Backseat Travelers

Students review the concepts of the branch of science known as astronomy. They discuss stars and constellations and then view the night sky using a portable digital planetarium projector. They identify a variety of constellations using a...

If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go? Use this question to interest your fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they experiment with Mapquest or other direction-based resources. They choose where they'd like...

Students plan a trip.  In this trip planning lesson, students use a map to find where they would like to visit with a pretend family of 4. They get a specific amount of money and time and need to decide where they will stay and what they...

Fourth graders research the physical characteristics of the four regions of the United States. In this geography lesson, 4th graders research the four regions and use a quilt square organizer to record notes. Students complete the quilt...

Students take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.

Students write a song about the southeast region. In this southeast region lesson plan, students view pictures of landforms, hear music, look at maps of states, and more.

Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...

Students navigate the web to prepare for an imaginary trip and record expenses involved.  In this state culture and symbol lesson, students gather information to be used in a multimedia project.

Students use the internet to research the location of their summer vacation trip. Given the demographics, they plot the location on a world map. They create a brochure using the information they collected. Using PowerPoint, they develop...

Students make travelog journals to send to acquaintances in other states in order to receive mail in return. They make scrapbooks with the return mail they receive.