This lesson plan outlines an activity to teach 3rd and 4th grade students about environmental issues through maps by having them discuss local problems, diagram how issues connect different places, and sketch maps showing the geographic scope of issues and potential solutions. The objectives are for students to learn how to read different map types, recognize the importance of maps for discovering new areas, and identify countries and continents on maps.

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Elementary Geography Lesson Plan 3rd – 4th grade
LilianneCherichel Geography 300
Charlene Cota
Kyle Middleton
Children’s connection with Geography Standard Maps
Grades 3 to 4
Overview
This lesson plan demonstrates the importance for children to connect with Geography. At a certain
grade or level, children are able to understand and read maps with its environments. Students will
discuss environmental concerns, analyze these concerns, and develop common sense in that
particular domain and be able to share the outcome with their classmates.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies
Connections to the Geography Map Standards:
Standard 3: "How to apply and interpret Geography map standards in a third and
fourth grade classroom”
Time:
One to two hours a week

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Materials Required:
Newspaper articles highlighting environmental issues
Drawing paper and/or poster board
Markers, colored pencils, or other drawing materials
Objectives:
Students will
learn to recognize how different types of maps relate to each other; and
their importance to discover new horizons.
propose alternative activities to help students know the continents and its
locations.
Know the names of countries, and part of their continents.
Geographic Skills:
Asking Geographic Questions
Organizing Geographic Information map
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
Suggested Procedure
Opening:
Have a class discussion about different maps and environmental issues. Even
very young students tend to have information and opinions on environmental
concerns. Record what your students consider to be environmental problems.
Next to each problem record how social views and activities influence or control
the problem. Maps to identify locations that have pollutions.
Development:
Examine how important to use maps to locate good and bad environment, and to
know the specific area. Identify specific effects in your community or school.
Students should have a clear understanding of cause and effect. Then talk about
similar problems in other places and how societies elsewhere are coping (or
failing to cope) with them.
Focus the student conversation on both local and national maps environmental.
Either individually or as a group, have students diagram the interconnections
between different countries through standard maps.
Divide your class into small groups. Encourage each group to sketch a map
showing the areas affected by the environmental problem. The map should

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address several questions: What are the sources of the problem? Can they be
pinpointed or are they geographically diffuse? How and where does the problem
currently affect people or other aspects of the environment? Using colored
pencils, students should also show how the geographic extent of the problem
could change in the future.
Have the groups discuss how they might improve the situation.
Closing:
Students should locate good and bad location and evaluate their solutions for
practicality and effectiveness. A successful solution should include a goal, steps
people can take to attain the goal, and a means of measuring progress toward
the goal.