We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...

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,...

Long before the civil rights movement, leaders were working to secure equal rights. An informative activity explains the 1922 anti-lynching campaign with a map. Scholars analyze the map, complete a worksheet, and participate in group...

The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...

Lewis and Clark's famous expedition is a prime example of the United States' westward expansion. Aspiring historians examine maps from Lewis and Clark's journey, as well as discuss their interactions with Native American tribes. The...

What's in a name? Historians consider the question as they examine places important to the Hopi people and the meanings of their place names. Included worksheets include maps and charts to help class members examine the geography of Hopi...

Let your senses be your lead. Pairs of pupils blindfold their partners and then lead them around nature areas. They use their senses to find landmarks and create maps with their findings. Once they create their maps, they go back to the...

The Path to Women's Suffrage unit focuses on how Western Expansion was instrumental in gaining women the right to vote through the Nineteenth Amendment. Young historians analyze maps, examine primary source documents, and create a...

In 1980, in the tropical rainforests of Panama, scientists discovered 1,200 species of beetles living in and around just 19 trees, with most of the species new to science—that's biodiversity! In the activity, learners work in teams to...

The last activity in a nine-part series has teams create a Google Earth map using the data they collected during a field trip. Using the map, groups analyze the results and make adjustments to the map to reflect their analysis. A short...

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...

Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second lesson of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students investigate...

With about 70% of the earth's surface covered in oceans, it's fair to say that we live in a very wet world. Young scientists gain a better appreciation of this fact as they use maps to identify the world's ocean basins in the first...

Sixth graders apply geographic information to the study of World History.  In this Geography lesson, 6th graders create a political/physical map of the Middle East, develop questions and answers about the culture of the Middle East, and...

Learners discover mountain ranges and their locations in the world. In this physical map lesson, students locate and identify major mountain ranges of the world on a large physical map.

Students investigate land elevation. In this map skills lesson, students use a physical map to identify various elevations of the land. Students find landform features such hills and coastlines.

Students explore a physical map. In this map skills lesson, students discuss examples of elevation and investigate the symbols used to identify elevation on a map. Students use the map to identify various land elevations.

In this mapping practice worksheet, 5th graders read an informational paragraph and answer 7 questions about the parts of a map along with places shown on a given map.

Students work in pairs to locate the ancient cities on a world atlas using the longitude and latitude measurements. They examine the physical and human futures that explain their locations.