Curated OER
Some Things You Need to Know to Read a Map
Students study things the you need to know to read a map and explain location.
Curated OER
Where Am I: How to Read a Map
Third graders develop an understanding of maps. They explore what a map is, who uses maps, and how to use maps. Students investigate the compas rose. They create a compose rose which illustrates the cardinal directions. Students practice...
Curated OER
Organization of a Territory, Map Elements
Third graders compare printed and online maps and use proper geographic terminology to answer questions.
Curated OER
Exploring Earth Through Maps and Technology
In this maps worksheet, students read 3 pages of detailed information about maps, latitude, longitude, topography, satellites and global positioning. Students then answer 10 questions. There is also a research project assignment available.
Curated OER
Latitude and Longitude
Students demonstrate how to locate places on a map using a grid. In this map skills lesson, students are introduced to latitude and longitude lines. Students define these terms and view a large map of a state. Students come up to the map...
Curated OER
"Yarning" About Latitude and Longitude
Learners identify various locations using latitude and longitude. In this map skills lesson, students use yarn and labels to create a "human globe." Learners identify the Prime Meridian, the Equator, and Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Teach Engineering
What's Wrong with the Coordinates at the North Pole?
Here is an activity that merges technology with life skills as individuals use Google Earth to explore the differences between coordinate systems and map projections. The self-guided worksheet is the fourth segment in a nine-part unit....
Teach Engineering
What is GIS?
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...
Curated OER
All About the Animals
Whose footprints are those? After reading Janet Halfmann's book, Little Skink's Tail, young scholars use footprints to determine where on a gridded map certain animals have been spotted. They use the map to answer 3 questions, one...
Curated OER
Plotting a Hurricane Using Latitude and Longitude
Learners define and use "absolute location," latitude, and longitude. They locate on a map or globe the Earth's poles, circles, tropics, and beginning points of measurements for latitude and longitude.
Scholastic
Volleyball Road Trip
Review coordinate mapping with your young geographers by matching cities on a volleyball team's road trip itinerary to their appropriate coordinate locations.
CK-12 Foundation
Direction on the Earth: Using a Compass
Navigate the world of orienteering in an informative interactive. Earth science scholars learn practical direction skills, such as proper polar coordinates and pairing compasses with maps. The interactive map allows them to practice...
Curated OER
Important Decisions Don't Just Happen! Using Data to Plan Your Services
Students interpret statistics. In this data instructional activity, students examine and organize given data. They present the data in a grid format. Using the census data, students determine the best location for a...
Curated OER
Baseball Challenge - Basic Geography Skills
A fabulous presentation/activity based on geography. The author has designed a "baseball game" where batters advance to the next base if they correctly answer a multiple choice question about geography. Geographic terms are used, along...
Curated OER
Put Me in My Place: Using Alphanumeric Grids to Locate Places
Learners practice locating points on a large wall grid and create and label a neighborhood map. For this geography lesson, students spell and discuss places as the teacher places them on the map. They discuss the concept of an...
Curated OER
George Washington Teaches Map Directions
Learners follow teacher given directions, either oral or written to plot points on a grid to create a profile of George Washington. They apply cardinal and ordinal directions to find the points on the grid.
Curated OER
Where Am I? Map Activity
In this map activity worksheet, students determine which countries are shown on a set of 16 maps, then read facts about each country designed to help with a report on that country.
National Wildlife Federation
Quantifying Land Changes Over Time Using Landsat
"Humans have become a geologic agent comparable to erosion and [volcanic] eruptions ..." Paul J. Crutzen, a Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist. Using Landsat imagery, scholars create a grid showing land use type, such as urban,...
Curated OER
Mapping the Bone Field: An Area and Scale Exercise
Here is an excellent cross-curricular lesson. Learners relate multiplication to area by making a grid on graph paper, and then creating the same grid in real space outside in the school yard.
University of Southern California
What Is The Ocean?
Go on a tour of the ocean through the lens of a scientist. Learners read maps of the ocean floor, study tide behavior, examine wave motion, and analyze components of soil. Each lesson incorporates a hands-on component.
Curated OER
Read a Map ... It's a Snap!
Students are introduced to map and globe skills. They use grids and are able to construct their own simple maps of familiar places. Students are able to define a map, globe, and symbol and use the direction words north, south, east,...
Curated OER
Absolute Location
Fifth graders examine the geographic concept of absolute location. Using a variety of resources, they create a life-size classroom grid and locate the coordinates of a point, identify latitude and longitude of different locations, and...
Curated OER
Where in the World
Students explore the global grid system. In this globe lesson, students identify latitude and longitude lines and how these can tell the coordinates of any place. They use the Internet to find the exact coordinates for their town.