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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Robot Cartography

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students identify points plotted on the coordinate plane. In this geometry lesson, students learn to read a map using concepts of a coordinate plane grid. They find the path given a map to tell them where to go.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do the Tallywalker

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study the basics of mapmaking, then make a tally walker, (geographic location device used in secret).
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Old Babylonia: The Importance of Trade

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read maps and artifacts for information indicating the existence of a trade network in Old Babylonia and beyond. They list goods imported to and exported from Babylonia. They indicate trading centers on a map of ancient...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Road with Marco Polo: Marco Polo in China

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate who the Mongols were and where their empire was located. They research Kublai Khan and the region he ruled. They study the major products of 13th Century China.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layers with Lines

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine topographical maps and the challenges faced by cartographers when drawing the maps. While creating collages, they use contour lines to add dimension much in the same way they are used on maps to show elevation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Land Plan Challenge

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Links to two different versions of this mapping activity are available. In "The Small Version," youngsters design a town, keeping the water supply in mind. In "The Large Version," they also design a town, but they consider services and...
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Teach Engineering

What is GIS?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Is GIS the real manifestation of Harry Potter's Marauders Map? Introduce your class to the history of geographic information systems (GIS), the technology that allows for easy use of spatial information, with a resource that teaches...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Projections and Coordinates: Turning a 3D Earth into Flatlands

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Introduce your class to map projections and coordinates, the basics for the work done in a GIS, with an activity that uses Google Earth to challenge learners to think about the earth's shape. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Map Making

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students, working in groups, share notes and maps collected during a study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They draw large composite maps of the western United States on butcher paper including land formations, bodies of water, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Analyzing the Local Environment

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students, in groups, explore the school grounds and organize their findings according to the five themes of geography. They take notes and sketch the grounds. Students divide the school and grounds into regions based on use.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Census

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars learn why the census makes a difference. In this U.S. Census lesson plan, students learn the key elements of cartography, examine the difference between data and their representation, and create a map using census data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping My World

For Teachers K - 1st
Learners are introduced to simple maps and view a map of a classroom and compare distances of items shown.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Regions of Utah - Mapping

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders draw a rudimentary map of the state of Utah, dividing it into the three regions: the Great Basin, the Colorado Plateau, and the Rocky Mountain Region.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tools of the Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine the history of the European exploration of the New World. They research and create replicas of many of the tools used by the explorers including a compass, quadrant, hourglass, log and map.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Columbian Contexts

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore geo-political and economic contexts for the European Renaissance journeys of exploration, including those of Columbus, create cartographic symbols, and add those symbols to a print-out of Ptolemy's map.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cartographer on Assignment: Creating a Physical Map of Africa

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Students use geographic information to make an outline map of Africa, then demonstrate their understanding of the physical landscape of Africa by using a variety of materials to create a physical map of Africa
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grid Frame Mapping

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students map and describe a small area of the schoolyard.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whole Language Approach to Map Making

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, after reading Island of the Blue Dolphins, explore map making using the Whole Language Approach.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charting Neptune's Realm: Profiles

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify and describe the importance of nautical profiles in early navigation. They draw a profile of a street or mall and explore the effectiveness of different types of directions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latitude

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the theory of finding latitude and discuss the uses of an astrolabe, cross-staff and octant. They determine an Astronomical Table for their classroom.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fantasy / Art Maps

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders analyze a fantasy art map by Jeremy Anderson, paying careful attention to the way the topographic features of the land are represented. They create a similar map of Sacramento that includes topographical features as well as...
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Lesson Plan
Edgate

Great Grids

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners use grid boxes as a measurement tool and discover how grids are used for mapmaking and scaling down an area. They begin by attempting to draw a model shape drawn by the teacher by using the gridding process. At the conclusion of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Cartographers Find Points on a Map?

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders describe latitude and longitude and how they may be useful to find things on a map.  In this cartography lesson students divide into groups and devise a coordinate system that can be used to communicate a position. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In Celebration of the Silk Road

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road with a focus on a province in China to identify artifacts and research how these items arrived in the city of Turpan.

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