Map Skills Teacher Resources

Students explore 5 senses poetry.  In this poetry writing instructional activity, students visualize a special day and brainstorm related vivid adjectives and phrases.  Students create mindmaps of the five senses to go with...

Be shore to use this drifter resource. The third installment of a five-part series has learners using the NOAA's Adopt-a-Drifter website to track to movement of a drifter (buoy) in the ocean. Graphing the collected data on a map allows...

Just how long was the Long Drive? Learners investigate the movement of cattle in the Great Plains during the mid-1800s. They incorporate photographic, newspaper, video, and primary source evidence into their posters, artwork, and written...

Young scholars observe a presentation on plate tectonics, layers of the earth, and plate boundaries. They then use the Internet to research major plates and label them on a world map.

Elementary ecologists pretend to be migratory hummingbirds. They fly between wintering and nesting grounds, trying to reach a habitat haven. In a musical-chair fashion, some birds will miss out, and are removed from the game. To further...

Third graders explore the landforms and population diversity. They read maps and examine geographic terms. Students create their own map of the United States and answer questions about the location of people. After exploring the map, 3rd...

Young scholars analyze the characteristics of company towns. They locate former company towns on a map. Students classify the perspectives of residents of company towns. Creative writing unfolds within this lesson.

Students explore map and plotting skills by tracing the movement s of hurricanes through the Earth's systems. a hurricane map is developed from daily media reports.

Students study the geography of Africa through the use of maps. They locate, distinguish, and describe the relationships among varying regional and global patterns of geographic phenomena such as landforms, climate, and natural resources.

Learners form a mental map of their residence in relation to school and recreate it on paper showing distance, direction, location and symbols. This lesson is designed to introduce students to geographic thinking.

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 examine the origins of the names of U.S. states, focusing on names that were derived from Native American words. They are provided with lists of the names of the 50 states, and then research online or in library resources the...

Students research the history of Puerto Rico, its culture, and geography. In this Puerto Rico instructional activity, students find Puerto Rico on a map and find specific regions or cities. Students discuss Puerto Rico's statehood and...

Young writers use technology and other media to research information on a chosen topic. They explore countries where keypals and e-mail friends are located. Using their writing skills, they correspond with their e-mail friend and...

Students build a small city by using a half-gallon milk or juice carton to "build" a miniature home. They decorate their buildings with construction paper, yarn, beads, or whatever they have and become mailmen, delivering Valentine's to...

Students research the animals of Brazil. In this animal science instructional activity, students locate Brazil on a map and discuss the types of animals that can live in its tropical climate. They research a Brazilian Carnaval and see...

Students create a video box about a Central American country. In this world history lesson plan, student research Central America and pick a country they want to investigate. They work in groups to create a video box that shows images...

Students record their daily activities and graph the results using the educational software program called Inspiration. This lesson is intended for the upper-elementary classroom and includes resource links and activity extensions.

Discuss the people, history and geography of North Dakota using this resource. Learners use a variety of sources to do research on North Dakota and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation. They answer questions involving...

Middle schoolers study the definition of a "global society". They take this knowledge and speculate about the positive and negative ramifications of living in a global society.

Students listen to a teacher led lecture on jaguars, their habitats, and how they became endangered. Using a specified web site, they choose an endangered animal to research. After gathering information, students participate in...

Pupils listen to tango music and research the country it came from. In this music instructional activity, students find that tango music comes from Argentina. They listen and dance to the music and then write stories. 

Learners investigate maps. They demonstrate their knowledge about maps and place landforms in the proper place as they create salt dough maps. They create a geography folder as well.

Students are introduced to map and globe skills. They use grids and are able to construct their own simple maps of familiar places. Students are able to define a map, globe, and symbol and use the direction words north, south, east,...