Layers with Lines

Here is a simple assignment that will introduce your young geographers to location, one of the five themes of geography, through an activity in which they map the directions and lines of latitude/longitude of where they live. 

Get out the compass and a pencil its time to use a coordinate grid to practice mapping skills. Young cartographers use the prompts and provided grid to plot locations, draw parallel lines, and determine distances between points. 

Your choice of hands-on topographic mapping tasks is provided in this resource. From actual map-making to viewing and interpreting stereographic photos, the activities are sure to succeed. To make the most of this lesson, you will need...

In this geography worksheet, students read an excerpt about topographic maps and why they are useful for various jobs. They also respond to eleven questions that follow related to the excerpt and locating specific map points on the map...

Sometimes it is difficult to grasp topographic maps. Here is a clever presentation designed to help your middle school earth scientists understand. Beginning with a side view of a pair of mountains, a graphic guy walks up one slope. As...

Young scholars review various contour maps, including local ones, to identify landforms such as mountains and plains. They create a 3-D contour map of an imaginary location that shows at least 10 changes in elevation. Afterward, they...

Students interpret topographic maps and infer human activity as it is influenced by the landscape.

Learners use topographic map skills to interpret impact of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens on the volcano's topography, and draw profile views of Mount St. Helens before and after the May 18, 1980, eruption.

Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.

Pupils explore the information depicted on topographic maps. They construct a 3-D topographic map of a local area. They go on a field trip to the depicted area and compare the 'real world' with their models.