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...

Introduce middle or high schoolers to topographic maps with this PowerPoint. After a review of longitude and latitude, display and describe contour lines and intervals. Also explain map scale. This is a useful presentation for a social...

Students explore watersheds through the use of a topographic map. They observe topographical maps and discuss their characteristics. In groups, students create a model clay island and make a topographical map of it. Afterward, groups...

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...

A beautiful tapestry map of North America is examined by geology masters. The map incorporates the topography and geology of different regions. You can purchase printed copies or a large poster of the map, or if you have a computer lab...

Underclassmen create a cone-shaped landform and then draw a contour map for it. Then they examine a quadrangle (which was easily located with an online search), and relate it to what they experienced. The accompanying worksheet is...

Students examine topographic maps and discover how to decipher contour intervals, use contour lines and apply information to complete a topographic map lab. Working in groups, they identify the scale of the map, latitude and longitude,...

Begin by showing a six-minute video, Changing Planet: Rising Sea Level as an anticipatory set. Pupils draw a topographic map of a potato continent. Finally, they will visit NOAA's sea levels online map and NASA's carbon dioxide...

Students apply knowledge of topographical maps and how computer programs are used to make 3-D models of areas that humans have never visited. They view a Mars Canyon movie, then map the canyon.

Junior geologists examine topographic maps online and learn how to read them. they answer seven associated follow-up questions. This lesson plan is only a general outline and does not provide the details or the websites that you...

Can you fathom a fathom? Through this activity, learners get a grasp of how deep a fathom is and how the floor of The Great Lakes might look. They compare topographic maps to Great Lakes navigation charts, which you will need to obtain...

Learners study topographic maps and contour lines and construct a simple three-dimensional model of Mount St. Helens before the May 18, 1980, eruption. They use topographic map skills to interpret the impact of the May 18, 1980, eruption...

In small groups, energy engineers research and make a topographic map of a marine natural resource. They report to the rest of the class pros and cons of extracting their assigned resource. The two activities may take up to four class...

An explanation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Geographic Information System (GIS) is given in this presentation. Uses and applications are considered. How it works and sources of error are also touched upon. A large...

Students are introduced to drawing and interpreting topographical maps. They each cut through there Jell-o mountain at regular height intervals, and trace around the shape of the Jell-o cut off at the height, overlaying the different...

Students analyze the details of a topographic map and create one of their own by utilyzing a map of elevations.

How is the wind up there? The class builds a topography model using materials available in the classroom, then place wind flags in different locations on the landscape. Using a fan as a wind source, pupils collect data about how wind...

Most of this lesson is spent working on the "Bathymetry Worksheet." It includes a graph of the changes in sea level over the past 150,000 years and a bathymetric map of changes in an imaginary coastline over time. Participants answer...

So what exactly is climate? This first installment of a six-part series introduces the concept of climate using real-world data tables and topographic maps. The timely lesson includes a comprehensive overview of climate, as well as...

Students review their prior knowledge on topographical maps. Using a map, they examine the sea floor off the coast of San Diego, California. With a partner, they chart the sea floor of an area and use cutouts to create a visual...

The earth sciences are the focus for this Jeopardy-style review game. Categories include geology, space, scientific investigation, meteorology, and oceanography. Diagrams and pictures are involved with most of the questions, making this...

Students explore Iowa geography and topographic maps. In this geography and topographic maps activity, student investigate maps, newspapers, Iowa flora and fauna. Students gain an understanding of how different landforms can be...

A set of questions on weathering and erosion are found in this resource. Some of them can be used as discussion topics or lecture guides. There are also suggested activities such as the examination of topographic quadrangles and the...

Students construct a mockup of a volcano by crumbling up newspapers and piling them into the shape of a volcano. They place a tarp over the newspapers making sure the tarp is large enough to simulate a flat area at the volcano's base....