This lesson is similar to a "Mystery Skype" where two classes connect through a live video conferencing platform and provide critical thinking clues to determine the location of the other class. Once both locations have been identified, students can then ask additional questions to learn more about the culture, climate, language, and traditions of both classes.

Release of the film Green Book (2018) inspired renewed interest in the experiences of African Americans when traveling in the United States during the 20th century. This inquiry-based lesson combines individual investigations with whole or small group analysis of primary sources and visual media to investigate the compelling question: How have the intersections of race and place impacted U.S. history and culture?

This article provides links to hands-on science activities that could be used in an festival or informal learning event. National standards correlations are provided.

Students interact with Scratch to review continents and oceans. Students edit a Scratch template to begin to explore code. 

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module. Students use Polya's problem-solving heuristic to find the distance of a peak using vertical angles sighted from a wagon train heading toward the peak.

Use an astrolabe to measure the height of objects, and see seasonal changes over time.

The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand that economic activity can be classified as primary, secondary, tertiary, or quaternary; students will define the different levels of economic activity and categorize various activities by its level.

Students learn about landslides, discovering that there are different types of landslides that occur at different speeds from very slow to very quick. All landslides are the result of gravity, friction and the materials involved. Both natural and human-made factors contribute to landslides. Students learn what makes landslides dangerous and what engineers are doing to prevent and avoid landslides.

This article gives background information on the Iditarod race in Alaska and shows how the race can be used in Grades K-5 classrooms to incorporate science, geography and language arts. The author provides links to resources that involve reading expository tests and writing assignments as well as working with real-time data. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.

Students explore the world of maps and learn how to view the world around them in a two-dimensional format.

This activity is an investigative introduction to mapping. Students create maps and determine important map features.

In this lesson students will learn about Minnesota's natural resources, particularly iron ore.

Students are introduced to our planet's structure and its dynamic system of natural forces through an examination of the natural hazards of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, floods and tornados, as well as avalanches, fires, hurricanes and thunderstorms. They see how these natural events become disasters when they impact people, and how engineers help to make people safe from them. Students begin by learning about the structure of the Earth; they create clay models showing the Earth's layers, see a continental drift demo, calculate drift over time, and make fault models. They learn how earthquakes happen; they investigate the integrity of structural designs using model seismographs. Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, they create and test structures in a simulated earthquake on a tray of Jell-O. Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes, and watch and measure a class mock eruption demo, observing the phases that change a mountain's shape. Students learn that the different types of landslides are all are the result of gravity, friction and the materials involved. Using a small-scale model of a debris chute, they explore how landslides start in response to variables in material, slope and water content. Students learn about tsunamis, discovering what causes them and makes them so dangerous. Using a table-top-sized tsunami generator, they test how model structures of different material types fare in devastating waves. Students learn about the causes of floods, their benefits and potential for disaster. Using riverbed models made of clay in baking pans, students simulate the impact of different river volumes, floodplain terrain and levee designs in experimental trials. They learn about the basic characteristics, damage and occurrence of tornadoes, examining them closely by creating water vortices in soda bottles. They complete mock engineering analyses of tornado damage, analyze and graph US tornado damage data, and draw and present structure designs intended to withstand high winds.

This Story Map Journal centers on World War One. This was a conflict on a level never before seen on the planet. Initially, the conflict was largely a European affair until an impressive piece of spy work by the British intelligence community brought the USA into the conflict. Key Questions: How and why did the U.S. become involved in the Great War? How was the United States able to stay out of the war initially? What were the factors that led to the U.S. declaration of war? What were the logistics behind U.S. mobilization? How did the U.S. strategy differ from that of the Allies? How and when did the war end? Contains links to student materials and teacher materials for creating lesson plans.

Use pirate maps and treasure to explore basic map concepts – and responsible behaviors associated with using information and technology!

Physical Geography, also called earth science, is the study of our home planet and all of its components: its lands, waters, atmosphere, and interior. In this book, some chapters are devoted to the processes that shape the lands and impact people. Other chapters depict the processes of the atmosphere and its relationship to the planet’s surface and all our living creatures. For as long as people have been on the planet, humans have had to live within Earth’s boundaries. Now human life is having a profound effect on the planet. Several chapters are devoted to the effect people have on the planet.The journey to better understanding Earth begins here with an exploration of how scientists learn about the natural world and introduces you to the study of physical geography and earth science.

This article highlights lessons and activities that ask students to plan expeditions to Antarctica. Students use math, science, and geography to plan their routes, clothing, and food.

This article features activity books and polar-themed children's literature for use in the elementary classroom.

This article provides an overview of the geography, characteristics, and life of the Arctic and Southern Oceans.