Students examine the use of topographic maps as two dimensional representations that show elevations and slopes with contour lines. They read maps of the Salt Lake City, Utah area and complete the associated worksheets that show map...

Students identify the characteristics of topographical maps. Using examples, they practice reading them and describing the information they gather from them. They also discover how to use the website from the U.S. Geological Survey.

One of the most important skills in orienteering is being able to read a topographical map. Understanding the contour lines and symbols and the scale of the map will make planning your route so much better. In this lesson, partners get...

Students investigate how to read topographic maps.  In this map reading instructional activity students complete a topographic map activity. 

Young scholars discuss different types of maps, their similarities and differences. Using a Topographical Maps CD-rom program students create their own map.

Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...

Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...

More of a mini-unit than a lesson plan, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...

Learners explore the components of a watershed and the factors that affect it. They read a topographical map and use geometry to determine the area of a watershed. Students estimate the volume of a body of water and perform runoff...

Learners read and use topographical maps. They also use a compass to find bearing to an object on a map and in the classroom. Ask your students how they might travel to somewhere they have never been to befo

Students investigate slopes as they study topographic maps. In this algebra lesson plan, students discuss and apply the concept of slopes to graphing and analyzing data.

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...

Students read a story problem about the issue of hazardous waste and pollution in a fictional town. In groups, they create a topographical map and predict how the water might flow and determine the place of contamination. To end the...

Fourth graders locate and label major sites related to the Revolutionary War in the Hudson River Valley. They examine topographical features of each site and list a few of these features and list two advantages of each military site.

Auntie Litter is here to educate young scholars about water pollution and environmental stewardship! Although the 15-minute video clip is cheesy, it's an engaging look at the water cycle and conservation. Learners start by illustrating...

On a topographic map, students identify the scale bar, north arrow, and contour interval. They then locate a hill on the map and make note of the contour lines. Students then locate other places with similar contour line patterns....

Young scholars create an awareness of the vast percentage of water covering the earth. They relate similarities/differences between topographical maps and other maps of various time periods. Students examine how to use a topographical map.

Students examine the relationship between altitude, atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity at a particular location. They practice science and math in real world applications. They write reports detailing their scientific...

Students use the Internet to research current and past snowpack levels and river gauging station readings. They determine the relationship between snowpack and river flow. They predict future river flow.

Learners measure in metric units and use a stopwatch, calculator. They collect data with minimal instructions after the initial pre-activity briefing, then record data in the data sheets provided.

Learners examine the water cycle and the factors that interact with watersheds.  In this watersheds lesson students describe the purification process, trace the flow of infiltrate water through aquifers, and research the Internet to...

Students create a three-dimensional model of the Chicago river watershed to determine the flow of the river at its mouth. They use prepared clear gelatin and topographic maps to discover that the building of canals actually reversed the...

Students explore and analyze atmospheric conditions for a high mountain retreat. They examine the relationship between altitude, atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity at a particular location. In addition, they write reports...

Pupils identify the slope of a lines.In this algebra lesson, students define the  meaning of slope and write an equation given the slope. They graph linear functions using the slope and y-intercept.