Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Your Expedition of Discovery

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study GPS and see how it is used to determine points on the Earths surface.  In this expedition lesson students use GPS to find given coordinates. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mud Maps

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learners discuss the location of stores, buildings, and homes in their community. Afterwards, they create a 'mud map' demonstrating the route from one point to another. In pairs, students read travel directions from a brochure, while...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Selecting A Destination

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students utilize atlases, maps, and Internet resources to select destinations and places to stop along the way on a day trip. They examine and write about the reasons they want to visit the particular places they chose.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Personal Maps

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars study maps and become familiar with how to use one.  In this investigative lesson students create a map of an area and provide a legend. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Changes

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students research an aspect of life of their choosing of a western state either before the Civil War, after the war or today. They are to write about the aspect they choose and make illustrations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Latitude and Longitude

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study latitude and longitude. They estimate the latitude and longitude of their hometown and find the latitude and longitude of other cities using a map. They use a website to find out the cities' actual latitude and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Home To School

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students locate and use internet maps to trace a route from their home to school. They calculate the distance of the route using the map legend then determine the distance they travel to school and back in a regular school week and over...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Ocean Floor

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students study the bottom structure of underwater habitats and how they can be mapped.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Studying Fossils

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers hypothesize dinosaur size and speed by looking at dinosaur track way or by measuring a dinosaur models water displacement. In addition, techniques to help students become familiar with the ways paleontologists study...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lets Put Delaware On The Map

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students compare and contrast historical and modern maps of Delaware. Through class discussion and group activities, students analyze maps and make comparisons. Each group participates in a game to aid in discerning the similarities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Region Map of a State

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create salt maps of a state and indicate its regions. They include topographical elements including mountains, valleys, lowlands and major water bodies and a compass rose.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Bird's Eye View of our 50 States

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders focus on state birds as they learned absolute location (latitude/longitude) of each state, as well as their relative location (bordering states).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapmaking: Colorado Quarter Reverse

For Teachers K - 1st
Students examine the Colorado quarter reverse and draw symbols of the state's land and water features on maps. Using copies of the Colorado reverse, they color the coin design. They list reasons for the state's motto of "Colorful Colorado"
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Genre Study of the Cinderella Story

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students interpret and compare different versions of the Cinderella story in this genre study. They complete KWL charts for each story beginning before listening and adding to the chart after the books are read aloud. Finally, they...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Where on Earth Am I?

For Students 9th - 11th Standards
Almost every phone has GPS installed, but a large number of teens don't know how the technology works. An initial activity illustrates how GPS determines a location on Earth. Scholars then apply trilateration procedures to a...