Objectives:Students will be able to…

Locate the United States on a globe.Piece together a map of the United States.Estimate the distance from Ohio to other

states.Identify major geological formations and

state parks.Decide, as a group, the most efficient route

to travel between states.

Materials Needed

• Inflatable globe• Magazines• Scissors• Glue• Large Construction

Paper• State templates

• U.S. floor map• 8x10 U.S. maps• Teacher addition of

geological formations and state parks

• Notebook paper• Pencils

Maps On Us: A Map, Route and Yellow Pages Service

http://www.mapsonus.com/

Social Studies Planet - The Social Studies Web Guide

http://www.socialstudiesplanet.com/

 Fun Social Studies

http://www.funsocialstudies.com/

50states.com - States and Capitals

http://www.50states.com/

Free Blank Outline Maps of the Countries and Continents of the World

http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm

Student Activities

•Globe Trotters•United States Collage•Map Hop•Major Stuff•Rat Race

Activity #1Globe Trotters

Have students stand in a circle.

Toss in an inflatable globe, making sure it flips.

When students catch the globe, they must locate the United States.

Continue until all students have had a turn.

Note: If you have more then one globe, make more than one circle to shorten time.

Activity #2United States Collage

•Provide each student with a magazine, scissors, a pencil, glue and a piece of construction paper

•Each group should have set of state templates.

•Have the students find random pictures to cut out state shapes.

•Once all the states shapes are cut out, the students need to piece together a map of the United States.

•Glue the map to the construction paper and display!

Activity #3Map Hop

oGather students around floor map of the United States.

oAsk, “Where is Ohio?” and have one student stand there.

oHave students take turns leaping from Ohio to specific states. Make sure students count leaps.

oAsk follow up questions about the relationships of distances between states. (farther, closer, longer, etc.)

Activity #4Major Stuff

Give each student an 8x10 map of the United States.

Have them label the state parks and geological formations we talk about in class on these maps.

Make sure they keep these on hand for the next activity.

Activity #5Rat Race

Have students get in groups of four or five.

Each group receives a secret state.

Challenge each group to find their way back to Ohio, citing how they will travel, what states they will go through, and any geological formations or state parks they will pass on the way.

Have them estimate the distance and length of time their travels will take.

Groups will report their decisions to the class.

Please get into a circle at the front of the room.

United States Collage• Find pictures from the magazines at

your table.• Using the state stencils, trace the state

onto the picture and cut it out. Do this for all 50 states.

• After you have cut out the 50 states, glue them in the correct position to form the U.S. map on your construction paper.

Major StuffMajor StuffOn the maps in front of you label these On the maps in front of you label these

places:places:• Smokey Smokey

MountainsMountains• Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains• Yellow Stone Yellow Stone

National ParkNational Park• Grand CanyonGrand Canyon• Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake• The five Great The five Great

LakesLakes

• Washington D.C.Washington D.C.• Disney WorldDisney World• AlamoAlamo• Mount RushmoreMount Rushmore• Death ValleyDeath Valley• New York CityNew York City• Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio

YOU CAN USE ANY RESOURCES YOU YOU CAN USE ANY RESOURCES YOU NEED.NEED.

RAT RACERAT RACE• Your group will be given a secret Your group will be given a secret

location in the United States.location in the United States.• Your job is to find your way to Dayton, Your job is to find your way to Dayton,

Ohio.Ohio.• You must identify all important places You must identify all important places

that you will pass along your way.that you will pass along your way.• You must also estimate the length of You must also estimate the length of

time and distance that your group will time and distance that your group will travel and what transportation you used.travel and what transportation you used.

• You can use all the resources needed. You can use all the resources needed. Hint: You might want to take a look at Hint: You might want to take a look at Major Stuff.Major Stuff.