Fifth graders record any earthquake activity throughout the school year on various maps. In groups, they identify a map locating the points given to them by their teacher. To end the lesson, they add the date, strength and damage to each...

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.

NASA presents a mini-unit on distances in our solar system. It incorporates scientific concepts of gravity, mass, density, and payload while your aspiring astronauts also employ mathematics skills. They calculate speed, they determine...

Students explore and locate "The Stans" in Central Asia to create, write and illustrate maps, graphs and charts to organize geographic information. They analyze the historical and physical characteristics of Central Asia via graphic...

Students explore the Civil War through original maps.  In this mapping lesson, students calculate distance and show it on an original map. Students examine the type of landscape and its landmarks and draw symbols on the map.

Students study geographical maps and their functions.  In this geography lesson plan students work in groups to build a map to scale.

Here is an excellent cross-curricular activity. Learners relate multiplication to area by making a grid on graph paper, and then creating the same grid in real space outside in the school yard.

students investigate the concept of using a ratio in the work of construction and solve problems using real life applications. They read descriptions of how various types of construction professionals use ratios on the job. The lesson...

Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The...

A great way to incorporate math into life science, this instructional activity has learners measure migratory routes on a map and calculate the actual distance that shorebirds on the routes would cover. Learners compute the distance...

Clever! Participants don square-foot cardboard shoes to mark out the rain garden plot that they have spent the last few weeks designing. In this way, they are practicing scale modeling as well! Note that this lesson is part of a unit,...

Inspire your class to look at their environments as if they were seeing them for the first time in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of perspective. After exploring their communities and keeping a journal of major...

Young scholars interpret topographic maps and infer human activity as it is influenced by the landscape.

What is that out in the water on the horizon? Teams work together to study the coastline using maps to determine the best and worst locations to place an offshore wind farm. The teams then build a scale model wind farm to see what it...

Students apply concepts of scales to solve problems. In this geometry instructional activity, students solve real world problems using scales, proportions and ratios. They predict the actual size of a model given the scale drawings.

Middle schoolers take a closer look at historical maps. In this primary source analysis lesson, students examine the first world map produced by Martin Waldseemuller. Middle schoolers complete the included map analysis worksheet and then...

Students locate the major cities in the colonies during the Revolutionary War. In this map skills lesson, students use a globe to locate cities such as Charleston and Boston using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Students use maps to discover where Puerto Rico is located. In groups, they use the internet to research the vegetation. They also compare and contrast the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico's government.

Students discuss the origin of various maps focusing on the values behind them. Students also explore how human needs and geography influence community settlement patterns. Students extend learning by creating and mapping their own ideal...

Students are introduced to map and globe skills. They use grids and are able to construct their own simple maps of familiar places. Students are able to define a map, globe, and symbol and use the direction words north, south, east,...

For this topographic map worksheet, young scholars learn how to read a topographic map and create a topographic map of their own using clay or Play-Doh. Students include contour lines by layering the clay. Young scholars answer 6...

Learners construct and interpret a line graph of ocean floor depth and a bar graph comparing the height/depth of several well-known natural and man-made objects and places. In addition, they calculate the depth of two points using sonar...

Second graders use a map scale to determine distances between cities in the state of Florida.

Fourth graders, using a map, ruler and calculator, determine the distance the pioneers traveled from Nauvoo, Ill. to the Salt Lake Valley.