Middle schoolers explore the parts of a river system and use topographical maps to determine the stage of the river.

Students 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...

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...

Looking for a good lesson on the Colonial Period for your upper-elementary class? Then, this lesson is for you! They use website designs, U.S. travel publications, and maps to plan a family vacation to states which were part of the...

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.

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.

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...

Students 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...

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...

Young scholars 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...

Young scholars work in small groups and make a map of a familiar room. In this artifact lesson, 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...

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...

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...

Students 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 receiver...

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...

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...

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...

Learners study plate tectonics.  In this plate tectonics lesson students build a cutaway scale model of the Earth. 

Learners 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...

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...

Learners 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.  Learners...

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...

Middle schoolers 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...

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...