range is it?
Students investigate the habits of panthers by analyzing radio transmitted data. In this animal life lesson, students utilize computers to view the range of different statistics dealing with Florida panthers. Students...
Shakespeare in American Life
Tom Hanks and Caliban: Survivor Superstars
Here’s a clever way to combine language arts and social studies. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is believed to have been inspired by the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda in 1609. The class views a brief scene from Castaway in which Tom...
Curated OER
Trash Talkin
Students investigate recycling at several scales, including local, state, national and global. They become aware of recycling, re-use, reduce efforts and policies. Students read the article Where Does Your Garbage Go. They look up where...
Curated OER
Pacific Atolls and Island Groups
Students construct, interpret and translate maps and geographic data. Given a worksheet, students identify an island, an atoll, a scale, and a compass rose. Students grid systems, legends, and symbols. They use the map to find answers to...