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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography and Culture of China

For Teachers 7th
Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a activity on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson 3: On the Road with Marco Polo: From Hormuz to Kashgar

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young explorers examine the route that Marco Polo and his father traveled to reach China. They examine online maps of the Silk Road and harsh terrain of Afghanistan to determine challenges that may have been encountered during travel.
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Lesson Plan
Foundation for Water & Energy Education

What is the Water Cycle? Activity A

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waldseemuller's Map: World 1507

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate the 1507 word map. In this world geography lesson plan, students examine the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions about how the people of 1507 understood the world. Students are evalated on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Am I? Navigating Around the Globe

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders review spatial sense learned in grades one and two. They measure distances using map scales. They use atlases, and on-line sources to find geographical information.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Are Here

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students map local places and learn to use scale and distance.  In this mapping lesson, students map their school and a favorite place.  Students recreate their maps showing distance and scale sizes. Students locate their location on a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Puerto Rico

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students use maps to discover where Puerto Rico is located. In groups, they use the internet to research the vegetation. They also compare and contrast the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico's government.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rivers, Maps, and Math

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use maps to locate and label the major rivers of North and South America. Using the internet, they identify forests, grasslands, mountain ranges and other landforms on the continents as well. They compare and contrast the...
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Lesson Plan
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Prince William Network

Migration Math Madness

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
A great way to incorporate math into life science, this lesson has learners measure migratory routes on a map and calculate the actual distance that shorebirds on the routes would cover. Learners compute the distance covered in both...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Wisconsin

What’s a Square Foot Anyway? Laying Out the Design Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Clever! Participants don square-foot cardboard shoes to mark out the rain garden plot that they have spent the last few weeks designing. In this way, they are practicing scale modeling as well! Note that this lesson is part of a unit,...
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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

Waldseemüller’s Map: World 1507

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers take a closer look at historical maps. In this primary source analysis instructional activity, students examine the first world map produced by Martin Waldseemuller. Middle schoolers complete the included map analysis...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Community Values

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students discuss the origin of various maps focusing on the values behind them. Students also explore how human needs and geography influence community settlement patterns. Students extend learning by creating and mapping their own ideal...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracking Satellites Using Latitude and Longitude

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students, viewing an Internet site, plot the path of several satellites using latitude and longitude over the course of an hour. They learn the four basic types of satellites and their purpose.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Topographic Maps

For Teachers 7th - 10th
In this topographic map worksheet, young scholars learn how to read a topographic map and create a topographic map of their own using clay or Play-Doh. Students include contour lines by layering the clay. Young scholars answer 6...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hide and Seek with Bones: A Mapping and Scaling Comparison

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students examine and simulate how paleontologists map objects. They hide and find objects using a grid to map the objects' placements.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction To Topographic Map Activities

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars discuss different types of maps, their similarities and differences. Using a Topographical Maps CD-rom program students create their own map.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracing Highs and Lows in San Francisco

For Teachers 9th - 12th
On a topographic map, students identify the scale bar, north arrow, and contour interval. They then locate a hill on the map and make note of the contour lines. Students then locate other places with similar contour line patterns....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rivers Run Through It

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Using a relief map of New York State, learners answer questions about the distance between different cities, identify bodies of water, and more. First, they discuss vocabulary related to the Hudson River area. Then, they complete a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Hudson in 1609

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
While this lesson focuses on a study of the Hudson River, it could be used as a template for a discussion of map skills, converting measurements, and plotting a route. The lesson includes vocabulary and other resources to make it a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Bone Field: An Area and Scale Exercise

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Here is an excellent cross-curricular lesson. Learners relate multiplication to area by making a grid on graph paper, and then creating the same grid in real space outside in the school yard.
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Lesson Plan
Kentucky Educational Television

The Road to Proportional Reasoning

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The last day of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3 Activity 1: On the Trail of Knowledge

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students plot the earthquake epicenter data on the base map of the North Atlantic ocean floor using different symbols or colors to characterize different values.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Topo Map Mania!

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders describe the major features of maps and compasses. They read a topographical map. They take a bearing using a compass. They practice using scales on a map.