Cardboard History Challenge is an example of how students can use design thinking and maker principles to demonstrate their learning about an artifact related to a historical site, person, or event. The example has a scattering of artifact prompts from throughout history, so you will probably want to make a copy and revise this resource to better fit your curriculum or unit. There are three segments to the activity. First, groups of students make artifacts related to a prompt. Second, a groups of students, taking on the role of historians, present about the artifact created by another group. Third, the class debriefs.

This activity proposes different small experiments and discussions to show that in the summer it is cooler by the sea than on the land and that water cools off more slowly than soil.

Our team of experts is excited to share with you their favorite tips and tricks about how to access and use Census Bureau Data.

So we created the Data Gems: a series of "how-to" videos available for data users who are looking for an easy and quick way to enhance their knowledge of Census data.

They will introduce you to various concepts and techniques to improve your ability to navigate our website and use our data-access tools.

We hope you find these Gems valuable! Drop us a line at census.academy@census.gov and let us know what you think!

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.

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.

Students use a geographic lens to explore the state of Michigan. The chapter focuses around the five major themes of geography: movement, region, human/environment interaction, and location. Students explore the concept of “state” using a map of the United States. In studying location, students use cardinal directions, identify various ways to describe the relative location of Michigan, and begin to explore how location can influence the development of a state. When studying place, students identify and describe significant human and physical characteristics of Michigan using a variety of maps. Through literature, maps, informational text and other resources students also explore the concept of human/environment interaction as they learn about Michigan’s natural resources and how people have used, modified, and adapted to them. In studying movement, an emphasis is placed on the Great Lakes. Using shipping as a launching point, students explore how and why people, goods, jobs and ideas move within, into and out of Michigan. Finally, students apply the concept of region to the study of Michigan as they explore different ways Michigan can be divided into regions as well as the different regions to which Michigan belongs.

FREE - Geography World Map (Grades K-12).A free world map outline for all social studies occasions: continents, history, cultures, physical, political, and specialty.• Map sized 8.5x11" in PDF & PNG. (Resize PNG image or outline in Sharpie for any blur issues.)

With this activity, students use a globe to learn how a position on Earth can be described. They investigate how latitude can be found using the stars. Students learn what latitude and longitude are and how to use them to indicate a position on Earth. They investigate how in some locations on Earth, the direction of the midday sun can change over the year.

make and take book for Michigan...I use it with All on the Map and Me on the Map. See original description in the Georgia example... Let me know if I can make one for your state :) bonnie...

Students will need to correctly label the 7 continents and 5 oceans. This could be used as a quiz or homework.

Students cut and paste pictures of landforms and bodies of water with their name. Color coded by landforms (white pieces) and bodies of water (gray pieces). Answer key is included! Landforms included: -mountain
-valley
-plateau
-plain
-hill
-island Bodies of Water
-ocean
-lake
-pond
-river Answ...

In these activities, students will evaluate data to provide evidence to support the claim that “Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are adding more CO2 to the atmosphere. This is enhancing the greenhouse effect, trapping more heat and causing global temperatures to rise.”

A warming climate alters patterns of air movement and precipitation, causing an increased frequency of some extreme weather events. In these activities, students will analyze data on the frequency of severe weather events, evaluate the impacts, and propose solutions to help mitigate them.

Increases in CO2 in the atmosphere and warming global temperatures are having a significant impact on the chemistry, temperature, volume, and circulation patterns in bodies of water. In this set of activities, students will investigate these changes and evaluate their potential impacts.

The geographic range of a plant or animal species is determined by its environmental requirements – the conditions it needs to survive and reproduce. These conditions include abiotic variables, such as temperature, precipitation, and nutrients, as well as the presence of certain other species with whom the species shares important interactions. Climate change can result in shifts in all these things and can lead to an area that was once ideal for a species to become uninhabitable for them. However, it can also create new areas that meet the species needs that didn’t used to before. These changes result in shifting species ranges over time. These shifts can have a variety of impacts on ecosystems. In these activities, students will investigate these potential impacts.

Climate prediction models help us to understand how the Earth's climate is changing over time and how it might change in the future. By predicting the potential impacts of climate change, we can prepare for and adapt to these changes. Accurate climate predictions can help inform policymakers about the potential consequences of their decisions and develop strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. In these activities, students work with simple climate prediction models.

If your student(s) are doing a unit study on Michigan, this is a fun little activity using state facts. You'll find the two largest cities, state capital, official state symbols, tourist sites, historical references, and products the state is known for. DETROIT GRAND RAPIDS LANSING
TRAVERSE CIT...

The focus of this lesson plan is meant to be one example of HOW you can integrate Minecraft into a 4th grade geography class.  Students will construct a model of a human-made structure that solved a problem and shows human-environment interaction.  For example, the Mackinac Bridge was built to allow car traffic between the two peninsulas of Michigan.  

An interactive activity that begins with a PowerPoint and ends with groups of students working on creating their own mountain effects out of materials. Warning: Need to prepare in advance for the activity. (Materials used for fold mountains are paper; tissue paper and thicker more scratchy type material to reflect differences in the earth's surface).

The purpose of this text is to promote understanding of the Geographic Information Science and Technology enterprise (GIS&T, also known as “geospatial”).