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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Floodplains in the field (with GIS)

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students measure a topographic and geologic cross-section across a floodplain by simple surveying and auguring techniques. They consider the spatial context of the field observations, use GPS measurements, and desktop GIS analyses.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storm Clouds-- Fly over a Late Winter Storm onboard a NASA Earth Observing Satellite

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study cloud data and weather maps to explore cloud activity.  In this cloud data lesson plan students locate latitude and longitude coordinates and determine cloud cover percentages. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Modeling Water Quality

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the basics of interpreting RUSS temperature and oxygen profile data. They are introduced to the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), particularly with respect to interpreting maps.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather Pals

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students study maps of the United States to locate weather pals from a list of schools. They communicate with Weather Pal schools through the use of closed circuit TV. Using weather data collected in their area, they exchange the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stream Gages and GIS

For Teachers Higher Ed
students interpret recent regional-scale climate events based on current stream flow, monitor changes in time, and to consider additional interpretations that could be derived if other data were in map form.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Climographs

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students identify trends and characteristics of climate zones and specific places within. Then, they graph annual climate trends (primarily Temperature and Precipitation) and create, interpret and extrapolate information based on...
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Lesson Plan
Messenger Education

Look But Don’t Touch—Exploration with Remote Sensing

For Students 5th - 8th Standards
Mars is home to the tallest mountain in our solar system, Olympus Mons. In this set of two activities, learners review geologic land formations through the analysis of aerial maps. They then apply this knowledge to aerial maps of objects...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hurricanes and Climate

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students investigate maps and data to learn about the connections between hurricanes and climate. In this exploratory lesson students describe and graph the 6 regions where hurricanes happen and discuss how hurricanes have changed over...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Climate Change with GIS

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate climatological changes that are occurring to the Earth. In this climate change lesson, students access an assigned web site to view maps and lessons that show how climate change makes a difference to life on Earth.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Topographic Maps: Guiding Students from Concrete Models to Graphic Representations

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars interpret topographic maps and infer human activity as it is influenced by the landscape.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great MPA Debate

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students study the 'Marine Protected Areas' process.  In this ocean lesson students work in groups, conduct research and present it to the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What in Our World Affects the Way People Live

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study various maps that show geographical features and population. They compare the maps and make inferences about how various geographical features influence the population and human activities of an area.
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Lesson Plan
Arizona Cooperative Extension

Geocaching

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Using GPS units, small groups participate in a scavenger hunt to find an object that you have hidden. They use coordinates for stopping points along a pre-planned path to get to the final cache. This is a terrific activity to include in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Park Problems

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students calculate park acreage and map the distribution of parks in Austin, TX using GIS. Students use a specific website to find the information.
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Lesson Plan
Prairie Public Broadcasting

Egyptian Pyramids Virtual Field Trip!

For Teachers 6th Standards
A virtual field trip takes enthusiastic travelers to the pyramids of Giza. Using Google, scholars explore the grounds of the ancient pyramids found in Egypt then complete three worksheets: a photo analysis page, a reflection sheet, and a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping My Community

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders are introduced to GPS technology. They complete fieldwork as they visit a specific area of their community to identify and map types of land use in the surveyed area. They use the collected data to create a digital map.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Cities of 5 Million or More

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consult online resources to identify and map the world's largest cities and metropolitan areas. They analyze birth rates, settlement patterns and other demographic data and make predictions for the future. They write essays...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is the Hudson River Too Salty to Drink?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students explore reasons for varied salinity in bodies of water. In this geographical inquiry lesson, students use a variety of visual and written information including maps, data tables, and graphs, to form a hypothesis as to why the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Population Changes In The United States

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students create a choropleth map to illustrate the population growth rate of the United States. They explore how to construct a choropleth map, and discuss the impact of population changes for the future.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Mountains Shape Climate

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students use raw data to make a climatograph; they explain the process of orographic precipitation and the concept of a rain shadow.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Macbeth Madness

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students participate in various social studies activities in correlation to William Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this Macbeth lesson plan, students study maps of Scotland, England, and Norway to identify locations mentioned in Macbeth....
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Where on Earth Am I?

For Students 9th - 11th Standards
Almost every phone has GPS installed, but a large number of teens don't know how the technology works. An initial activity illustrates how GPS determines a location on Earth. Scholars then apply trilateration procedures to a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Names in the Field: A Simple GPS Field Exercise

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore basic methods of GPS data collection, uploading the data to a computer, and making simple maps of their data using GIS software. They create a map of the data using GIS software (or Excel)
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

U.S. History: What Happened Here?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students apply the global positioning system to create maps of local historical sites. By collaborating with local historical groups, they research events and relate them to broader, national history. In addition to writing essays...