Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Globe

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the mercator projection or nautical chart and observe how global maps do not have the same distance as flat maps. They design handmade globes using the meridians and equator as guides to draw in the land. They paint and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leapin' Landmarks: Locating 10 Man-made Landmarks Around the World

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders label continents, oceans, and major mountain ranges on maps and use the maps to write an informational report about landmarks. In this landmarks lesson plan, 3rd graders write about 1 major landmark.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the world is...

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students identify locations around the world.  In this mapping lesson, students place tag board pieces with names of locations on a wall map of the world.  Initially, students identify states, then cities, then continents,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Community Cartography

For Teachers K - 4th
Students use an inflatable globe which they wrap in plastic wrap. They use a permanent marker and outline the continents, and label major oceans and trace the equator. Students bring heir globes and use their projection for a discussion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recent Volcanoes And Earthquakes:

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the current model for the structure of the Earth. On a world map, they mark areas where they think earthquakes and volcanoes occur and compare those areas with earthquake and volcano location patterns.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Global Grapefruit - Representing a 3-Dimensional Globe on a 2-Dimensional Map

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students compare and contrast world maps and globes. They convert a 3-dimensional globe to a 2-dimensional map. They are introduced to the Mercator map projection. They observe map distortions of shape, area, distance, directions and angle.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

2nd Grade - Act. 22: The World Game

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders play World Game to become more familiar with continents, oceans, countries and states.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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
Curated OER

Welcome to My World!

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Learners use maps to locate information. They read the story, "It Looked Like Spilt Milk", view images of the continents and discuss the various continents. Afterward, they make their own Atlas to record information that they can later...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Giving Students a Little Latitude

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners use a world outline map to locate places using coordinates of latitude and longitude. They answer questions about places based on their knowledge of the map and on their research and make up more questions of this sort for each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rain Forest Adventures

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify and describe where tropical rain forests are located and examine the geographical correlation between rainfall and rain forest. They brainstorm what they think they know about tropical rain forests - where they're...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Meteors and Meteorites

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners create Earth boxes containing some of Earth's biomes--desert, forest, tundra, ocean, and mountains. They simulate Earth's encounter with a comet trail and the resulting meteor shower. They present their Earth boxes to...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Physical World: Continents and Oceans

For Students 3rd - 4th
In this world map worksheet, study the map of the continents and oceans. Students label each of the 12 sections of the world map.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seas, Gulfs and Bays

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students define gulf, bay, and sea. In this bodies of water mapping lesson, students locate seas, gulfs and bays and explain how they knew which body of water it was.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map Making

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners draw continents and oceans on a handmade globe and transfer their globe onto a flat map. In this maps lesson plan, students use paper and a tennis ball to make their globes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gallery Walk Questions about Energy and Material Cycles

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students state the physical, chemical or biological processes associated with these environments: Pelagic ocean zone, California coat Cave, Indiana Barrier island beach, North Carolina Sand dune, Dunes National Park, Colorado Wetland and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The 50 States and its Holidays

For Teachers Pre-K - Higher Ed
Though the format of this ELL activity is confusing (the standards listed are for plate tectonics, yet the objectives are for American geography and holidays), a teacher could glean some ideas from the main idea. Here, pupils complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water and Land 207

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine maps of different projections, mathematically calculate distortions, and note the advantages and disadvantages of each map. They study the different maps and transfer the map to graph paper.
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages

For Teachers K - 4th
The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Tropical Belt

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
Where in the world is the equator? Explore a world map with your class, coloring in oceans, continents, and rainforests while locating the three major lines of latitude: the equator, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn. Discuss how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracking Ocean Ecology

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students look at the data maps given to them about how chlorophyll affects the algae blooms and make predictions about the harm they will cause. In this data maps lesson plan, students manipulate data sets from the website.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pangaea Puzzle

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Learners explore plate tectonics and the formations of the Earth's surface and why maps are distorted.  In this Earth's surface lesson students complete a lab and answer questions. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography

For Teachers 1st
First graders recall names and placement of 7 continents. They recall cardinal directions. They identify and locate 3 oceans.