Project Overview

Second and third-graders at Palouse Prairie Charter School in Moscow, Idaho engaged in a 14-week social studies expedition in which students thought and acted like geographers and cartographers. The guiding question that drove the learning was:

Where in the World is Moscow? 

Students learned how to use map features (compass rose, grid scale, key etc.) in order to locate cities, borders, waterways and landforms. They researched and examined maps, made maps and compared the geographical location and culture of Moscow, Idaho to other Moscows around the world. They conducted fieldwork by viewing and studying maps in the Map Room at the University of Idaho. 

Students used their new geography and cartography skills to write informational pieces which accompanied student created illustrations of maps.  Students also wrote narratives in the form of letters as if they actually visited the location. The letters included factual information of the region. They worked closely with a graphic designer and artist, Julene Ewert to create the atlas format and self-published the book.