Curated OER
Compass Rose
Keep it simple and visual when practicing directions using this compass rose labeling worksheet. Learners fill in the compass themselves, using cardinal and intermediate direction abbreviations. North is done for them. Consider using...
Curated OER
Learning Directions on a Map
Students use north, south, east, and west to identify relative locations and provide directions.
Curated OER
People Change the Landscape
Students examine ways in which humans have brought change to the natural environment.  In this ecology and literacy instructional activity, students listen to the book Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. Students observe and define map-reading...
California Academy of Science
Which Way is North?
Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...
Curated OER
Mapping It Out
This PowerPoint provides information about maps. Students discover the functions of legends, compasses, indexes, and scales on maps. Two resources links are provided, however one of them is broken. 
Curated OER
Mapping Your Schoolyard Habitat
Students explore the terrain, structures, plants and signs of habitats around their schoolyard. They draw a sketch map showing the different areas around the schoolyard. Students identify the location of weeds and native plants on their...
Curated OER
Lesson Design Archaeology- U.S. Map
Students examine the U.S. map and identify cultural areas. In this archaeology lesson, students locate cultural areas on the U.S. map and fill in the proper locations. 
Curated OER
Make Your Map
In this map making worksheet, students make their own maps, draw symbols and place them in the map key area, and draw a compass rose to show directions for the map.
Curated OER
A School Map
In this school map worksheet, students practice their map reading skills as they use the word box and the compass rose the help them answer 6 fill in the blank questions.
Curated OER
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Map for Me: An Original Story
Students read Blackbeard and brainstorm their knowledge of maps. In this language arts and geography lesson, students use landmarks on their playground to review north, south, east and west and discuss the compass rose. Students read...
Curated OER
How Do I Get There? Planning a Safe Route to School
One much-needed skill for young learners is direction giving. Have your class plan and draw a safe route for them to travel from home to school. They will also draw places and items that are in between home and school in order to build a...
Curated OER
Rivers Run Through It
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...
Curated OER
Those Who Have Come Before Me
Class members are transformed into explorers as they work in groups to locate hidden items and map their journey along the way. They then leave clues for other groups of learners to follow, and ultimately discover how past explorations...
Curated OER
Learning to Read a Regional Map
Students locate the local community, surrounding communities and major geographic features of the SE Utah and the Four-Corners region on a map, after receiving direct instruction.
Curated OER
Going, Going, Ghost
Third graders research ghost towns. In this geography lesson, 3rd graders locate ghost towns on a map and choose one location to research. Students construct a research paper and present it to the class.
Curated OER
GPS Treasure Hunt
Young scholars explore geography by participating in a treasure hunt activity. In this Global Positioning System lesson plan, students define the terms latitude and longitude while utilizing an electronic GPS device. Young scholars view...
Curated OER
Nina Bonita: Culture and Beauty
Pupils read Nina Bonita by Ana Maria Machado. For this reading comprehension/ geography lesson, students recall various parts of the story and create a map of where the rabbit traveled throughout the story. They participate in group...
Curated OER
All About the Animals
Whose footprints are those? After reading Janet Halfmann's book, Little Skink's Tail, young scholars use footprints to determine where on a gridded map certain animals have been spotted. They use the map to answer 3 questions, one...
Curated OER
Book: First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet
Young scholars, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet," design and create a map of the Aztec Empire at the time of the first contract with the Spanish. They create the map...
Curated OER
Using 4 main directions in a classroom
Young scholars use the four directions of a compass rose to locate classroom features. In this directions lesson plan, students locate the features by identifying directions.
Curated OER
Of Compasses, Sextants and Chronometers
Students identify longitude and latitude and how they were, and are, determined, and discuss the rudiments of navigation in the eighteenth century.
Curated OER
Reading a Map
Third graders become familiar with the vocabulary and skills related to mapping.  In this guided reading lesson, 3rd graders find proper nouns on from the map.  Students read Goldilocks.  Students make a map...
Curated OER
Using Four Main Directions in the Classroom
Students identify the four cardinal directions. In this map skills geography instructional activity, students use a magnetic compass to label the four directions in the classroom. Students use the four directions to locate objects in the...
Curated OER
U.S. Geography- The Northeast
Students investigate the geography of the Northeast states. In this map skills lesson, students are shown a map of the Northeast states and identify the state names and borders. Students construct individual maps of the Northeast using...