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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to Read a Topographic Map

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students investigate the use of topographic maps.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

3-D Topographic Maps

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create a 3-D topographic map.  In this map building lesson, students use cardboard to create a topographic map of the Catskills mountain region.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Topographic Maps Worksheet

For Students 7th - 12th
In this geography skills worksheet, students respond to 37 multi-part questions that require them to read and interpret topographic maps.
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Activity
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Curated OER

Designing a Hiking Trail

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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 paths that meet a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Topographic Maps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Topographic Maps

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders create a topographic map and see how it represents  different elevations. In this topographic maps instructional activity students read and interpret topographic maps. 
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Changing Planet: Sea Levels Rising

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...
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Activity
K-State Research and Extensions

Water

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
How are maps like fish? They both have scales. The chapter includes six different activities at three different levels. Scholars complete activities using natural resources, learn how to read a map, see how to make a compass rosette,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Topographic Maps and Mountain Profiles

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Young scholars study how to mark inclines and construct a mountain profile.  In this topographic map lesson students mark contour intervals and draw mountain profiles. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Principles of Flight: Where are We?

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars explore the concept of topographical maps.  In this topographical map lesson, students discuss how airplanes know where to fly.  Young scholars use topographical maps to simulate a field trip on the computer. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working With Electronic Topography Maps

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Junior geologists examine topographic maps online and learn how to read them. they answer seven associated follow-up questions. This lesson plan is only a general outline and does not provide the details or the websites that you would...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slope and Topographic Maps

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students investigate slopes as they study topographic maps. In this algebra lesson, students discuss and apply the concept of slopes to graphing and analyzing data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienteering - Lesson 1 - Maps & Map Scales

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Lesson 1 of 10 lessons in this orienteering unit is about maps and map scales. After all, orienteering is all about maps, compasses, and finding ones' way around. It is imperative to be able to read maps and understand the relevance of...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

On This Day With Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Regents High School Examination: Physical Setting Earth Science 2009

For Students 9th - 12th
Junior geologists address 50 multiple choice questions and 35 short answer questions about the earth system. Plenty of visuals are included for interpretation: diagrams, graphs, maps, photographs, laboratory setups, weather symbols, and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Contour Map Worksheet #3

For Students 6th - 9th
Earth scientists answer five multiple choice questions about the topographical map atop the activity. Use this as a quick assessment of understanding after having taught how to read contour lines and topographic maps. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Contour Map Worksheet #1

For Students 6th - 9th
Being able to read a topographic map is a standard in middle school earth science units and imperative for outdoor enthusiasts. As you introduce learners to this skill, you can assign this as an assessment or reinforcement. Pupils view a...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Take a Hike

For Students 7th - 10th
In this geography skills instructional activity, students respond to 9 questions that require them to read topographic maps and interpret them. The topographic maps are not included.
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Lesson Plan
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Wind Wise Education

Where is it Windy?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How is the wind up there? The class builds a topography model using materials available in the classroom, then place wind flags in different locations on the landscape. Using a fan as a wind source, pupils collect data about how wind...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planning A Railroad Online Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students plan a route across Donner Summit using topographical maps in order to understand the challenges involved in constructing the railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. For this history lesson, students first discover how to read...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Watershed Investigations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the components of a watershed and the factors that affect it. They read a topographical map and use geometry to determine the area of a watershed. Students estimate the volume of a body of water and perform runoff...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Project Map: Scale Worksheet

For Students 7th - 11th
In this map reading worksheet, students determine the distance from a plotted treasure on a topographic map. They must adjust for magnetic declination.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map It!

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders demonstrate map making skills by using the computer to create maps of the geographic features, regions, and economy for their state.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders locate and label major sites related to the Revolutionary War in the Hudson River Valley. They examine topographical features of each site and list a few of these features and list two advantages of each military site.