Index: Resources/Collections of Geography Lessons, The Five Themes of Geography, Geographic Features/Landforms/Biomes, Maps, Geography WebQuests, Oceans, Continents/World, Africa, Specific African Countries, Middle East, Asia, Specific Asian Countries, Oceania/Pacific Rim, Australia/NZ, Europe, Specific European Countries, Polar Regions, Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America, Caribbean Nations), Canada, US Geography, Return to Educational Resources and Lesson Plans, Go to the NCSS National Standards for Social Studies    

For additional resources on China, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, Spanish-speaking countries, and Sweden, go to the World Languages Page.

Resources/Collections of Geography Lesson Plans
National Geographic Education: Resource Library
A searchable index by grade, topic, and subject.

Middle School World History and World Geography Free Lesson Resources
Free lesson plans, worksheets, activities, Power Points, and notes from a middle school social studies teacher.

Geography
A large, well organized collection of geography lesson plans and links from my friend Mr. Donn.

Buzzin' Around the World
Great pictures, places, and info for your geography lesson planning.

Maps and Globes Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans organized by grade level from World Maps Online.

Lesson Plans from the Illinois Geographic Alliance
Many lesson plans including some about Illinois, but also many on a wide variety of regions and topics.

Lesson Plans for Grades 9-12
Many lesson plans form the Geographic Alliance of Iowa.

Geography Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans from Teachers.net. Sometimes this site sends you to a page that says your source is not secure. If that happens, chick on advanced and then go to page.

Geography and Maps
Lesson plans from the Library of Congress using primary source materials.

A World of Learning
Lesson plans for Geography Week form Education World.

USGS Resources for Teachers
Click on a grade level, and then click on geography in the left-side menu.



The Five Themes of Geography Lesson Plans
5 Themes of Geography    
Many lesson plans from my friend Mr. Donn.

Education World's Five Times Five
Five activities for teaching each of geography's five themes.

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography Using the Newspaper
Several activities from the Anderson County Schools (KY).

Five Themes of Geography: A Basis for Understanding Geography
A lesson plan for grades 5 through high school from the Arizona Geographic Society.

Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport
A 3rd-grade lesson plan examining the five themes of geography.

Finding the Five Themes of Geography
A lesson plan for grades 3/4 from Education.com.
   
Five Themes of Geography
An explanation and a secondary-level assignment to be given following definitions and examples of the five themes.

Teaching the Five Themes of Geography: One Grain of Rice at a Time
A lesson plan for grades 7-12 designed "to help students understand the 5 themes of geography, and apply these concepts to an activity designed to donate rice to an area in the world to help feed the hungry.

Geographic Features/Landforms/Biomes Lesson Plans
Ecosystems-Biomes
Links to information and lesson plans from The Teacher's Corner. Scroll down the page to find the lesson plan links.   

What's It Like Where You Live?
Biomes of the world, freshwater ecosystems, marine ecosystems.

Biomes of the World
Lesson plans from The Wild Classroom.

Habitats of the World
An elementary lesson plan from Discovery Education.

Biomes of the World
An Internet-based middle school unit.

Biomes: Land of the Inuit
A computer-based lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.

Prairie Roots
Many lesson plans for grades 4-8 from Tallgrass Prairie Center. See also Campsilos Teacher Overview for other lessons.

Oceans
Many lesson plans and resources from my science page.

Jut Deserts
A "cross-curricular" lesson plan for grades 4-6. See also Desert Animals.
Tall as a Mountain, Flat as a Plain
A primary-grade lesson plan from Scholastic. See also Mountains: Everything You Need for many additional teaching resources.


Maps Lesson Plans
Learning about Maps
A 1st-grade lesson plan.

Maps and Globes Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans organized by grade level from World Maps Online.

Map Lessons: The Route to Improved Geography Skills
Five lesson plans from Education World.

Map Drawing Skills
An elementary lesson plan.

Where in the World Are We Vacationing?
A lesson plan for grades 3-8 in which students use longitude and latitude coordinates to locate vacation destinations.

Map Skills Lesson Plan: Geography and Migration
Another lesson plan for grades 3-8.

Map Skills
From Internet gGeography.

27 Ideas for Teaching With Topographic Maps
From the USGS.

Google Maps
Get directions or see a satellite view.

Altapedia World Maps On Line
Full color physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.

Quick Maps
Maps and information about any country or region of the world.

National Geographic
Maps and information about magazine and TV features. See their lesson plan Map Skills for Elementary Students.

Geography WebQuests
Five Themes of Geography WebQuest

Across the U.S.A.
A WebQuest for grades 4-9.

Latin American Geography: A WebQuest
See also South America: A Class Field Trip.

Asia WebQuest
From Create WebQuest.

Australia: A WebQuest
See also Australia WehQuest.

Africa Geography WebQuest

The Great Canadaian Webquest
For 6th grade.

European Passport WebQuest
For Grades 6-8.   


Oceans Lesson Plans
NOAA Ocean Service Education -  Lesson Plan Library
Many lesson plans for a variety of subject areas. See also Ocean Explorer.

Ocean Portal - Educators' Corner
Lesson plans and more from the Smithsonian.

Jean-Michael Cousteau Ocean Adventures - For Educators
Lesson plans, games, videos, etc. from PBS.

4 Ocean Song
For all grade levels.

Understanding Oceans
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.

Celebrate the Year of the Ocean
Many lesson ideas from Education World. See also An Ocean of Activities.

Tsunami Lesson Plans
Links to lesson plans and resources from Teachnology.

Under the Deep Blue Sea
An interdisciplinary K-2 unit

Ocean Unit Study
From Eclectic Homeschool Online.

Continents/The World Lesson Plans
Around The World
A lesson plan for grades K-5 from Discovery Education.

Calling All Continents
A 1st-grade lesson plan from Education.com.

The Seven Continents
A unit with twenty-two lessons from Fishtank Learning.

The Seven Continents
A 1st-grade unit.

World Geograpy Games: Continents
An online game.

Continents Lesson Plan with Maps and Globes
For younger students.

The Equator
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.

Countries of the World
Resource for information, flags, maps of virtually any country. The index is alphabetical.

The Greatest Places
Explore seven great places (Amazon, Greenland, Iguazu, Madagascar, Namib, Okavango, and Tibet) through maps, pictures, and text.

Lonely Planet: Destinations
Information, maps, slide shows for virtually every country in the world.

Africa
Africa is Not a Country
A 3rd-gradew lesson plan.

Exploring Africa
An entire curriculum with five units.

Africa - A Continent of Contrasts
Information and lesson plans from the Royal Geographical Society.

Explore and Discover Africa with Safari Cards
From the California Academy of Sciences.

Ethnic Groups of West Africa: Culture and Diversity
A lesson plan for grades 6-8+. See also West African Environments Activity.

African Imperialism: Scramble for Africa
A high school lesson plan.

The Africa Quiz
An online African Geography quiz.




Specific African Countries:
Independent Africa Case Study- Angola
A 12th-grade lesson plan/

Cameroon Student Activity Book & Teacher Lesson Plans
From St Aiden’s Home school South Africa.

Climate Change Imapacts in Democratic Republic of Congo
A high school lesson plan.

Geography of Democratic Republic of Congo
Information, map, and lesson ideas.

Ways to Teach About the Unrest in Egypt
From the NY Times Learning Network. See also Breaking News English: Violence Erupts Across Egypt.

Egypt's Pyramids: Monuments with a Message
A lesson plan for grades 3-5. For lesson plans on ancient Egypt, go to Egyptian Antiquities (grades 6-8) or Ancient History (many lesson plans).

The Achievements and Challenges of Egypt
A unit from The Odyssey: Teacher Zone.

The Nile
A middle-grade lesson plan.

Fulbright Hays Ethiopia Lesson Plans
A video teacher guide and many lesson plans.

Lesotho
Resources from the Afrucan Studies Center.

Liberia Lesson One: Beginnings
See the other 7 lessons in this series. See also Liberia and the United States: Historic Ties and Policy Decisions.

NATO Campaign Begins in Libya As Unrest Spreads Elsewhere
An ESL lesson plan.

The Wilds of Madagascar
Lesson plans from NOVA including Madagascar - The Eighth Continent.

The Achievements and Challenges of Mali
An elaborate web-based unit from The Odyssey: Teacher Zone. See also Bambara in Mali.

Trekking to Timktu: The Geography of Mali
An elaborate unit from EDSITEment.

 Nigeria Theme Unit
A bunch of links that would be helpful in lesson planning.

The Rwanda Crisis 1994
Lesson plans from the UN Refugee Agency.

South Africa After 10 ears of Freedom
A lesson plan from PBS.

Climate Change Impacts in South Africa
A high school lesson plan.

Swaziland
A map and information from Exploring Africa.

Zaire: The Land of Dense Forests
A 5th-grade lesson plan.

The Achievements and Challenges of Zimbabwe
Lesson plans and resources for learning about Zimbabwe from The Odyssey: Teacher Zone.  See their Southern Africa - Teachers Guide for additional lesson plans..

Africa: Country-Specific Information
A clickable index of African countries.

Middle East
See also World/Comparative Religions for resources and lesson plans on Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and go to World Languages for resources and lesson plans on the Arabic language.  

Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Many lesson plans listed in alphabetical order.

The Geography of the Middle East
Two high school lesson plans from Teaching the Middle East (University of Chicago).

Mapping the Middle East
A lesson plan for grades 9-12/

Middle East: Land of Contrasts
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.

The Basics: Understanding the Upheaval in the Middle East
A lesson plan from the NY Times Learning Network.

Middle East - Teachers Guide
Many lesson plans on a variety of topics from The Odyssey: Teacher Zone.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Background info, articles and lesson plans from Teach Middle East.

Israeli Palestinian Conflict: Classroom Simulation
A 7th-grade activity.

Middle East WebQuest
See also Modern Middle East WebQuest.

Exploring the Middle East: Hands-On Approaches
Three lesson plans developed during the 2002 Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Jerusalem: History of the Holy Land
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 which explores the importance of Jerusalem to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The U.S. Recognition of the State of Israel
Although this excellent  lesson plan using Internet documents deals primarily with history, it is impossible to separate history from the geography of the region. 


Asia
Asia for Educators
An extensive resource from Columbia University with many lesson plans.

East Asia in Geographic Perspective
One resource from the above site that includes 18 lesson plans.

Spreadsheet Driven Exploration of Pacific Asian Geography
A lesson plan from the National Consortium  for Teaching about Asia.

Resources for Educators
Lesson plans and curriculum from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University.

Southeast Asia Unit for Middle School Students
Ten lesson plans from the above site.

What is Southeast Asia?
A high school lesson plan in pdf format, also from NIU. See also Population Density in Southeast Asia.

World Geography Unit 3: Contemporary North Africa/Southwest Asia
An elaborate unit from Georgia Standards.

Asia: Tradition and Culture
A middle-grade lesson plan from Discovery Education. See also Asia's Global Influence.

Asian Countries Quiz


Specific Asian Countries (Organized Alphabetically):
Afghanistan Today: Civil War and Human Rights
A high school lesson plan from PBS.

The Geography of Afghanistan
A lesson plan form National Geographic.

Lesson Plans on Cambodia: Soul Survivors – Stories of Women and Children in Cambodia
Nine lesson plans for grades 8-12 from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University.

China and Europe, 1500-2000 and Beyond: What is Modern?
Lesson plans and a teacher's guide.

Chinese Geography: Readings and Maps
Information for a unit.

Geography of China
A lesson on the "diverse physical features of china."

Lesson Plans on China
Another site with many lesson plans. This one is from NCTA Ohio.

Following the Great Wall
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Edsitement.

China: People and Places
An elementary-grade lesson plan from Discovery Education.

Building an Empire: Mapping China
A lesson plan from the Asia Society in which students understand China and its geography by creating travel brochures for China's nine distinct regions.

India/Pakistan: Dispute Over Kashmir
A mini-unit for grades 6-12.

Five Themes of Geography and India
A middle-grade lesson plan.

Mapping Japan
A lesson plan from Crayola.

Geography of Japan
A unit planning guide for grades 9-10 from the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia - Ohio. See their other lesson plans on Japan.

Geography and Natural Resources of Japan
A lesson plan for the elementary grades.

Japan's Geography    
Information and map exercises.

Geography of Japan
A lesson plan from the Smithsonian.

Lesson Plans on Korea
Many lesson plan also from the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, including Geography of Korea.

Korea's Geography: How Do you Describe a Nation
One lesson plan from East Asia in Geographic Perspective.

The Mongol Empire
A reading-based lesson lan. See also Mongolia for a great resource.

A Lesson Plan in Geography
A 6th-grade lesson plan on the geography of the Philippines.

Lesson Plans on Turkey
Many lesson plans from the Turkish Cultural Foundation including Turkey via Five Themes of Geography. For additional information about Turkey, go to THUS About Turkey.  

Geography of Vietnam
A lesson plan from Across Vietnam.


Oceania/Pacific Rim 
Oceania Unit Plan
For 9th grade. See a map of Oceania.

Geography of Oceana
A 6th-grade lesson plan.

Oceana Dance Activity
A lesson plan for grades 10-12 from PBS.

Borneo: Island in the Clouds
Two lesson plans as well as information for teachers.

Guampedia Lesson plans
|Lesson plans about Guam for all grade levels. See also Guam District Level Lesson Plan.


Australia and New Zealand
Australia
A long list of lesson plans and resources from Mr. Donn.

Visiting the Land Down Under
A 5-day kindergarten unit.

Animals Down Under
A 3rd-grade unit.

Where in the World is Australia
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 in which students locate Australia on a world map and use an outline map of the country to complete a map-skills worksheet. It is one lesson from a unit titled Australia: Lessons about the "Land Down Under."

Australia Day Teacher Guide
Activities and information for teaching about Australia Day (January 26). For more information on Australian, go to Embassy of Australia.  

Melbourne Integrated Mini-Unit
A 5-lesson unit on this Australian City from Australian Curriculum Lessons: Geography.

Shaky New Zealand Lesson Plans
Lesson plans about "earthquakes at plate boundaries."

New Zealand Maori Koru Art Lesson Plan
For a variety of grade levels.

New Zealand
From National GeographicKids.

Leave No Trace New Zealand
Several lesson plans on New Zealand's ecology and culture.

Spot on News Lessons for Teens: New Zealand: Air Land and Sea
Elementary, intermediate, and advanced lessons. See also Maori Bird Kite and ESL/EFL Lesson on New Zealand's Maori Land Deal.

European Geography Lesson Plans and Information
Physical Geography of Europe
Two middle-grade activities from National Geographic.

European Union Classroom Resources
Click on Learning Corner for lessons/activities.

City Life in Europe
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.

Eastern Europe
Extensive information, discussion and study questions, as well as a geography quiz.

European Geography
A 30-minute high school lesson plan.

Resource Guide for Teaching the EU
From the European Studies Center. See also Resources for Teaching and Learning about Europe.   

What Is the Brexit?
Resources and discussion ideas from National Geographic.

Exploring the Objectives of the European Union
A middle-grade lesson plan.

Lesson Plans for AP European History
From AP Central.

Specific European Countries (Organized Alphabetically)
Austria: Land of Waltzes and Polkas
A music-based lesson plan for grades 3-5 from the Smithsonian.

French Geography Classroom Games
From Bright Hub.

City Life in Europe
A middle-grade lesson plan exploring Paris and its landmarks.

The Geography of Germany: Lessons for Teaching the Five Themes of Geography
Click on Download full text to see the lesson plans.

Welcome to Germany
An online activity.

Berlin: Division and Reunification
A lesson plan for grades 5-12.

Visting Great Britain WebQuest

Geography Lesson Plans: The British Isles
From Hub Pages.

How Did the Geography of Greece Affect Early Civilizations?
A lesson plan in which students learn how the geography of Greece influence the way people lived and how they interacted with others.    

Forced to Flee: Famine and Plague
A middle school lesson plan on the Irish potato famine.

Ireland Now
Good source of information. See also Ireland: An Interactive Travel Guide.

Ryan's Daughter
A lesson plan using the movie.

Ireland -  One Island, Two Countries
A WebQuest. See also Ireland WebQuest.

Italy: Life and Culture
A lesson plan for grades 2-4.

World of Wonders Project: The Norway Expedition
Great resource for lessons on Norway.

Poland -  Life and Culture
A lesson plan for grades 2-4. See also WebQuest -  Around Poland in 7 Days.

Lesson Plans: Portugal
Several lesson plans. See also Portugal Lesson Plan (from the BBC).

Face of Russia: Living Under Communism
A high school lesson plan. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access 4 other lessons from the Face of Russia unit.

Teaching Geography: Workshop 6 - Russia
Two lesson plans in pdf format.

Faces of Russia
A 5th-grade lesson plan.

Rivers of Serbia and the Russian Far East
A lesson plan for advanced high school students. You'll have to complete a form to access the lesson.

SpainQuest.
An "educational adventure."

Spain History and Geography
Resources for a lesson.

Contextualizing the Crisis Ukraine
A leeon plan for grades 6 and up from the Pulitzer Center. See also Lesson of the Day: "The I\nvasion of Ukraine: How Russia Attacked and What Happens Next."


Arctic/Antarctic/Poles
Arctic and Antarctic
Classroom resources from the National Science Foundation.

The Arctic Circle
A long list of lesson plans on the Arctic and polar regions from Mr. Donn.

The Arctic
Essays and  lesson plans for a variety of grade levels from NOAA Ocean Explorer.

Arctic Ocean Exploration
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 from NOAA Ocean Explorer.

Biomes: Arctic Wild
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education. See also Biomes: Arctic Changes and Antarctica for other middle-grade lesson plans.

How Polar Bears Stay Warm
A 1st/2nd-grade lesson plan.

About Arctic Animals
Information and photos from the Arctic Theme Page of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

What is Antarctica?
An article from NASA for grades 5-8. Scroll to the bottom of the page an article for grades K-4.


Latin America
Lesson Plans - Latin America
From The Ohio State university Global Teacher Seminars.

lags of Latin America        
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.

Reflections in a Latin American Mirror
An extensive unit intended for an integrated, literature based elementary curriculum.

Traveling Latin America
A WebQuest for 6th grade.

Curriculum Units and Lesson Plans
Many lesson plans for all grade levels from the Center for Latin American Studies at Cornell University.

Mexico
Mexico Lesson Plans, Games, and Activities
Links to many lesson plans and units from Mr. Donn.

A Close Look at Mexico
An elementary unit.

Geography of Mexico and Central America
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from the Discovery Channel School.

Exploring Geography and Cultural Roles in Mexico
An elaborate middle school geography lesson plan. See also Mexico-Geography.

Oaxaca Geography and Climate
A KWL lesson plan from a unit on the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

 Let's Visit Mexico
A WebQuest.

Baja California
Several lesson plans from Quest Connect.

Mexico Online
Directory of information about Mexico.

Mexconnect
Information about and links to everything Mexican.

Central America
Teaching Central America
Lessons for Middle/high. See also Teaching Ideas Elementary.

Geography of Mexico and Central America
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from Discovery Education.

Central America Group Map Project
An activity for the middle grades.

Costa Rican Sea Turtles
A lesson plan for grades 3-6 from Scolastic.

Journey to El Salvador
Lesson plans for Pre K and Kindergarten.

The Achievements and Challenges of Guatemala
A unit exploring many aspects of Guatemalan life, history, and culture. though no grade level is specified, the unit seems appropriate for the intermediate grades and up. See also Easter in Guatemala for many other lesson plans.

All About Honduras
Three days of lessons.

Panama Canal
A lesson plan from C-Soan Classroom.. See also Panama Canal and Panama Canal Museum.

South America
Geography of South America
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from the Discovery Channel School. See also Tour of South America for a middle school lesson plan from Discovery.

Let's Go to Argentina
A primary-grade unit on Argentine geography, culture, and language.

Learning About Argentina
Lesson plans and links from Homeschool Creations. See Argentina Home for a map and information.

Dinosaurs in Argentina
Not really that much about geography, but a cool middle grade lesson plan, nonetheless.   

Bolivia's Geography
A 7th-grade lesson plan. Click on the link at the bottom to open the pdf file of lesson.  

A View of Brazil: The Culture and Geography
A lesson plan for grades 4-6.

The Brazil Page
A quiz and a lesson plan. See also Lesson Plan/Brazil Unit.

Regions of Chile Using the Five Themes of Geography
A lesson plan for grades 7-12.

Learning About Chile
Lesson plans and links from Homeschool Creations.

Five Themes of Geography and Ecuador
An elaborate unit complete with handouts, worksheets and maps.

Amazon Interactive
Online activities exploring the geography of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Amazing Amazon Life
A lesson plan from Crayola.

Journey Into Amazonia
Teacher resources from PBS.

Peru
Five lesson plans from Quest Connect.  https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/2000/1/00.01.04/2

Peru  
An Internet-based 7th-grade lesson plan.

Uruguay Guide
Information and map fro National geographic.

Learning About Venezuela
Lesson plans and links from Homeschool Creations.

The Way to Venezuela
A lesson plan from the NY Times.

Galapagos: Beyond Darwin
An Internet-based lesson plan for middle-school students.

Caribbean Nations/Region
Geography of the Caribbean
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 from the Discovery Education.

Caribbean: A Mosaic of Cultures
A lesson plan for grades 6-8.

El Sabor del Caribe (A Taste of the Caribbean)
A unit designed for a high school Spanish class in which students learn about the symbolism of food in the oral and written literature of the Caribbean.

Thawing Relations: Teaching About Cuba and the U.S.
A lesson plan from the NY Times.

U.S. - Cuba Relations
An Internet-based high school history and geography lesson plan.

The Heritage of Puerto Rico and Cuba
A four-lesson unit.

Puerto Rico
A lesson plan for grades 5/6.

Nuestra Isla Our Island:     Puerto Rico
A unit.           

Puerto Rican Perspectives
A lesson plan for grades 6-12 from PBS>

Touring the Dominican Republic
A middle school lesson plan.

Teaching About Haiti
See also Haiti in Ruins after Huge EarthQuake.

Adventure in the Caribbean: Effects of the Discovery of Haiti- Martinique and Guadeloupe
A unit for grades 7 and 8 focusing on  the islands of Haiti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.

Canada: Lesson Plans and Resources
Government of Canada Official Site
Get information on Canada and the Canadian Government from this official government site.

Atlas of Canada
Maps of everything Canadian. See also For Teachers.

Canadian Council For Geographic Education: Educator Resources
Many ideas for classroom activities organized by subject.

The Canadian Social Studies Super Site
This annotated list of web sites for Canadian social studies teachers should also be useful for U.S. teachers and students.

Teaching Canadian Geography
From the Canadian Homeschooler.

Canada
Links to many lesson plans and activities.

Origins of Canada's Geographical Names
A great deal of information that would be useful for lesson planning.

Hands Across the Border
A 3rd-grade unit from Core Knowledge. See also Canada, A Land Rich in Beauty and Culture for another 3rd-grade unit from Core Knowledge.

Making a Map of Canada
A lesson plan for grades 6-8 from Discovery Education.