Learn how to distinguish between curriculum and instruction. Utilize concept mapping strategies to organize a philosophy of elementary social studies education. Your class will be able to explain the process they underwent to organize...

Hop into a covered wagon and follow Laura Ingalls Wilder through the Midwest. A series of lessons based on Little House on the Prairie encourages young pioneers to see the world through Laura's eyes as they map her...

Celebrate the geography of the Americas and develop map skills through a series of activities focused on the Western Hemisphere. Learners study everything from earthquakes and volcanoes of the Americas and the relationship...

An ambitious and engaging lesson plan on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...

The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...

Second and third graders practice with basic map skills. They create their own map including a legend and a compass rose. This fabulous plan has many excellent websites linked which allow learners to explore maps of all kinds; including...

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...

Students create an Islamic timeline. In this social studies lesson plan, students work in mixed-ability pairs in an attempt to match up eight maps, titles, and descriptions of key historical periods. Once they make all the matches...

As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...

Thirds graders reinforce that a map is a drawing that shows what a place looks like from above. They use a map key and symbols to create a map of the school and its neighborhood.

Mission Possible: Your task is to design a new highway route from Tunis, Tunisia to Cape Town, South Africa. If you accept the challenge, you must create a small map of the route that has already been rejected, a...

Students convert their physical models of a playground from a previous lesson into a map of the playground that includes a scale and key. They examine and discuss examples of maps, view an image to map photo essay, and create a map using...

Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...

Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.

Students identify what a map is. They draw their own map using a simplified overhead view. After hearing the book, "Nikk's Adventure," students create their own maps.

Bring life to your next California geography lesson with this great project! Learners design a three-dimensional wall relief map of California, painting and decorating regions using a variety of materials and labeling major geographical...

Measurement and map skills are the focus of this lesson plan, 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...

What role has food played in the rise and changing nature of civilizations? Here you'll find a fantastic set of lessons and materials on such topics as where food is grown in the United States, the food of ancient peoples,...

Students explore how to draw a world map by hand and how to locate countries.

Young scholars study maps. For this social studies lesson, students draw a map of either their room at home or the route they take to school. Young scholars label items on their maps.

Students 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.

Young scholars create a map of the school and surrounding neighborhood.  In this mapping lesson, students discover their school's location and learn about its past.  Young scholars use math skills and the steps in the design...

As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning activity, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of...

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...