Lesson Plan
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Connecting Africa: A Project-Based Learning Adventure

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Exploration

For Teachers 2nd
Are you looking for a terrific lesson on map activities for your second graders? Then, this resource is for you! The activities range from decoding, to fill-in-the-blank, to read-and-search. There is a website activity related to maps...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Sources in Cape Verde and West Africa

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young explorers study the scarcity and importance of a continuous supply of fresh water in Cape Verde. They research the five main ways that fresh water is obtained in these countries. Each research group prepares a presentation, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latitude on World Maps - World Map Activity 2

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the concept of latitude. In this geography lesson, students discover the global grid system and complete a map activity which require them to record the latitude of various cities in the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map- Land Elevation

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Young scholars explore a physical map. In this map skills instructional activity, students discuss examples of elevation and investigate the symbols used to identify elevation on a map. Young scholars use the map to identify various land...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Absolute And Relative Location

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners create a map that takes someone from school to their home using both relative and absolute locations. They assume the person using the map is unfamiliar with the area.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map - Lesson 9

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore the concept of cardinal directions. In this geography lesson, students identify the compass rose on a large U. S. map and then discuss the cardinal directions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

United States Map - Lesson 11

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore lakes of the United States. In this geography lesson, students identify noteworthy lakes on a map of the United States.
Lesson Plan
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Globe Skills Lesson 2: Paving the Way for Columbus

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students explore the expedition of Christopher Columbus. In this geography skills lesson, students consider the technological advances that made Columbus's expedition possible as they complete a latitude and longitude activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Interconnectedness of Ancient Peoples Map Study

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders begin this instructional activity by viewing various maps of the Ancient World. As a class, they take notes on the changes of different areas in Europe and Asia as their teacher lectures to them. They answer questions...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Holocaust Map Studies

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze maps and answer discussion questions related to WWI. In this geography lesson, students analyze historic maps to determine causes and effects of WWI in Europe. Students read testimonies of Holocaust survivors and label...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Continents

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify basic geographical facts about the world they live in and distinguish between land and water on a globe. They research the continents and information associated with each one focusing on building their map skills.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Maker, Map Maker

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Map maker, map maker, make me a map! Your class can sing this tune as they work to create their own regional maps by taping paper to the wall, projecting an overhead transparency image, and tracing. Where this lesson plan intends for the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Crash Scene

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this engineering lesson, 5th graders identify the differences between latitude and longitude and practice locating precise points on a globe or map. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography With Dr. Seuss

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students read the book, The King's Stilts by Dr. Seuss and discuss the geographical information given in the book. Then they discuss and locate on a map the physical features that make up the continent of Africa. They create an original...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping Where Animals Live

For Teachers Pre-K - 5th
What type of reptiles live in New York State? This lesson gets the class thinking about what factors determine where particular animals live. They analyze the Hudson Valley environment, identify specific reptile and amphibian...
Lesson Plan
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Invaders and Settlers

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars watch a video that illustrates the way in which an English community evolved based on geography and the settlers and invaders who lived there over different time periods. They create a map that shows how different villages...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Map and Globe - Four Main Directions

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students study the four main directions on a map. In this map instructional activity, students locate the North and South pole, and learn the four cardinal directions. They use the compass rose on a map to help with the directions. (Map...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Old World and New World - Why Contact Took So Long

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars use a globe to determine why contact between the old world and the new world took a long time. In this map skills instructional activity, students analyze routes between regions to determine why it took so long for the old...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the World's Geography

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discuss the seven continents of Earth and the diverse geography. After discussion, they create their own paper-mache globes which properly display all seven continents, the equator, and the prime meridian. They conduct research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Relative Location

For Teachers 1st
First graders use landmarks to describe relative locations of a place. In this geography and mapping lesson plan, 1st graders draw picture maps of their bedrooms to show an object's location in relation to other objects. As an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hide and Seek with Geocaching

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students locate objects using a Global Positioning System. In this global geography lesson, students explore latitude and longitude using a GPS in order to locate objects.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Plotting Earthquakes and Volcanoes

For Students 8th - 10th
In this earthquakes and volcanoes worksheet, students are given the latitude and longitude of earthquakes and volcanoes and they plot them on a world map. They answer questions based on their results.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the World? :Understanding Latitude and Longitude

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students play a grid-based game and devise clues to help classmates locate spots on the globe in order to recognize the value of using longitude and latitude for identifying locations.