History & Culture: World

Historic Maps in K-12 Classrooms

— The Newberry Library

-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.newberry.org/K12maps/module_index/index.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

This site has 18 maps with coordinated lesson plans that are designed to help the K-12 student improve their map reading skills. Using historical maps, students learn about history and how geography has influenced that history. Sample themes include "Environmental History," "The Historical Geography of Transportation," "Political and Military History," and a few others. The themes each have lesson plans by grade level. Some parts of this site use Flash that is no longer supported, however, much of the information is still accessible and relevant for classroom use.

In the Classroom

In addition to using the provided lesson plans, use this site on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector. Use the whiteboard tools to highlight special features of the map. Print out the maps and have students label them with the provided vocabulary words. Use a drawing program like KidPix and have students create their own "historical" maps based on their own lives. Use the additional photos from the resource section and have students create an interactive online poster using Genial.ly, reviewed here about why their map is significant to history.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): primary sources, maps, critical thinking,

Map Collections Home Page

— Library of Congress

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:49 share

How It Works

The Library of Congress offers this searchable database of historical maps, which includes a large collection of city maps, maps of military battles and campaigns, maps related to transportation and communication, and maps focused on exploration and discovery. Within each category, you can search geographically or by time period. Each map accessed can be navigated using a zoom feature for better viewing. Maps cover a wide range of national and international subjects.

In the Classroom

Teachers with interactive whiteboards or projectors will find these maps a natural companion to lessons involving history, geography, and cultural changes. Sometimes seeing a map drawn at the same time as the event under discussion can lend a whole new understanding of the culture of the people being studied. It’s far more dramatic to imagine sailing into the unknown on a voyage of discovery while you look at the only maps available to those aboard.

Be sure to have students use the whiteboard tools to draw in their own “corrections” or annotations showing the movement of people or strategies used in battles. Since thee resources are in the public domain, you are allowed to copy them into your whiteboard software and keep the student annotations atop the maps, as well. The maps also make good visuals for "mock" blog entries by historical figures!

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): battles, environment, maps, transportation, battles, environment, maps, transportation,

World Mapper

— World Mapper

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices https://worldmapper.org/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

What would a world map look like if countries and continents were sized not by land area, but by population, number of elderly, various type of imports, or emigration? This site presents dozens of cartograms - or density-equalizing maps - in which each country is resized according to a specific variable. Each map is accompanied by a downloadable Excel file and a printable poster.

In the Classroom

Use this site as an anticipatory set or "activator" to introduce a unit or lesson on a projector. The population maps would be extremely useful for any class discussion on the world use of resources, and the financial disparities that exist among nations. Use the animations provided on the interactive whiteboard or projector to show students the demographic differences between nations. World Mapper is an wonderful addition to any geography,civics or social studies class, particularly during units on the UN, natural resources, world conflict, and economic disparity.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): immigration, maps, migration, population,

Google Maps

— Google

K-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://maps.google.com Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

Google Maps gives you live visuals of any location, ideal for planning a trip, picturing the relationship between places, and viewing physical characteristics of almost anywhere in the world. Type or paste in an address and click "search maps." If you click Satellite or hybrid versions of the map, you will see actual satellite images of the terrain. Zoom in and out, use the street view "orange man" to walk among the buildings and trees, or plan and share a route easily with Google Maps. Using your (free) Google membership allows you to save favorite places and more. Find businesses and other features near a specific map location: hotels, restaurants, schools, parks, and more. Google Maps has become more and more sophisticated, now offering many features previously only available in Google Earth, such as opening and/or saving placemarker files. Unlike Google Earth, Google Maps does not require software installation and does not use as much bandwidth for constant reloading. You can even play a tour of places you mark in Google Maps. They just keep adding more features! Google Maps is available as a free app for Android and iOS, too. The handy embed codes let you put any Google Map in a web page, blog, or wiki. Of course you do not need a membership or any special skills to simply SEE, share, or navigate a map. Membership gives you more ways to save.

In the Classroom

If you teach geography, this one’s a must. It is also helpful for showing students WHERE a story or news event takes place. In lower grades, use it to show students basics of their community. Teach map skills by showing students their own community. Zoom in on their street or on the school. This site and its more sophisticated cousin, Google Earth, are great on an interactive whiteboard. Set up a class Google account (or use student accounts if permitted). Have students create their own custom route plans to tour historic sites. Challenge math students to plan the most economical route to visit several vacation destinations, including gas mileage and gas prices. Have students create placemarker files of the important places in the life of a famous person or the route traveled by a particular unit during the Civil War. Have student groups create placemarker files to show environmental sites, habitats, landforms, or anything you can place on a map. Embed projects in a class wiki using the handy embed code offered as a sharing option. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): directions, maps, DAT device agnostic tool,

Theban Mapping Project

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8-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

This virtual archaeological experience provides visitors with an up close and personal introduction to the Valley of the Kings. From the digs at Thebes, where students can zoom into the atlas and explore tombs by watching movies, to interactive diagrams and revealing thumbnail shots, the experience of revealing the secrets of an ancient culture is impressively simulated. Other features of the site include interactive maps that can be used to measure distance and elevation, printable tomb maps in PDF format, an exhaustive archaeological and image database, and a comprehensive timeline and glossary.

In the Classroom

This is an extensive resource, so provide your students with a plan of attack before turning them loose. Created by the Theban Mapping Project at the American University in Cairo.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): pyramids, egypt,

Mideast Maps from BBC

— BBC

5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/v3_iraq_key_maps/html/daily_strikes/link1.stm Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

Prepared as background material to the increasing tensions in Iraq and the rest of the mideast, this BBC map collection offers surprisingly detailed information on force strengths in various mideastern nations. The page includes links to similarly detailed information on other aspects of this looming conflict.

In the Classroom

Use these maps on the interactive whiteboard or projector as a supplement to text for a discussion or lecture on the war in the Middle East. Because of the focus on the Iraq War, these maps do a great job of emphasizing the impact of the military in these regions. These would be a great addition to a World History or Cultural Geography class.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
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Tag(s): middle east,

Maps Of Africa

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5-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

Special features: great database of African maps. This site offers many different maps on African countries ...anything from vegetation to political (many political). There is also a range in years; some maps date back as far as 1975. This site may be useful if you’re looking for specific detail (agriculture in 1994); however, the map files are large and may take a while to download.

In the Classroom

These maps would be an excellent addition to any civics or world history class. During a unit on Africa, open one of these maps on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Keep the map up during lecture so students can understand the location of events geographically. Geography of Africa is often ignored in schools, so it would certainly be useful to have the map open as a point of reference for students.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): maps, africa,

The Theban Mapping Project

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7-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/ Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:48 share

How It Works

Learn about the discovery and mapping of Egyptian tombs in and around Thebes. Site includes pictures, maps, and historical context.

In the Classroom

Use this site as a resource for students working on research projects or papers. Make sure to save it as a favorite on your class web page to allow for students to access it both in and out of the classroom.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): pyramids, egypt,

Historic American Maps

— Library of Congress

3-11 0 favorites 0 promising practices http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/gmdhome.html Last updated: Fri, 08/27/2021 - 11:47 share

How It Works

The Library of Congress has produced this collection of historic maps in half a dozen categories ranging from convervation to cities to military campaigns. Users can view maps online or download them for inclass use.

In the Classroom

Teachers will probably want to suggest which maps are most useful.

Technology Heads-up!
  • Find interactive ABC's, colors, etc.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
  • Donec rutrum congue leo eget malesuada. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Mauris blandit aliquet elit, eget tincidunt nibh pulvinar a.
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Tag(s): maps, explorers,
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