Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
Curated OER
The Panama Canal, The World's Most Important Shortcut
Students, through teacher lecture and online activities, study the Panama Canal. They discuss how it was made and the hardships the workers encountered while building it. Through the eyes of one of these workers, they write a short...
Curated OER
Discovering Prehistoric Trails
Eighth graders examine prehistoric terrain. In this geography lesson plan, 8th graders discover necessary resources for settlers. Students work in small groups to create a trail crossing the state of Kansas.
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Religions of the World
Second graders explore the part that religion plays in a culture. They explore how many different religions there are in the world and where they're located.
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Postcards from Somewhere
Learners correspond with e-pals about their community. In this cross curriculum geography, technology, and literacy lesson, students complete a postcard webquest about their home location including local photographs. Learners e-mail...
Curated OER
Why Koala Has A Stumpy Tail
First graders read the story Why Koala Has A Stumpy Tail and complete language arts activities with it. Students have discussions, read, write, spell, and act out the story.
Curated OER
Winter Olympic Torch Traveling Across Italy
Learners react to statements about the 2006 Winter Olympics, then read a news article about the Olympic torch's journey through Italy. In this current events lesson (written prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics), the teacher introduces the...
Curated OER
Oprah Winfrey Opens New School in Africa
Students locate Africa and share their knowledge of the continent, then read a news article about Oprah Winfrey building a school in South Africa. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a discussion and...
Curated OER
Colossal Squid Caught in Antarctic
Students define the word colossal, then read a news article about an enormous squid caught off Antarctica. In this animal studies and current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the article with dictionary and...
DePaul University
Egypt
The country of Egypt is more than just big pyramids and ancient pharaohs. After reading a brief overview of this African nation, young learners will demonstrate their understanding of the text by identifying the main idea and supporting...
Curated OER
Themes of Geography in the News Contest
Learners discuss current events in the world today. After choosing one to focus on, they identify the themes of Geography present in them and practice using new vocabulary. They use the internet to find all of the themes present in...
Curated OER
The Global Grapefruit - Representing a 3-Dimensional Globe on a 2-Dimensional Map
Students compare and contrast world maps and globes. They convert a 3-dimensional globe to a 2-dimensional map. They are introduced to the Mercator map projection. They observe map distortions of shape, area, distance, directions and angle.
Curated OER
Diversity Geography
Ninth graders explore the diversity of people found throughout the world. For this Geography lesson, 9th graders create a short oral report describing that area.
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Indus Valley Geography and Civilization
Students study the geographical features of the Indus Valley to determine how the location of this valley contributed to the growth of an ancient civilization. They work in groups to research the area before completing map work that...
Curated OER
How Can We Organize Study of a Given Place?
Seventh graders embark in discovery of basic facts about an assigned continent and are asked to organize their information into categories. The Five Themes model is taught and students reshuffle their information appropriately.
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Brave New World
Students view a video about the effects of World War II on the map of Europe. They discuss the video and answer questions. They work together to identify accomplishments that best represent American culture.
Curated OER
Jump Rope Around the World (Target Heart Rate)
Students participate in a game where they get 5 "lives." When they miss with the rope the fifth time, they go to another area in the gym. They continue jumping to keep their heart rates elevated.
Curated OER
Could a World of Swimmers Raise Sea Level?
Learners determine the volume of water they displace. In this earth science lesson, students calculate the total water displaced by the world's population. They evaluate whether or not this value is enough to raise the sea level...
Curated OER
Abenakis Before Contact: Different Worlds Meet
Learners study the lives of the Abenaki before contact with Europeans and how their lives changed after contact with the Europeans.
Curated OER
Equator, North Pole, and South Pole
Pupils identify the Equator, North Pole, and South Pole on the globe. In this map skills lesson, students use a globe marker to locate specific locations on the globe. Pupils find where they live in relation to the Equator.
Curated OER
Time Zones
Students solve time zone problems and chart travel around the world. For this time zone lesson, students learn about the history of time zones and view a time zone map. Students use the time zone map to solve time zone...
Curated OER
Seven Up
Learners investigate the symbolism of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and evaluate modern "wonders of the world." In small groups, they complete a data chart on a selected Wonder, create a poster from the data, and prepare a...
Curated OER
Giving Students a Little Latitude
Learners use a world outline map to locate places using coordinates of latitude and longitude. They answer questions about places based on their knowledge of the map and on their research and make up more questions of this sort for each...
Curated OER
World Oceans Day in the Classroom
The ocean is a fascinating topic for students to cover.