Young scholars improve their directional awareness by locating sites and symbols on a map. They increase their heart rates while traveling to each site and performing the specified task/exercise at each site.

Students investigate the 1507 word map. In this world geography lesson, students examine the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions about how the people of 1507 understood the world. Students are evalated on...

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, in groups, brainstorm to find what makes up a map, what kind of information can be "read" from a map, who might use a map, how their world is defined or helped by maps, etc. They make a map of their "world."

Students explore orienteering and how to use a compass. They explore the importance of forests and identify some of the trees in a local forest.

Class groups collaborate to produce the storyboard for their video project. After determining the sequence of scenes, the camera angles, and characters in each scene, each group member is assigned a number of scenes to illustrate. When...

Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...

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 are introduced to the Gopher research tools. In groups, they compare and contrast English and German services on the gopher servers. They create their own dictionary of computer related terms and spend time downloading picture...

Students plan a trip around the world and create a PowerPoint presentation of the journey. In this map, atlas, and technology lesson, students plan a trip around the world in which they avoid using an airplane. Students will consider...

Learn more about maps by examining Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. Kindergartners will learn about basic map skills and how to identify the compass rose, oceans, and land masses. They will also discover the purpose of...

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...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Are you thinking about incorporating a film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel in a study of The Great Gatsby? Check out a guide loaded with suggestions for how to supplement a reading of the novel with scenes from three film...

Show your scholars how adding an affix changes the entire meaning of a word; they focus on the suffix -able. You'll find a complete script here, but if you don't want to read this verbatim, use it simply as an outline. Learners...

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

Letters have long been prized by historians as primary sources for what they reveal not only about events but also about the emotional responses of the writers to these events. "My Dear Little Boys," a letter written by Leonard Isacks on...

Students read examples of folk tales and describe the characteristics of fables and folk tales. They also examine the concept of fate and if it plays a part in people's lives.

Carl Sandburg composed poetry that conveyed a time and place in American Literature and history. Learners identify the literary techniques he uses to describe the historical and cultural context of living in Chicago. They define the...

What a great way to discuss European immigration in the 1700's to 1800's in America. Learners identify regions where immigration occurred, list the reasons people moved to the United States, and interview an immigrant about their...

Ease into informational text with the lesson plan suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson plan draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My...

The Haitian Revolution takes center stage as class members analyze a passage from Sugar Changed the World and consider how the authors select, present, and organize events to show how the tensions between the concerns for freedom and...

How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...

Second graders explore geography by completing a mapping activity in class. In this directional lesson, 2nd graders examine a map in class and utilize a compass rose to identify their location and destination. Students write directions...