In the Classroom
Geography Standards in Your Classroom
“The National Geography Standards contain what is most
important and enduring in geography. They help teachers to decide what to teach,
at what grades to teach it, and what to expect of students as a result. They
give students rigorous but realistic benchmarks for which to strive.” —From
Geography for Life.
All Lesson Plans are listed by grade level
and each lesson plan describes the National Geography Standards and the
Indiana Social Studies Academic Standards that are addressed.
Geography
Action! Cultures: The Sound of Place How do language, music, and other aspects of the auditory
environment give voice to the history, movement, and interaction of peoples all over the globe? Explore
the "sound of place" with this year's National Geographic Society Geography
Action! program.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Exploring the Mississippi River Books for Kids & Teens.
Find out all about the Mississippi River in these books for kids of all ages.
Lesson Plans by Grade Level
GIS: Elementary Speaking.
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the basic concept of layering to
launch the idea of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Grade Levels: K-3 (or 4).
Tear The Continents.
Purpose: In order to gain a better understanding of Earth’s
continents, students will tear paper into representative continent shapes and
configure them with world oceans through relative location, direction, and
latitude and longitude starting points. Grade Level: K-3.
M&M’s Community and Geo-Spatial
Thinking. Purpose: To ease the students into the basic concepts
of geo-spatial thinking, an activity utilizing a white sheet and M&M’s will
engage interest and make a connection between existing knowledge and real-life
geo-technology possibilities. Grade Level(s): 4-12.
GIS: Elementary Speaking.
Purpose:
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the basic concept of layering to
launch the idea of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Grade
Levels: K-3 (or 4).
Indiana Tornado Project.
Purpose:
To be aware of the number of tornadoes that impact Indiana.
Grade Levels: 4-12.
Connect the Dots Purpose:
This activity is intended to be used to introduce the concept of basic map reading and expose
the students to GPS technology.
Grade Levels: All ages.
Me and My Space Purpose:
In order to enable students to experience their space artistically, they will use GPS units
to identify points of interest, create a map of those points, and use this "hard" data as the
basis for artistic expression.
Grade Levels: 4.
Overhead Transparencies Jump to Geo-Spatial Thinking
Purpose:
To ease the students into the concepts of geo-spatial thinking, a series of five overhead
transparencies, each conveying a different "layer" of information, will enable the students'
to bridge their perception of traditional mapping techniques to twenty-first century geo-spatial
technologies.
Grade Levels: 4-12.
M&M’s Community and Geo-Spatial
Thinking. Purpose: To ease the
students into the basic concepts of geo-spatial thinking, an activity utilizing
a white sheet and M&M’s will engage interest and make a connection between
existing knowledge and real-life geo-technology possibilities.
Grade Level(s):
4-12.
Indiana Tornado Project.
Purpose: To be aware of the number of tornadoes that impact Indiana.Grade Levels: 4-12.
A Time of Peace: Where Should the X-Men Live?
Purpose: To introduce students to the use of GIS via census data.
Grade Level: Middle School.
Connect the Dots Purpose:
This activity is intended to be used to introduce the concept of basic map reading and expose
the students to GPS technology.
Grade Levels: All ages.
Environmental Threats to Native Lands Purpose:
Identifying some existing or proposed threats to Native lands in the western United States.
Grade Levels: 6-8.
GPS Meets Orthophotography Purpose:
To enable students to use a GPS and gain a sense of personal and social use of space by tracking their own movements
outside of school and compiling a map showing the entire class' routes.
Grade Levels: 6-12.
Gee, What Happened on This Spot? Purpose:
In order to teach students the fundamentals of global positioning systems and of GPS applications,
students will research significant historical events in their county, relate said events to the
broader, national happenings, and collaborate with a local historical group to produce a
functional map from the GPS data of local historical sites.
Grade Levels: 6-12 History Classes.
Overhead Transparencies Jump to Geo-Spatial Thinking
Purpose:
To ease the students into the concepts of geo-spatial thinking, a series of five overhead
transparencies, each conveying a different "layer" of information, will enable the students'
to bridge their perception of traditional mapping techniques to twenty-first century geo-spatial
technologies.
Grade Levels: 4-12.
Introduction to GPS and Geocaching Purpose:
Students will use GPS units to locate several caches located in one of the St. Joseph County parks.
Grade Levels: 6-12.
(Attachment for Introduction to GPS and Geocaching).
M&M’s Community and Geo-Spatial Thinking.
Purpose: To ease the students into the basic concepts of geo-spatial thinking, an activity utilizing
a white sheet and M&M’s will engage interest and make a connection between
existing knowledge and real-life geo-technology possibilities. Grade Level(s): 4-12.
Indiana Tornado Project.
Purpose: To be aware of the number of tornadoes that impact Indiana. Grade Levels: 4-12.
Rivers and Capitals.
Purpose: To show a relationship between rivers and capital cities. Grade Levels: 9-12.
Where Am I? Purpose:
This lesson is designed to work on using a map to find oneself
and familiar locations using SAVI. Grade Levels: High School Special Education –
Severe Disabilities.
Mapping the Novel. Purpose: For this lesson, students will create
a map of the journey that Huck and Jim take in the novel. The map includes the
settings, major events, and significant lines. What are the significant
locations, events, and characters in the novel? What are the parts of the
emotional journey that Huck takes? Grade Levels:9-12.
(Note: follows Language Arts Standards).
Are You Looking at Me? Purpose:
To introduce the concept of geographic information systems utilizing demographics to students.
Students will be able to create a descriptive summary of their zip code using the data acquired on the internet.
Grade Levels: 9-12 (easily adapted for middle school).
Connect the Dots Purpose:
This activity is intended to be used to introduce the concept of basic map reading and expose
the students to GPS technology.
Grade Levels: All ages.
Geo-Referencing Tree Locations Purpose:
Students (or Scouts) use a hand-held GPS unit and/or compass to collect tree locations
and show them on a map.
Grade Levels: 9-12, Scout Troops.
GPS Meets Orthophotography Purpose:
To enable students to use a GPS and gain a sense of personal and social use of space by tracking
their own movements outside of school and compiling a map showing the entire class' routes.
Grade Levels: 6-12.
Gee, What Happened on This Spot? Purpose:
In order to teach students the fundamentals of global positioning systems and of GPS applications,
students will research significant historical events in their county, relate said events to the
broader, national happenings, and collaborate with a local historical group to produce a
functional map from the GPS data of local historical sites.
Grade Levels: 6-12 History Classes.
Introduction to GPS and Geocaching Purpose:
Students will use GPS units to locate several caches located in one of the St. Joseph County parks.
Grade Levels: 6-12.
(Attachment for Introduction to GPS and Geocaching).
Overhead Transparencies Jump to Geo-Spatial Thinking
Purpose:
To ease the students into the concepts of geo-spatial thinking, a series of five overhead
transparencies, each conveying a different "layer" of information, will enable the students'
to bridge their perception of traditional mapping techniques to twenty-first century geo-spatial
technologies.
Grade Levels: 4-12.
Surveying with GPS
Purpose:
To survey an area with standard survey eqiupment and compare the results to those gained from a GPS.
Grade Levels: 11-12.
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