Curated OER
Geography and Culture of China
Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson plan on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary...
Curated OER
Using Social Studies in Five Shared Reading Lessons: Geography
After several short 15-minute mini-lessons, your learners will gain an understanding of the characteristics of a non-fiction text. Using the book Map It by Elspeth Leacock, your class will become acquainted with non-fiction terms...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Coordinate Geometry
Where do the coordinates lead? As children brainstorm ways to find the location of different buildings, they learn about coordinate points and how to use them to locate areas on a grid or map. They practice using ordered pairs by playing...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 3: On the Road with Marco Polo: From Hormuz to Kashgar
Young explorers examine the route that Marco Polo and his father traveled to reach China. They examine online maps of the Silk Road and harsh terrain of Afghanistan to determine challenges that may have been encountered during travel.
Curated OER
Should the Ming End the Treasure Voyages?
During the first century of Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the government sent out a total of seven voyages into the Indian Ocean. Young historians will discuss, explain, role play, and compare the decisions made by rulers during the...
United Learning
The Great Age of Exploration (1400-1550)
Delve into the Age of Exploration with this activity-packed resource! Complete with a pre-test, discussion questions and quiz for a 30-minute video on the period, map activities, timeline of discoveries, vocabulary, etc. this is a...
Curated OER
Action Through Art
How can we make the world a better place? Help your class members become world citizens, active in philanthropy and the community around them. Use a comic book (included) to discuss the idea of philanthropy. Then, using the superhero...
Curated OER
Introduction to Age of Absolutism
Who were the absolute monarchs of Europe and what effect did they have on their countries? Young historians begin by naming qualities they believe are important for a monarch to possess. They then take notes on four key factors...
NASA
Mystery Planet
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them.
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Maps and Homelands
You are never too young to learn about maps. To better understand the concept of a homeland, learners work together to construct a map of their local area out of paper puzzle pieces. They'll put the maps together and then add details by...
Foundation for Water & Energy Education
What is the Water Cycle? Activity A
Hydrologists create a concept map about how water is used and a sentence strip defining water and describing its unique properties. Small groups work together to fill a small milk carton and compute the mass of water inside. The next...
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.
Curated OER
These Maps are for the Birds
Students identify and study New York State Breeding Bird Atlas maps to learn where different bird species nest and how their distributions have changed over time. They also identify how maps serve as representations of a geographic...
Curated OER
Cacao Tree Geography
Young scholars use a map to learn about where chocolate comes from. In this lesson on the cacao tree, students locate various regions where the cacao tree grows. They will discuss why the cacao tree grows more favorably in particular...
Curated OER
You Are Here
Students map local places and learn to use scale and distance. In this mapping instructional activity, students map their school and a favorite place. Students recreate their maps showing distance and scale sizes. Students...
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...
Smithsonian Institution
Who's in Camp?
Pupils complete readings, a group activity using cards, and a writing activity to better understand people's lives during the American Revolution. The resource emphasizes people such as the militiamen, women, officers, and children,...
Science 4 Inquiry
Edible Plate Tectonics
Many people think they can't observe plate tectonics, but thanks to GPS, we know that Australia moves at a rate of 2.7 inches per year, North America at 1 inches per year, and the Pacific plate at more than 3 inches per year! Scholars...
Curated OER
Holocaust Map Studies
Students analyze maps and answer discussion questions related to WWI. In this geography lesson, students analyze historic maps to determine causes and effects of WWI in Europe. Students read testimonies of Holocaust survivors and label...
Curated OER
Using GIS to Construct Water Table Maps and Flow Nets
Pupils examine how to use GIS software to analyze patterns of groundwater flow. Seepage lake elevation data from the Sand Hills of Nebraska is used to construct a water table map and flow net using Esri's Arc Map software.
Curated OER
Road Map to Success
Using three different graphic organizers, learners create a road map describing how they'll meet their future career goals. They research the career they are interested in, then use their findings to construct a time line, road map, and...
Curated OER
Mapping Mount St. Helens
Students study topographic maps and contour lines and construct a simple three-dimensional model of Mount St. Helens before the May 18, 1980, eruption. They use topographic map skills to interpret the impact of the May 18, 1980, eruption...
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Representing Trigonometric Functions
Discover the classic example of periodicity: Ferris wheels. Young mathematicians learn about trigonometric functions through Ferris wheels. They match functions to their graphs and relate the functions to the context.