K-12 Mapping Activities

Browse this collection of over 100 activities for use in K-12 classrooms that focus on creating and using maps. Have a map activity of your own? Submit it here to add it to the collection. Learn more about using maps in your class.


Results 1 - 20 of 91 matches

Discovering Plate Boundaries part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students work collaboratively using data maps to discover plate tectonic boundary processes. Data sets used are earthquakes, volcanos, seafloor age, and topography. Show other versions of this activity Hide The ...

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

The Quaternary Glacio-Fluvial History of the Upper Midwest Using Anaglyph Stereo Maps part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students examine the anaglyph stereo map (with red/cyan glasses) and use textures to generate a surficial geology map of the Upper Midwest. They can then interpret the textures in terms of landforms, geomorphic ...

A Bird's Eye View: Exploring Your Region part of EarthLabs for Educators:Earth System Science
Educational lab page guiding students in Earth system science to explore regional-scale environmental interactions using Google Earth, emphasizing systems thinking, regional boundaries, and matter/energy exchanges across ecosystems. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Impacts of El Nino and La Nina part of Oceanography:Activities
In this exercise, students explore NOAA and the Climate Data Center websites that provide information about El Niño. The students are then asked interpret a series of maps to describe the key changes in climate ...

Lab 2: What's a Watershed? part of EarthLabs for Educators:Drought
This educator-focused lesson page from the EarthLabs project guides students through a hands-on watershed modeling activity and Google Earth exploration to understand surface water movement, drainage features, and land-use impacts, aligned with multiple state and national science standards. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
Learn more about this review process.

State Electricity on Google Earth: How many Solar Panels would it Take? part of CLEAN:CLEAN Network:Teaching Materials
Educational activity page guiding students through calculating U.S. state electricity consumption and estimating land area, costs, and trade-offs required to replace all electricity with solar power using Google Earth, including quantitative analysis, energy literacy, and peer-reviewed teaching resources. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

It's All Connected: Global Circulation part of EarthLabs for Educators:Earth System Science
Educational lab page from the EarthLabs project detailing global atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, including student activities, teaching notes, assessments, and standards alignment, with a focus on modeling wind and water pathways and their climatic impacts. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Lab 1: Getting to Know the Cryosphere part of EarthLabs for Educators:Climate and the Cryosphere
This educational lab page introduces students to the cryosphere's components, spatial distribution, and climate interactions through structured activities on albedo, satellite imagery analysis, and human-environment connections, targeting high school and undergraduate learners within the EarthLabs curriculum. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Where's the volcanic threat? part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students investigate Costa Rican volcanic hazards using (a) the amount of silica in volcanic rocks, (b) a highly-simplified geologic map and (c) a satellite image of Costa Rican night time illumination (i.e., human ...

Student-centered Experiments on Earthquake Occurrence Using the Seismic/Eruption Program part of NAGT:Our Resources:Teaching Resources:Teaching Materials Collection
Students select their own region of interest and interrogate the earthquake catalog to obtain quantitative data on the rate of occurrence of earthquakes of various magnitudes within their chosen region.

Lessons on River Ecosystems part of Complex Systems:Teaching Activities
These lessons immerse students in thinking about the big idea of an environmental system as a network of interrelationships and evaluating the goodness of policy options for the environment in the future.

Fire and Ice: Identify and compare volcanic and glacial features on land and seafloor. part of MARGINS Data in the Classroom:MARGINS Mini-Lessons
Bathymetry and topography are used to identify and compare glacial and volcanic features of the Sand Point area, Alaska.

Lab 4: Putting Hurricanes on the Map part of EarthLabs for Educators:Hurricanes
Educator-focused lab page guiding students to visualize Atlantic hurricane tracks using Google Earth and HURDAT2 data, covering storm lifecycle analysis, mapping techniques, and alignment with national science standards, including downloadable teaching resources and assessment tools. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Lab 5: Droughts of the Past part of EarthLabs for Educators:Drought
Educator-focused lab page guiding students through historical drought analysis using paleoclimatology data, tree ring studies, and drought maps to evaluate past events like the Dust Bowl and medieval megadroughts. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Lab 3: Normal Climate Patterns part of EarthLabs for Educators:Drought
Educator-focused lab page guiding students through analyzing U.S. climate patterns using climatographs and maps, covering temperature, precipitation, and regional climate data interpretation for high school and undergraduate classrooms. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

CLEAN Selected This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Lab 1: Where's the Water? part of EarthLabs for Educators:Drought
Educator-focused lab page introducing water distribution and scarcity concepts through data analysis, calculations, and visualizations, covering hydrologic cycle dynamics, freshwater availability, and population-resource relationships within the EarthLabs Drought curriculum. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Lab 5: Trouble in Paradise: Factors that Impact Coral Health part of EarthLabs for Educators:Corals
Educator-focused lab page covering coral reef health threats, featuring GIS analysis, hands-on ocean acidification experiments, and multimedia resources to teach impacts of climate change, pollution, and overfishing on coral ecosystems. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Lab 4: Finding Coral's Ideal Environment part of EarthLabs for Educators:Corals
Lab 4: Finding Coral's Ideal Environment is an educational activity page from the EarthLabs project that guides students in analyzing sea surface temperature, depth, salinity, and aragonite saturation data to determine the environmental conditions favoring coral reef survival, with printable materials, teaching notes, and alignment to science standards. auto-generated The author of this page didn't provide a brief description so this one sentence summary was created by an AI tool. It may not be completely accurate.

Mapping Local Data in a GIS part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:MyMap
DATA: Student-collected GPS data and site characterizations TOOLS: MyWorld GIS, spreadsheet program SUMMARY: Follow a study of Urban Heat Islands as an example of map-based science research projects.

CLEAN Selected This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
Learn more about this review process.

Analyzing Plate Motion Using EarthScope GPS Data part of Earth Exploration Toolbook:Analyzing Tectonic Plate Motion with GPS Data
DATA: EarthScope GPS Data. TOOLS: Spreadsheet, Google Maps. SUMMARY: Learn how GPS monuments make precise measurements of Earth's surface. Graph motion data and map velocity vectors to explore tectonic motion and surface deformation in the Pacific Northwest.