Curated OER
Watersheds: The San Francisco Bay Watershed
Sixth graders make a model of a watershed. In this geography lesson, 6th graders view a shaded relief map of California and locate landmarks. Students examine the San Francisco Bay Watershed by following the journey of water through...
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When Life Serves You Lemons!
Students build their own lemonade stand. In this problem solving lesson plan, students measure the materials needed to build a stand and make lemonade. They find the cost of producing the lemonade and the profit they will make.
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The Great Migration
Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South and...
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Culture Collage
Students investigate their cultural heritage and make observations on how much influence their past has on their current values and lifestyle. They brainstorm a list of things that represent a certain country or cultural heritage and...
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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...
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Teaching the Five Themes of Geography Through Picture Books
Read the story Make Way for Ducklings and introduce little ones to the five themes of geography. Reread the story, while displaying transparencies to reinforce the five themes. In groups, learners view pictures and identify the themes on...
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Prepare for a Field Trip
Students write a journal exercise that relates to preparing for a trip. They make a visual map to generate ideas about things to see, do and learn during the field trip. They assign roles for different tasks that need to be performed...
Teach Engineering
Searching for Bigfoot and Others Like Him
Individuals create a GIS data layer in Google Earth that displays information about where one might find seven different cryptids. The class members research to find data on cryptid sightings they can include in their data...
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Investigate Non-native Neighborhood Invasion Species
Students investigate non-native species that are invading local or state environments. They choose one species to research and report on.
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Community Arts Projects
Youngsters learn about community through exploration of their own neighborhood.In this lesson about community, students create a community in their classroom. Students think about what their community looks like by making a map. Students...
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Number Scouts
What makes up a community? People, of couse. Then there are the other living things, such as plants and animals. There are also buildings, streets, schools, businesses, and vehicles. This activity makes students aware of one othe...
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Sky 2: Shadows
students will explore making shadows and tracking the movement of an object over the course of a day to look for patterns. It is best to couple this shadow activity with reading the book, Bear Shadow, and making a map of Bear's...
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The Earth's Surface
Students identify the characteristics of places. In this communities lesson, students discuss what they observe when they travel and construct a list of places in their neighborhood. Students use a Landscape Picture Map to circle...
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Discovering Your Community
Students focus on the origins of the families that make up their community by exploring their family's origins through themselves, parents, and grandparents. Students create a map marked with family origins for the class.
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Deciphering Community
Students explore the concept of a community. They identify and group various kinds of communities. Students create a concept map exemplifying their membership in different communities. They write a narrative describing their...
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Writing About Outdoor Activities
Students discuss what they like about parks and make a list of different things they like to do there such as swing, run, play ball, ride a bike, or go on a hike. They discover the locations of some examples of National Parks and that...
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Community Close-Up Brochures
Students express a personal view of the land areas, buildings, schools, stores, and cultural events that make their community unique. They design and create a "Community Brochure" that would attract new residents or visitors to their...
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The Lorax and Forest Park
Students read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and identify situations where there is a risk to the community. During a class discussion, students predict types of liter they will find in a park. Students take a field trip to the park to collect...
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American History Through Architectural Masterpieces: Monticello
Students examine the life of Thomas Jefferson, explore great American landmark Monticello, discover relationships between climate, geographical factors, and time as to what kind of architecture was used, conduct research online, write a...
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My Community
Learners engage in a lesson about the community in order to find out what different things go on within it on a daily basis. They conduct field research and look up information in order to answer some key questions addressed.
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Google Earth
In this Google Earth learning exercise, students access the Google Earth website and find the latitude, longitude, and elevation for their house and school. Then they do the same for a variety of world locations. This learning exercise...
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Eye From the Sky
Students are introduced to the concept of aerial perspective and scale. Students will use satellite technology to view their neighborhoods and sketch the area surrounding their schools. They will take part in a neighborhood walk to view...
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The Mathematics of Space and Place
Students investigate the measurements and geometry of the school grounds. They conduct inquiry while measuring the campus and some of the city blocks. Then students draw a map to scale and categorize property types using a pie graph.
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Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery
Students replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.