Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Seven Continents Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 1st - 4th Standards
Who doesn't enjoy an engaging scavenger hunt? Here, scholars listen to, and discuss, the informative text, Where is my Continent? by Robin Nelson. They then explore the seven continents and four major oceans using...
Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed Standards
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rolling Around the Continents

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students practice throwing skills by rolling a ball at a target, and practice the location of the seven continents, the equator, and the northern and southern hemispheres.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tear the Continents

For Teachers K - 3rd
Young scholars tear paper into representative continent shapes and configure them with world oceans through relative location, direction and latitude and longitude starting points. They recognize the shape of the continents. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Continent Game

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners order the continents in terms of area, population and other geographic terms.
Lesson Plan
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies

Voices from the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Young historians trace the roots of African slavery and learn about the causes and effects of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade through a PowerPoint presentation and by reading and discussing excerpts from the book Copper Sun.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cut-Out Continents Mobile

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students research major natural features on all seven continents. They compare and contrast continents, their sizes, shapes, and major landforms. Students create a unique display of the continents to show major landforms.
Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

The Big Melt: Arctic Ice Caps

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are the Arctic ice caps really melting out of existence? Junior climatologists examine the statistics of ice decline through four math-based lessons. Each activity incorporates data, climate information, and environmental impact into an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"The Clever Monkey"

For Teachers 1st
First graders read and discuss the story elements of the book "The Clever Monkey" by Rob Cleveland. They discuss the continent of Africa, then answer story comprehension questions. Students then complete words, adjectives, sequencing,...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

I’ve Got the POWER Wind Energy Potential at Your School

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The 20th lesson in a 21-part series connects the wind data and expectations of a turbine to whether such devices should be built in your area. Scholars begin with estimating the wind potential at school by using long-term climate...
Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

I Speak for the Polar Bears!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Climate change and weather extremes impact every species, but this lesson focuses on how these changes effect polar bears. After learning about the animal, scholars create maps of snow-ice coverage and examine the yearly variability and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Continents and Oceans of the World

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore world mapping skills. In this world geography lesson, students identify and label the continents and oceans on a world map using the Visual Thesaurus. Students generate mnemonic devices to help memorize these terms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine what it was like to travel west on the Oregon Trail. They develop a list of questions about the trip, explore various websites, and create a story about the experiences of a 19th century family travelling on the Oregon...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Whose (Is)land is This?": topics in Immigration and The Tempest

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Class members compare the ways the subject of immigration is treated in The Tempest, Act I, scene ii, Act II, scene i and Act III, scene ii with patterns in American history. After tracing their own family’s journey, a series of...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Myth of the West: The Battle of the Washita

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Go West, young man! Scholars use PBS video clips, slide shows, and interactive materials to create a picture of Manifest Destiny in the American West. Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, young historians learn about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying and locating the continents and oceans of the world.

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders physically construct a balloon replica of the world globe by coloring, correctly labeling, and cutting out the seven continent shapes from the worksheet, gluing them onto their correct locations on an inflated blue balloon....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the World's Geography

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discuss the seven continents of Earth and the diverse geography. After discussion, they create their own paper-mache globes which properly display all seven continents, the equator, and the prime meridian. They conduct research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparison of Snow Cover on Different Continents

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students use the Live Access Server (LAS) to form maps and a numerical text file of snow cover for each continent on a particular date and analyze the data for each map, corresponding text file to determine an estimate of snow cover for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Columbian Cultures in the Americas

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Native American studies is fun, educational, and highly motivating. Fifth graders will gain a deeper understanding of the six major pre-Columbian culture areas on the North American continent. They will choose one group and conduct...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Continents on the Move

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the tectonic plates of the Earth and how the landforms of Earth have changed position over time. In groups, they identify the evidence that the continents are still moving. To end the instructional activity, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Continents

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students identify the continents of the world. In groups, students create a three-dimensional clay representation of their assigned continent. Using KidPix software, they draw and color their continent. Students research their continent...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Putting the World in Perspective

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students work in small groups to: make a mental map of the world by tearing paper shapes of the seven continents and locating them on a flat surface in their relative positions, compare their finished mental map to a reference world map,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mastering the Keyboard

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders view an animated program showing how the continents fit together millions of years ago. In groups, they compare and contrast the distribution of rocks and fossils based on how the continents fit together. After reading a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Africa, A Look Through the Eyes of A Child

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders read literature about Africa, examine physical characteristics of the continent, explore animals native to Africa, and discuss distance between Africa and locations in the United States.