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This Designing a Hiking Trail activity also includes:
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Put your students' map skills to the test with this engaging cross-curricular project. Given the task of developing new hiking trails for their local community, young cartographers must map out beginner and intermediate paths that meet a series of criteria including total distance, maximum gradient, and the number of different habitats it must pass through. A fun way for students to apply their understanding of topographic maps and the concept of scale.
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CCSS:
Adaptable
Concepts
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Instructional Ideas
- Assign this as the culminating project for a geography lesson series on map skills
- Modify this project to allow pairs of students to choose a national park that they would like to design new trails for
- Create cross-curricular connections with life science by having the class create wildlife guides describing the flora and fauna native to the area
Classroom Considerations
- Though originally designed for a specific community in New York, this project can be easily applied to your own region
- A topographic map of your local area will need to be provided to each pair of students, which may be found on the Internet or purchased at a local book
- The duration of this project can be adapted to meet your specific class schedule
Pros
- Resource is available as a Word document, allowing teachers to customize the activity for their class
- Provides students with a checklist of the different criteria their trails must satisfy
- A section of teacher's notes offers suggestions and tips for implementing this project
Cons
- None