Space Awareness
Let's Map the Earth
Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.
Curated OER
Creating A Life Map
Learners investigate the concept of a life plan and how to write one with the help of a graphic organizer that encourages one to create a timeline for planning. They write journal prompts that are based upon personal knowledge of life...
Curated OER
Marine Energy
In small groups, energy engineers research and make a topographic map of a marine natural resource. They report to the rest of the class pros and cons of extracting their assigned resource. The two activities may take up to four class...
Curated OER
Mapping the Mediasphere
Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...
Curated OER
Way to Go! Create a Road Map Game
Young scholars create a travel game of one of the United States. They research a state of their choice and create a travel game using a common road map. They interpret map symbols as they calculate map mileage for their games. They...
Curated OER
Learning About Maps
Students take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.
Curated OER
Mapping Our Home
Students explore how communities participate in census counting. In this census lesson, students recognize the absolute and relative location of a state and understand ideas about civic life and government.
Smithsonian Institution
A Ticket to Philly—In 1769: Thinking about Cities, Then and Now
While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...
Curated OER
Project Organizer: Follow an Explorer
This is both a great idea and a great way to help your class organize a themed project. They use these worksheets to assist them in writing a creative historical narrative about the life and travels of an explorer. They'll compare and...
The New York Times
Making Do: Learning and Growing Through Adversity
What is it that makes people keep going when they face challenges in life? Ask your class to consider this question in relation to their own experiences and as they read material from The New York Times. Using personal experiences...
Curated OER
Online Behavior: Privacy and Ethics
Over the course of three classes, tech-saturated youth review their cyber portraits, map their virtual lives, examine their relative anonymity, and establish a "virtual conscience" to guide choices that foster privacy protection and...
Curated OER
Baseball Challenge: Social Studies TCAP
Using a baseball theme, this presentation provides a review of social studies topics covered in sixth grade. Students play a game in which they score based on the answers to various questions involving Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, map...
Curated OER
Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!
Students evaluate the different types of historical and geographical information that one can gather through close study of historical maps from the 16th through the 19th centuries. They create their own maps.
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Life as a Pioneer
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
Curated OER
Mapping Your Schoolyard Habitat
Learners explore the terrain, structures, plants and signs of habitats around their schoolyard. They draw a sketch map showing the different areas around the schoolyard. Students identify the location of weeds and native plants on their...
Annenberg Foundation
Mapping Initial Encounters
Picture someone's excitement of seeing a horse for the first time. How about a cow? The Columbian Exchange changed life for not only Native Americans, but also for Europeans and the entire world. The second lesson of a 22-part series...
Curated OER
The Times and Life During the California Gold Rush
Fourth graders read about the era in their history books, write in their journals revolving around the Gold Rush, making crafts such as newspapers, and also play the part of the Forty-niners.
Curated OER
Second Graders on the Map
Second graders explore the various types of maps. They examine the differences between street maps and aerial photographs. Students identify various features on each map. They use cardinal directions and the compass rose. They write...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Sam Houston: A Study in Leadership
Learners read a short excerpt from a speech by Sam Houston and answer corresponding questions as well as engage in additional activities, including writing a persuasive essay and discussing topics in small groups. The resource helps lay...
Curated OER
Exploring National Marine Sanctuaries
Young scholars research marine ecosystems by creating class presentations. For this oceanography lesson, students research the different locations of marine sanctuaries by identifying them on a transparency map in class....
Curated OER
Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pioneer Life
Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...
Curated OER
In My Other Life
Students explore various cultural identities. They conduct Internet research, develop a questionnaire that profiles information from their selected culture, and write a letter to a pen pal in the U.S. explaining what life in their...
Asian Art Museum
Make Your Own Samurai Sword
When you click on this resource, it will seem to be lacking; however, you'll soon realize it is an idea with potential. Included are visual instructions for creating a Samurai sword. Why? Because, the Samurai sword could be used in...
Curated OER
Creating Life Maps (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Students create a personal life timeline to better explain how a historical timeline is effective in studying history. They also write a poem about themselves.