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...

Students explore geography by creating a poster presentation in class. In this mapping activity, students identify the different components featured on a modern day map and how to utilize them in order to navigate. Students read a book...

Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This lesson plan on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution in an...

Students locate their home state on a map. They differentiate between physical and population sizes of states. In two groups, students "become" states with string for boundaries. They ascertain that area does not always equal large...

Fourth graders investigate the Hatfield and McCoy feud. In this Hatfield and McCoy feud activity, 4th graders examine factors that caused the feud. Students also locate on a map where the feud took place, make a timeline of the main...

Animals have evolved to communicate in different frequencies so they can hear each other throughout the rainforest. The first lesson in a three-part series begins by exploring an interactive story map online about the Borneo rainforest....

Students look at a park from ground perspective. In this map skills lesson, students are introduced to a story about a girl at a park and make observations about the park based on a picture. This prepares students for the next lesson in...

Students read a story to create the context for the lesson. Then they are given or create a community map. Then students use the scenario of being lost in order to role play giving directions to a partner to find a destination. The...

Practice basic map skills with the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. After listening to the story, class members create a map that indicates the starting line, the path the animals took, where they stopped to rest, and the finish line....

Third graders review spatial sense learned in grades one and two. They measure distances using map scales. They use atlases, and on-line sources to find geographical information.

Young scholars work with a school in another country to produce a Global Story Book. They write stories and design pictures that describe both cultures.

How does weather play a role in the lives of land and sea creatures? Find out with a instructional activity focused on habitats and the ways animals from different homes are connected. Here, learners explore how the life of a...

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing lesson, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary.  Students organize...

Students listen to Ruth Stiles Gannett's book My Father's Dragon. They predict the outcome of the story. They discuss the events in the story. They sequence the events in the story.

Students read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...

Students examine water issues in Africa. In this global issues lesson, students complete a webquest that requires them gather information. Students use the information to prepare for a World Water Summit simulation.

Learners work in groups to create a map key. The map key represents the diversity of each of the Cinderella stories previously read. They explore the cultural dimensions and contributions of the arts.

Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Students, through a variety of activities, discover historical aspects of the American Revolution. They make maps and create timelines to track significant events. They create a book about the American Revolution and re-enact Paul...

Second graders investigate the life of Booker T. Washington by reading a biography.  In this biographical lesson, 2nd graders read the story More Than Anything Else, and examine the geographical locations Washington once resided...

Students explore area around schoolyard by participating in scavenger hunt, examine things that live there, such as noxious weeds, develop observation skills by using five senses, and find and identify ten to fifteen local, natural objects.

Students investigate the weather by reading children stories.  In this weather observation instructional activity, students read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and several other stories about weather before they create a KWL...

Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River.  In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River.  Students document...

Beans, or legumes as they are sometimes called, are the topic for an integrated multi-subject lesson. Youngsters will read, write, observe, and research everything there is to know about beans. They read a bean story, conduct a bean...