The asteroid is getting closer and the question is whether the state of Alabraska is large enough for the shelter calculated in the previous activity. Teams determine the scale of their project and then use the scale on the map to...

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

Amateur seismologists explore Earth's earthquakes in real time using a variety of map styles and parameter selections.

Create a scaled model of our solar system in your classroom! Scholars work collaboratively to build paper mache planets and hang them in their proper position to showcase each planet's location in the solar system.   

Introduce middle or high schoolers to topographic maps with this PowerPoint. After a review of longitude and latitude, display and describe contour lines and intervals. Also explain map scale. This is a useful presentation for a social...

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...

Once junior ecologists are familiar with Earth's major biomes, they hone in on Arizona's biomes. Using a website about Arizona's natural resources, learners will identify biotic communities. Beautiful maps and worksheets are provided for...

Continuing their study of beneficial insects, young entomologists discover where in the world some of these bugs are. By labeling, coloring, and using the scale on a map, pupils explore the territories and arrival of the Asian lady...

In 2006, New Horizons began its mission to fly to Pluto. As it continues its journey, scholars track its progress with the help of an informative website, all the while reinforcing measurement concepts with the construction of a scaled...

Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.

To gain insight into the many different types of habitats, individuals must first get to know their own. Here, scholars explore their school environment, draw a map, compare and contrast their surroundings to larger ones. They then...

Investigate the use of ratios in scale drawings. Learners scale objects up or down using ratios then find the actual size of something using ratios. They apply their knowledge of ratios as they make their own telescopes in science...

Compare sizes of student footprints with those of elephants and sauropod dinosaurs! Upper graders make estimations of the areas of irregular shapes; learners use grids to make and explain estimates within low and high ranges.

Maps are great for helping you get where you're going, but what does that place actually look like? Geology scholars compare and contrast the features of topographical and geologic maps using an interactive lesson. The resource describes...

Earth science learners create a two-dimensional topographic map of the floor of the Aegean Sea. They use it to then create a three-dimensional model of the ocean floor features. This comprehensive resource delivers strong background...

Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...

How do oceanographers make maps under water? Junior explorers discover the technologies and processes involved in creating bathymetric maps in part three of a five-part series designed for fifth- and sixth-grade pupils. The lesson...

Students analyze the details of a topographic map and create one of their own by utilyzing a map of elevations.

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

Chart your way to an understanding of nanoscale. Using a Google map, learners estimate a radius around their location of 1,000 and 1,000,000 meters. Predicting what 1,000,000,000 meters would look like takes them off the charts!...

"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...

The epicenter is the point on the ground above the initial point of rupture. The 10th lesson in a series of 20 encourages scholars to learn to triangulate the epicenter of an earthquake based on the arrival times of p waves and s...

Third and fourth graders are introduced to the concept of map scale. Using an illustration, they discuss if it shows the actual size of the object and why scale is used to represent areas. They use some items in the illustration to...

Hydrologists create a concept map about how water is used and a sentence strip defining water and describing its unique properties. Small groups work together to fill a small milk carton and compute the mass of water inside. The next...