Lesson Plan Title : Math on a Map

Age Range:

Grade 9 through Grade 12 (High School)

Overview and Purpose:

Students will practice finding a variety of information using a satellite picture of their hometown. This would be a great activity to use for review or when there is a substitute.

Objective:

The student will be able to find information using a satellite picture of a given area.

Resources:

Satellite pictures from Google Earth of familiar areas in your town.

Include the following overlays on your map: Scale, push pins in various areas, roads, and terrain

Teacher created worksheets

Overhead projector

Satellite picture copied onto a transparency

Rulers

Protractors

Activities:

Pass out the satellite pictures and give the students time to look at them and to locate as many familiar areas as possible. Spend some time talking about the maps and pointing out any areas of interest.

Pass out the worksheet. The worksheet can contain math problems that ask students to find the area of a given place on the map, the square footage of a lake or park, the percentage of urban versus rural areas, angles that road intersect, or any other information that can be gathered from analyzing the map.

Come back together as a class and discuss the answers. Use the overhead and map to help students understand any problems they are struggling with.

Closure:

For homework, send home a different map and have students create five questions about it. This lesson can also be done on the computer. Students can use Google Earth to find information and answer questions.