Library Digital Content Access


Geography Grid

Created By: Kay Grabow, Thomas Paine Elementary School (Urbana, IL)
Grade Level: 4th
Content Area: Social Studies
Database Integration: Students will search the TDC database for items of some historical, geographical or political significance for each of the areas indicated by a grid laid over a map of the state of Illinois.


Illinois Learning Standards Achieved

Standard Achieved

Activity that Meets this Standard
State Goal 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society. After using the database to find images of items of historical, geographical or political significance within a certain grid cell, students will scan the images and affix them inside gridded cells on an 8-foot long natural features map of the state of Illinois. They will use their map as a basis for discussion about why certain physical features may have influenced human activity in various areas of the state.

Materials:

Textbooks with separate maps showing political and natural features of Illinois, computer with Internet access, scanner, individual political maps of the state of Illinois with a thirty (approximately) cell grid overlaid, opaque projector.


Procedures:

  1. Students will look at textbook map of state of Illinois showing natural features and discuss what they already know about various areas of the state. They will then do the same with a textbook map which shows cities.
  2. Each student, or team of students, will receive a political map of Illinois with an overlaid grid printed on it.
  3. Students will choose grid cells for which they will attempt to find images from the TDC database. These images may have to do with famous people, landmarks, pictures of daily life or special events, occupations, agriculture or anything else of interest.
  4. Students will use an opaque projector to enlarge the gridded political map to make an 8-foot long map of the state.
  5. Using a textbook for reference, students will color in natural features on the large map.
  6. Students will scan the images from the TDC database and affix them to the appropriate cells on the large map of Illinois.
  7. Students will use the large map as a basis for discussion for why and how certain physical features may have influenced human activity in various parts of the state.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on the entire project by a teacher-created rubric that is presented to the students and discussed at the start of the project.