How to Teach Third Grade About Lines of Parallel on a Globe

It is important for elementary students to begin to understand basic world geography.

Third grade is a good time to start introducing kids to basic principles of geography like latitude and longitude. It is important to keep it simple and constantly relate latitude and longitude to more concrete examples. Learning latitude and longitude can give young students a better idea of the earth's geography and spatial measurements.

Things You'll Need

• Copies of maps marked with longitude and latitude
• Latitude and longitude worksheet
• Drawing paper

Instructions

1. 

   Students will be excited to discover familiar places on a map.

   Hand out maps to students, asking them if they can point out their home country, state and city, along with any other places they may have visited. Then, ask them to look at the lines that run across the map. Tell the students that these lines are used to identify exact locations on a globe, and introduce the words longitude and latitude.

2. 

   Be sure to move slowly and be clear with this lesson. Discussion is important.

   Discuss the purpose of longitude and latitude. Be sure the students realize that these lines are imaginary, and are used for mapping purposes only. Point out the equator and discuss temperature variations. They should know that the further the latitude from the equator, the colder the temperature. Before you introduce any other terms, have the students do some hands-on practice.

3. 

   Hands-on practice is important for kids when grasping a new concept.

   Find a helpful worksheet online or create your own in which you ask the students to identify their hometown and record the latitude and longitude. Plot out several more well-known cities for them to record. After they have written down the latitude and longitude, make sure they know to list the latitude before the longitude.

4. 

   Encourage your students to ask questions and share their knowledge of the world.

   Take each step slowly so that each concept is completely clear. Kids will enjoy the process of pairing exact numbers with places with which they are vaguely familiar. This lesson will help them gain a much greater understanding of the earth's geography.

5. 

   Art is a great way to complete an elementary lesson.

   Give the students a list of coordinates and a month of the year, after you are confident that the students fully understand latitude and longitude and have sufficiently practiced recording plotted locations on a map. Have the students make illustrations of themselves in these different parts of the globe wearing the appropriate clothing for the temperature. They might need a little extra help with this, but they will have fun and it will help them grasp basic concepts of geography.

References

• Internet 4 Classroom: 3rd Grade Social Studies Skills
• National Atlas: Latitude and Longitude
• National Geographic: Lesson Plans

Resources

• Latitude and Longitude Worksheet