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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations

For Teachers 5th Standards
A 10-lesson unit explores the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Over the course of two weeks, scholars read nonfiction excerpts, discuss their findings, and complete activities. An assessment equipped with multiple choice and matching...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John Smith’s Map of the Chesapeake Bay

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Young geographers travel back through time with primary source and map analysis and envision Captain John Smith's arrival at the Chesapeake Bay. 
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Activity
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Curated OER

Mt. Whitney to Death Valley

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scaling it Down: Caves Have Maps, Too

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Measurement and map skills are the focus of this lesson, where students crawl through a "cave" made out of boxes, desks and chairs, observing the dimensions.  Your young geographers measure various aspects of the cave and practice math...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Three Dimensional Geology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fine lesson plan on geology designed for high schoolers. Learners use rocks, fossils, and other geological clues to determine the geology of an area. Then, they make recommendations to a fictitious city council about the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Great Lakes Homepage for Kids

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Here are some outstanding lessons on the geology and history of the Great Lakes. These lessons are divided into Grade 4 -6, and Grade 7 - 8 activities. The activities all use the background information, maps, graphs, data, and Great...
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PPT
Curated OER

Understanding Latitude and Longitude

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Teaching learners about latitude and longitude can get a little complicated. Present the concept by first representing it as a graph. Just like finding a location on a graph using the x and y-axis, learners will be able to locate items...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars investigate Lewis and Clark. In this Lewis and Clark lesson plan, students search the Internet for information about Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Young scholars use maps to understand the explorations and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Variables Affecting Earth's Albedo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars study the variables that affect the Earth's albedo.  In this environmental data analysis lesson students interpret and graph information and calculate changes. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossil Fuels (Part I), The Geology of Oil

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Junior geologists work through three mini-lessons that familiarize them with the formation and location of fossil fuels. Part one involves reading about petroleum and where it comes from via a thorough set of handouts. A lab activity...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Eastern European Studies

For Students 6th - 10th
One worksheet, three projects. Learners explore Eastern Europe and mark Eastern European countries on a map. They then collect and record census data on thirteen different countries, and write a 3-5 page expository essay on one of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Do Maps Show?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This teaching packet is for grades five through eight, and it is organized around geographic themes: location, place, relationships, movement, and regions. There are four full lessons that are complete with posters, weblinks, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

China Quest

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Read and research information on China. Young researchers complete a knowledge hunt about China then locate and describe each location using directional words. They recognize the word meaning through context clues and application practice.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!

For Teachers K - 1st
Here is a well-designed, very thorough lesson plan on mapping for very young children. Within the six-page plan, you will find everything you need to implement the lesson. They will identify various landforms found in Colorado on a map,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blank Jeopardy

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Games are a great way to motivate learners to internalize information.. Using this PowerPoint which is in a Jeopardy format, students can review map skills and facts about the Civil War, famous places, and our government. This is a handy...
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Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

The Color of Law: Developing the White Middle Class

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The final lesson in the "Color of Law" series explores the government's discriminatory economic policies. Young scholars watch videos, read primary source materials, and examine images to gather information. They discuss how what they...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Middle schoolers may be surprised to learn that before the American Civil War there were more slaves living in New York than there were in Kentucky! Young historians examine maps and census data to gather statistics about...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Physical Sciences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The history of science instruction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is the focus of a lesson that explores the early challenges these institutions faced in accessing equipment for their labs and instructors for...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

The Tuskegee Weathermen: African-American Meteorologists during World War II

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Chances are good that young scholars have heard of the Tuskegee Airmen but few would predict that these pilots had their own support in the form of the Tuskegee Weathermen. These Black meteorologists were recruited and trained to provide...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Young historians may be surprised to learn that the Constitution of the United States includes provisions that protect the institution of slavery. Groups examine four clauses of the Constitution, as well as other primary sources, and...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young historians use primary source materials to investigate the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the sinking of the USS Arizona. After reading background articles and studying maps and images of the attack, class members consider whether...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Around the World with Ernest Hemingway

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Ernest Hemingway was a traveler and added evidence of these travels to his works. An engaging activity asks readers to analyze 20 photographs of the author, then drag the images to the correct location on an interactive map.
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Synthesizing Information: Living Things in the Rainforest

For Teachers 5th Standards
How is a map a type of informational text? Class members view a world map of major rainforests, discussing its text features with a partner. Next, they take notes on key details from multiple texts about rainforests and write an...
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Lesson Plan
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Just Health Action

Environmental Justice Matters: Mapping Environmental Justice Impacts (Part 1)

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A case study of Seattle, Washington permits class members to compare and rank how different areas of Seattle are impacted by environment burdens. Groups investigate different zip codes, collect data on five categories, and color-code a...