Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Do You Live?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify their state and city on a map. After completing a reading of Zoom, students identify various landmarks on a globe and on a map. They begin by identifying the United States and refine their identification until they have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research and chart the shortest course to circumnavigate the globe.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

COLD SEA WATERS

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine how old sea waters affected the local and state area during the summer of 1998. Studying a detailed web-site helps students examine sea temperatures.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Around the World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use a globe to answer questions such as which continent they live in and the country in which they live. They identify at least two bodies of water near their state and two foreign countries. In groups, they complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New Perspectives

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine maps that are designed to give different perspectives. They create mental maps that illustrate their own perspectives and those of people from other parts of the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Bozeman Trail

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders are introduced to the Bozeman Trail. Using the internet, they research the trail to discover the forts located on its path. They must also locate and label landmarks on a map using symbols they create. They answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

China: Dim Sum: 3 Mapping Lessons

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders, after studying maps, draw a very large outline map of Asia and then a large map of China on it in the appropriate place. They label the appropriate information.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

GIS and Agriculture

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers are introduced GIS systems and how they operate. Using a GIS system, they locate and map the various types of agricultural products grown in Oregon. They rank each county based on the amount of agricultural products...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rivers And Capitals

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars become familiar with the use of GIS for research and become aware of the importance of rivers to cities. They also analyze the placement of cities and learn the names of rivers in the United States.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Continents

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify basic geographical facts about the world they live in and distinguish between land and water on a globe. They research the continents and information associated with each one focusing on building their map skills.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering the Past Using the Future: Remote Sensing and the Lost City of Ubar

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a video, maps, worksheets and Internet research to explore the role that sensing played in locating Ubar - the lost city of Arabia.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering the Past Using the Future: Remote Sensing and the Lost City of Ubar

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify and locate specific locations on the Arabian Peninsula, the Rub al Khali Desert, and present day Oman. They identify other names for the lost city of Arabia as Ubar, the Atlantis of the Sands, Iran, and the city of towers.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Mekong River

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

True North, Magnetic North

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explain why compass angles need to be corrected for regional magnetic variation. They observe the difference between magnetic and true north. Each student measures the angle of variation for a town in a different state.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Contouring We Go

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the built environment and infrastructures of their community by constructing contour equipment, using the equipment, and comparing their results to current topographical maps of the same area
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Math Fraction Hunt

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
What a fun way to practice fractions! Your class engages in a fraction hunt in which they use words to find clues to a treasure hidden in the classroom. The treasure, in this case is a Mars bar. However, it could be anything, including a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Model Watershed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Collaborative earth science groups create a working model of a watershed. Once it has been developed, you come along and introduce a change in land use, impacting the quality of water throughout their watershed. Model making is an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate Tectonics Day 3 Sea Floor Spreading: Evidence for Continental Drift

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners are introduced to Sea Floor Spreading and how it provides evidence for Hess's and Deitz's theory of Continental Drift. They use paleomagnetic data to calculate the rate of Sea Floor Spreading.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where is Shirley the Elephant?

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young animal lovers engage in a lesson that's all about elephants. They access an elephant sanctuary website and read a story about Shirley the elephant. They perform a series of activities based upon that story, and also study about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How climate enters our world

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize the different climatic zones. They describe what aspects differentiate the climatic zones. Students offer explanations as to what climate is and the role that it plays on creating regions. They rationalize why the...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 1: On the Road with Marco Polo: A Boy in 13th Century Venice

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners investigate Marco Polo's life as a young boy in 13th century Venice. They analyze maps, explore various websites, complete a chart and answer discussion questions, and create a travel brochure about visiting 13th century Venice.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Prairie Climate

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders research the average temperature and precipitation of a prairie region to determine the type of climate it is, and how it differs from other biomes. They examine the types of adaptions animals have made to live in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Water? Stream Side Science

For Teachers 6th - 9th
After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Changing Planet: Fading Corals

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...