Lesson Plan
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Where are the Watersheds in San Francisco?

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students create a mental map of San Francisco. They compare it with actual topographical maps of the city. Then they label various locations on the San Francisco Hillshade map and locate watershed boundaries.
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Dreaming of a Healthy City

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders design a healthy city. They identify the essential elements of a city and describe how climate and geography can determine the layout of a city. They create a blueprint of their design and share in small groups.
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Spatial Understanding of the Cities and Towns

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students engage in a fun stand up, move around activity that teaches some basics of geography. They develop concepts of distance between community locations and practice giving and taking directions in an organized manner.
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Did You Feel That? Earthquake Data Chart

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students plot earthquakes on the world map using coordinates of longitude and latitude. They designate the earthquakes magnitude with a symbol which they include in the map key.
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What Are the Good & Bad Aspects of Regional Shopping Centres?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the impact of regional shopping centers and local ones, and create a TV/ video expressing the results of the research.
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Map-Making Basics

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study maps. In this geography and art lesson, students create their own map of the classroom.
Lesson Plan
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Down on the Farm

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students are introduced to a map of an Illinois farm. They determine whether the map is of the past, present, or future by looking at features on the map. They also use the map to make a three-dimensional model.
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How Do You Know Where You Are?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders are introduced to geographic thinking, setting the stage for the creation of a map showing distance, direction, location and symbols from their residences to school.
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Investigating Haiti

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students engage in a instructional activity that is about the island of Haiti. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to help students locate the island on a map. They answer questions while...
Lesson Plan
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San Francisco Bay Watershed

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Young scholars locate important landmarks on a map and explore the watersheds in California. In this watershed lesson students complete a worksheet and discuss what they learned. 
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Communicate with a Truck Driver

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders complete activities to learn about the trucking industry. In this truck driving lesson, 6th graders explore websites for positive trucker images and learn about their contributions to society. Students communicate with...
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Medieval Times: Castles, Knights, and Heraldry

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students demonstrate the ability to use the computers for research and exploration of castles and any other sources needed and locate web sites for various needs. They explain what a coat of arms was and make their own .
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Four Corners Mystery: Where In The World Are We?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research and describe various locations around the world using five fundamental themes of geography.
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Around the World in 5 Days

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore continents, draw map, discuss cultures, use research to learn geography, and investigate cultures.
Lesson Plan
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Geographic Features and Human Settlements

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine geography and settlements. In this geography instructional activity, 3rd graders participate in classroom activities that center on the idea that people settle where there are geographical features that sustain life.
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Renaissance Trade and Exchange

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders map out trade routes. In this Renaissance time period lesson, 6th graders complete a Christopher Columbus Map Activity, discuss and identify the parts of a map, and locate Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Students...
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Create the Ideal City

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the significance of city planning. They analyze maps, develop a crossword puzzle using vocabulary terms, and create a diagram of an ideal city and describe the features that make it healthy for the economy, the...
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What Do We Learn From the Repartiation of Alaska Native Artifacts?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students observe and evaluate evidence of Alaska Native cultural symbols and artifacts. They research historical data from a variety of primary resources, including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, oral accounts,...
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Off to the Future

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read a handout and predict the position of the San Andreas Fault far in the future. In this future world instructional activity, students use a map worksheet to demonstrate the path of the Pacific Plate millions of years from now.
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Global Intelligence

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss the war in Afghanistan and the conditions surrounding the hunt for Osama bin Laden after reading the article "Bin Laden and Omar: Far Harder to Find" from The New York Times. After the class discussion, students...
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Early Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the routes taken by the early explorers. In this explorers instructional activity, 5th graders use interactive notebooks, discussion and maps to discover the routes taken. Students get into pairs and label maps,...
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Fractile vs. Equal

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students compare and contrast methods of categorizing data. In this data collection lesson plan, students complete worksheet activities that require them to note the differences between equal and fractile intervals. Students also discuss...
Lesson Plan
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Donde en el mundo estas?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners give & follow directions given in Spanish, using oral, written and graphics. They use maps, globes, atlases, and remote sensing, GIS, and GPS to acquire and process information about places.
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Great Cities of the Middle East

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students explore the cities of Cairo, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Mecca and Tehran.  In this Middle East lesson plan, students complete a map, research one of the five the cities and prepare a presentation that includes details about the...