Maps and the
Environment
 Disciplinary
Focus:
Geography, Earth Science, Environmental Science,
Social Studies, and English/Language Arts
Grade Level:
Grades 6-8
This curriculum integrates social studies and
English language arts learning experiences to
explore the connections between the natural
environment, culture, and social systems. In this
curriculum, which is based on Massachusetts social
studies and language arts standards, students use
geography skills to create and interpret
topographic, landform, political, population and
climate maps. They learn about absolute and relative
locations, compare modern and historical maps to
identify climatic and environmental changes that
have shaped the earth and different civilizations,
and investigate connections between particular
historical events and ideas and larger social,
economic, and political trends. At the same time,
students learn reading, writing, and thinking
(content area literacy) skills that help them gather
information from a variety of materials including
biographies, diaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, and
Internet resources. Students use their knowledge to
create a presentation that predicts the potential
impact of global warming and the related changes
that people will have to make in response.
This curriculum module, Maps and the Environment,
was created and piloted by two middle grade teachers
at the Global Learning Charter School in New
Bedford, Massachusetts. The teachers and their
students tried out each of the learning experiences
over a period of several weeks. Students made maps
of their schools, neighborhoods, and local
landmarks. They could be seen walking in downtown
New Bedford, with inexpensive GPS devices (global
positioning systems), exploring elevation changes
and discussing the potential impact of global
warming on their local coastline. In their
classrooms, students constructed contour and relief
maps that represented the information they gathered
on their outdoor exploration. As a final project,
they used this information to create products that
represented how the coastline of New Bedford would
change with a 20 foot rise in the sea level and how
these changes would impact the natural and manmade
resources of the area. |
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What is ECHO?
ECHO is an educational and cultural enrichment initiative, annually serving thousands of children and adults in Alaska, Hawaii and Massachusetts. Established by Congress as part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, ECHO brings innovative programs collaboratively produced by the regional cultural institutions to culturally diverse audiences. Read
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