This site provides more than 40 lesson ideas developed by teachers to help students learn about Eastern Woodland Native Americans who lived in the upper Mississippi River valley (southwestern Wisconsin and northeast Iowa) from about 500 BC to 1300 AD and who built effigies -- ceremonial burial mounds shaped to represent bears, eagles, falcons, bison, deer, turtles, lizards, and other creatures.

The most democratic body in the federal government, hundreds of representatives for the House are elected every other year. This site maps elections from before the Civil War until today showing changing patterns across regions and between urban and rural areas.

Encountering the Plantation Myth Where You'd Least Expect It; Well off Savannah's tourist trail, there's a replica of an antebellum plantation home in the middle of a public housing project.

Essentials of Geographic Information Systems integrates key concepts behind the technology with practical concerns and real-world applications. Recognizing that many potential GIS users are nonspecialists or may only need a few maps, this book is designed to be accessible, pragmatic, and concise. Essentials of Geographic Information Systems also illustrates how GIS is used to ask questions, inform choices, and guide policy. From the melting of the polar ice caps to privacy issues associated with mapping, this book provides a gentle, yet substantive, introduction to the use and application of digital maps, mapping, and GIS.

The second of two lessons of Europe in Middle Ages, students examine primary and secondary sources of Viking invasions. Information is uncovered about areas invaded, conduct of invaders, and effects on populations invaded. Students then examine maps to determine the sequence of Viking invasions. Key questions: What do sources tell us about Viking invasions?; How did physical geography influence Viking invasions and patterns of settlement?; How did Viking invasions change over time?; How did invasions of the Magyars and Vikings differ?

The first of two lessons on territorial extent of empires in Europe in 814 at the end of Charlemagne’s rule and another after the death of Charlemagne. Students extend and refine their map interpretation skills by examining the use of color to denote territorial ownership. In addition, students make predictions about likely paths of invasion. Key questions: How do physical geography, cultural, economic, and political factors affect borders? To what extent does the physical environment define borders?

Students will examine how human actions and population changes can affect the environment. Students will examine a series of photographs that compare famous landmarks (Times Square, the Saltair Pavilion in Utah, Laguna Beach, and Niagara Falls) across time, and then they will identify human-generated changes in the physical environment, such as the addition of bridges and roads. Students will also examine U.S. Census Bureau population and housing data to see how population changes can contribute to changes in the physical environment. In addition, students will describe the impact of these changes on the environment.

Third of three lessons on the changing European borders, students learn about diffusion of the Black Death. The spread of the Black Death illustrates interaction as people, goods, and ideas move through both time and space. The Black Death decimated the population of Europe in the 1300s. Key questions: Where did the Black Death originate? How did the Black Death arrive in Europe? How did the Black Death affect life in Europe?

First of three lessons examine changing European borders, students compare maps illustrating changes of Europe's division of territory from 1000 A.D. (C.E.) to 1450 A.D. (C.E.). Unification of smaller regions into a larger state may form the basis for political power and the ability to exert influence over other countries. Students uncover the relationship between territorial extent and political power. Key questions: How did the consolidation of territory affect the formation of nation states?; How could stable borders contribute to the political stability of a state?

Second of three lessons on changing European borders, students determine the general routes and time span of the Crusades through maps depicting their routes. Includes primary sources to support comparison of the accounts of the Crusader victory in capturing Jerusalem in 1099. Concludes with an evaluation of crusades' success. Key questions: What areas were involved in the Crusades? What areas did the Crusader states seek to control? What role did the Byzantine church play in the Crusades and how they affected the Byzantines? How did the establishment of Crusader states influence the fall of Constantinople?

No sitting American president traveled outside the country before Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Panama in 1906 to see the construction of the Panama Canal. A century later Air Force One regularly carries the head of the executive branch to all corners of the world. The Executive Abroad maps the international trips of presidents and secretaries of state.

This exercise provides a case study of Danville, Virginia’s economic and demographic characteristics. Using a geographic information system students are presented with numerous opportunities to extend and refine their map interpretation skills. This story map is not intended to be used as a stand-alone lesson, but portions could be used throughout various units to provide a case study example of key geographic concepts and analysis of the cultural landscape and urban patterns.

Students will explore the continents and oceans by using playdough maps, felt  maps, and coloring to help them locate and remember their locations.

Students explore the sound, evolution, performance techniques, and culture of guitar-like instruments from around the world.

This article from the Virginia Geographer assists teachers to understand the geographic theme of region. It applies the region concept to the study of Virginia that goes well beyond the Virginia Standards of Learning limited use of landform regions. Region concept is applied to a number of human systems including transportation, economic, and urban systems.

Use FRED data to create custom maps, charts, to access data "on the go" through mobile apps, or use FRED data to develop mobile app.

Using this lesson plan students will be more aware of how plants and animals adapt to wildland fire. They will: Discuss the adaptive strategies of plants and animals to survive fire. Observe plants and animals in your local area. Design a plant or animal that is adapted for fire survival.

This is a travel itinerary featuring 13 historic shipwrecks in waters near Florida, a convergence point for maritime trade routes. Learn about the historical significance of these 13 shipwrecks. See photos and an essay on Florida maritime history.

This research project focused on food access and its implications for food security and food justice in Newport News’ Southeast Community, a neighborhood marked by high levels of food insecurity and decades of racial segregation and economic divestment. Objectives were threefold: (1) to map the complex socio-spatial networks of food access in a region characterized by high levels of food insecurity; (2) to identify core barriers to food access in the study area, and to better understand how, exactly, these barriers affect food security; and (3) to use this understanding to identify potential policy solutions that could improve local and regional food access and food security.

The decades between the banning of the international slave trade in 1808 and the abolition of slavery during the Civil War saw the massive and harrowing relocation of approximately 850,000 enslaved men, women, and children. While some enslaved people were moved when their owners relocated to the western frontier, about two-thirds were bought and sold in America’s slave market. They were forcibly uprooted from their homes, separated from their loved ones, and marched and shipped across the South on railroads and steamships.