Social Studies Lessons
Using the Hudson River
The relief map used in the "Rivers Run Though It"
lesson
These lessons examine the Hudson Valley's history and geography and how information about animals and other natural resources can be presented geographically via maps.
Rivers Run Through It
Students will interpret and label a relief map to answer questions about distance, direction, and natural features along the Hudson River and in New York State.
- text of teacher section for "Rivers Run Through It"
- Teacher section, with answer key and teacher copy of map, for "Rivers Run Through It" ( PDF) 1.64 MB
- Student section, with student copy of map, for "Rivers Run Through It" (PDF) 1.57 MB
Exploring the Hudson in 1609
While listening to or reading sections of Robert Juet's journal of the Half Moon's 1609 voyage up the Hudson, students will integrate English language arts, geography, and mathematics skills in tracing a portion of the voyage on a map. The teacher section suggests three strategies for presenting this lesson, with varying degrees of difficulty. The pdf of the student section linked below is used in the least challenging of the strategies.
- text of teacher section for "Exploring the Hudson in 1609"
- Teacher section, with answer key, for "Exploring the Hudson in 1609" ( PDF) 307 KB
- Teacher copy of map for "Exploring the Hudson in 1609" ( PDF) 2.7 MB
- Student section for "Exploring the Hudson in 1609" (PDF) 192 KB
- Student copy of map for "Exploring the Hudson in 1609" (PDF) 2.7 MB
Mapping Where Animals Live
Using actual maps from the New York State Amphibian and Reptile Atlas, this lesson asks students to use map-reading skills and knowledge of geography to determine where various species of reptiles and amphibians live.
- text of teacher section for "Mapping Where Animals Live"
- Teacher section, with answer key, for "Mapping Where Animals Live" (PDF) 400 KB
- Student section and relief map showing counties for "Mapping Where Animals Live" (PDF) 1.1 MB
These Maps Are For The Birds
Similar to "Mapping Where Animals Live" but intended for older students, this lesson shows how biological data can be presented in geographical format using actual New York State Breeding Bird Atlas maps. With data sets collected twenty years apart, students will also explore how and why bird distributions have changed over time.
- text of teacher section for "These Maps Are For The Birds"
- Teacher section, with answer key, for "These Maps Are For the Birds" (PDF) 480 KB
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Student section and relief map showing counties for "These Maps Are For The Birds " (PDF) 1.4 MB
