MEDIOCRITY AND MINI BOOKS: AN ANALYSIS OF FIRST-GRADE GEOGRAPHY 
LESSONS FOUND ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS 

By 

Molly Barrett 

A DISSERTATION 

     Submitted to 

Michigan State University 
in partial fulfillment of the requirements 
for the degree of 

Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education – Doctor of Philosophy 

2024 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ABSTRACT 

Elementary social studies resources have faced criticism for well over 30 years. Text that 

is too complex (Beck et al., 1989; Beck & McKeown, 1991), contains questionable content 

(Chu,2017; Wade, 2012), and is boring to students (Kelley, 2021; Schug, 1982) and teachers 

(Zhao & Hoge, 2010). More recent studies have found that teachers are turning to outside 

resources to supplement their lessons. Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) is a well-criticized 

(Rodríguez et al., 2020; Rodríguez & Swalwell, 2021; Swalwell et al., 2023) but popular online 

marketplace for teachers to buy and sell lesson plans. This quantitative study explores a group of 

50 elementary 1st-grade social studies geography lesson plans available for purchase on the TPT 

website. 

The Checklist of Online Assessment of Lesson Plans in Social Studies (COALSS) was 

created to evaluate each lesson plan systematically. The CAOLSS evaluates the areas of 

Standards, General Instruction, Assessment, Geography Content/Process, Illustrations, and 

Justice and Equity on a scale from zero to with an option for not applicable (NA). The 

information from COALSS was used to organize the lesson plans into three categories: The 

Focused Top, The Mediocre Middle, and the bottom lessons titled Listen to Learn. Each area had 

defining characteristics that were repetitive throughout lesson plans. Beyond the COALSS 

rankings, the 50 1st-grade social studies geography lessons had other significant problems, 

including an absence of standards, inaccurate maps, and literacy-focused lessons disguised as 

social studies. 

This work’s implications allow teachers to glimpse the quality of content available on 

TPT, upholding the warnings of other researchers (Aguilar, 2022; Shelton & Archambault, 2019; 

Shelton et al., 2022; Swalwell et al., 2023). This study, however, looks specifically at early 

elementary social studies content and demonstrates how little connection exists between 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
nationally developed standards, such as the C3 Framework, and available outside resources. 

More work must be done to unite early elementary social studies teaching, including clearly 

articulated goals and clear expectations for lessons that are just and equitable to all learners. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Thank you to everyone who supported me through this journey. I am grateful for the women of 

my committee who all inspired and motivated me throughout graduate school. Thank you to my 

advisor Anne-Lise Halvorsen who never gave up on me, even when I wanted to give up on 

myself. Thank you to my writing group. Darreth, Becky, and Amy who may have finished first 

but made sure I wasn’t left behind. Finally, to my husband Joel Barrett who gave me the time 

and space to chase my crazy dreams. 

iv 

 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................    1 

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW .....................................    6 

METHODS ............................................................................................................................  31 

FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................  55 

DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................  83 

REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................  95 

APPENDIX A: COALSS ......................................................................................................100 

APPENDIX B: LESSON PLANS RETRIEVED FROM TPT..............................................105

v 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION

The lack of national standards and testing in social studies has led to the marginalization 

of the subject in many early elementary classrooms (Fitchett et al., 2014; Heafner & Fitchett, 

2012; McGuire & Cole, 2010; Russell & William, 2009; VanFossen et al., 2005). School 

districts have invested heavily in math and reading curriculums, leaving little time or funding for 

subjects such as science or social studies.  

Research has shown that social studies textbooks in elementary classrooms are difficult 

for students to understand (Beck et al., 1989; Beck & McKeown, 1991), contain questionable 

content (Chu,2017; Wade, 2012), and are boring to both students (Kelley, 2021; Schug, 1982) 

and teachers (Zhao & Hoge, 2010). It is logical to conclude that overworked teachers may be 

drawn to online websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT), hoping to quickly supplement a 

lacking social studies curriculum.  

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many changes in how teachers and educators worked to 

meet the needs of their students. One such ripple is the increased use of lesson-sharing websites 

in the teacher planning process (Shelton & Archambault, 2022). Websites such as TPT offer 

thousands and thousands of lesson plan ideas in all subject areas. Teachers report using 

teacherspaysteachers.com most commonly to “fill holes” and “to supplement an existing 

curriculum that is lacking” (Carpenter & Shelton, 2024, p. 224). Carpenter and Shelton asked 

teachers their reasoning for using TPT; “44% referenced time-related factors, pressures, or 

considerations” (p. 224). With the well-documented issues facing elementary social studies, 

including lack of instructional time (Fitchett et al., 2014) and suitable curriculum materials 

(Duplass, 2007), the lure of quick and easy social studies lesson plans is understandable and 

strong. TPT, however, has problems vetting lessons and creators (Shelton et al., 2022). Social 

1 

 
studies researchers have documented numerous lessons containing little content, racial 

stereotypes, and misinformation (Gallagher et al., 2022; Harris et al., 2021; Rodríguez et al., 

2020). Despite repeated warnings from researchers about the reliability of TPT, teachers are still 

using it. How can teachers, searching for useful elementary social studies lessons, decipher the 

good from the bad?  

Social studies at the elementary level is a broadly encompassing subject that covers four 

main disciplines: history, civics and government, economics, and geography. Student success in 

geography has been particularly challenging. “The overwhelming majority of American students 

are geographically illiterate” (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). The 2010 

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing in geography determined this 

statement about American students. In 1994, 2001, 2010, and 2014, the NAEP tested the 

geography proficiency of students in 4th, 8th, and 12th grade in public and nonpublic schools 

(NAEP, 2022). The results repeatedly showed little to no change in test scores over the years. 

These dismal results prompted a “The Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education 

Project” (Bernarz et al., 2013). “The Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project” 

was created by collaborating groups, including the National Geographic Society, the Association 

of American Geographers, the National Council for Geographic Education, and the American 

Geographical Society. Its purpose was a call for greater research in geography education. The 

document subtitled “Recommendations and Guidelines for Research in Geography Education” 

presented thirteen recommendations designed to “improve research in geography education and, 

thus, to develop a more geographically proficient and literate society” (p. 8). Among those 

recommendations were “that geography education researchers engage in systematic efforts to 

identify learning progressions in geography both within and across grade bands (e.g., grades K–

2 

 
4, 5-8, 9-12)” (p. 8) and “The Committee recommends research that examines the components 

and characteristics of exemplary geography curricula” (p. 8). While the geography community 

may have taken up these recommendations, the NAEP results continued to show little progress. 

Unfortunately, in 2018, due to budget cuts, the decision was made to test only 8th-grade students 

(Solem, 2020). The students’ final assessments in 2018 showed little progress from the original 

scores in 1994. Little improvement has been seen in geography education. Without universal 

standards, it is difficult to know what is being taught in geography classrooms in the United 

States, let alone how to improve it. Individual state curricula could provide some answers, but 

that would be time-consuming to research.  

The idea for this study is influenced by the recommendations of “Road Map for the 21st 

Century Geography Education Project” and extends upon original recommendations one and 

two. Recommendation two “recommends research that examines the components and 

characteristics of exemplary geography curricula” (p. 8). What if instead of exploring only 

exemplar lessons in geography teaching, we systematically explore a group of geography lessons 

teachers use in classrooms around the country? While controversial, a large source of teacher-

used lessons is on the website teacherpayteachers.com. A simple search for “geography 

resources” yields 150,000+ items. Continuing to refine the search to a specific grade level can 

simplify this enormous task. the C3 Standards for early elementary are presented in the grade 

bans K-3 and 3-5TPT only allows for searches in one grade level at a time. To stay within the K-

2 grade ban, I will explore geography lessons in only one grade level, first grade.    

This study explores a group of elementary social studies lesson plans available on TPT 

designed for first-grade geography. I chose the number 50 as a stopping point after lesson ideas 

and activities began to be repetitive; in other words, I had reached the point of saturation. 

3 

 
Teachers purchasing lesson plans and activities on the site are given the option to leave a review. 

Purchasers are not required to leave a review. TPT does not offer an exact count of how many 

times an individual lesson plan has been purchased. The only way to track the number of times a 

lesson or activity has been purchased is the reviews, which are counted. The lessons in this study 

were reviewed over 10,000 times. TPT only allows a review after purchasing a lesson.  This 

means that the 50 lesson plans in this study were purchased by at least 10,000 individuals, not 

accounting for those who did not leave a review. There is no denying the impact TPT has on 

teaching and learning.  

This study uses qualitative critical content analysis and a modified version of the 

“Pinning with Pause Checklist” (Gallagher et al., 2019), which I have named Checklist to 

Analyze Online Lesson Plans in Social Studies (CAOLSS) to evaluate 50 first-grade geography 

lesson plans available for purchase on TPT.  I designed the CAOLSS evaluation tool to analyze 

existing lesson plans in six critical areas in social studies lesson planning: standards, general 

instruction, assessment, geography content and process, illustrations, and justice and equity. 

While the CAOLSS evaluation tool is used specifically for first-grade geography lessons in this 

study, a few simple changes in the content and general instruction categories make it useful for 

online lessons in other social studies areas.  

The CAOLSS was used to evaluate the first 50 lesson plans on TPT when narrowing the 

search feature to look specifically for “lesson plans-first-grade-social studies-geography.” 

Collecting a large group of lesson plans is challenging, and the online lesson planning site 

provides a unique opportunity. The lessons uploaded to and purchased from this site represent 

teachers from all over the United States and the world. Assessing the online geography lessons 

can provide a glimpse of current teaching and learning. Using data from these 50 lesson plans, 

4 

 
this study intends to address the following questions: 

(1) How do the first 50 lesson plans that appear when searching lesson plan-first-grade-

social studies-geography using the TPT search tool measure along criteria including 

geography content, assessment, alignment with standards, and justice and equity? 

 (2) What are the significant problems within these TPT lessons?  

This dissertation first reviews the research in the four main areas of geography education. 

1) young children’s spatial understanding, 2) geography instruction in the lower elementary 

classroom, 3) using children’s literature to teach social studies, and 4) teaching online resources 

are all pieces of the larger elementary geography puzzle. Teaching any subject requires some 

developmental knowledge of skill levels and pedagogical techniques that have successfully 

taught it. All the lessons used in this study were purchased on TPT, an online lesson planning 

site, so it will be necessary to understand a bit about how online lesson sharing is used. 

I will then discuss obtaining this study’s 50 first-grade geography lessons. I describe the 

six categories on the COALSS tool used to evaluate each lesson. Lessons will be given a score 

and ranked in order from highest to lowest. An analysis of these lessons and their scores 

provided three clear groups. The qualities of each group and several lesson examples are 

provided.  

The study ends with a discussion of the findings and how they affirm and contradict 

current research in young children’s spatial understanding, geography instruction in lower 

elementary classrooms, using literature to teach social studies, and teaching online resources. 

The results speak quite clearly about changes that could be made in geography instruction to 

standardize the process and end areas of misrepresentation clouding the teaching and learning of 

the subject. 

5 

 
 
THEORECTICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 

This study was designed to examine a group of first-grade social studies geography 

lessons on the website TPT. The startlingly high number of teachers using TPT begs the question 

of why teachers would need to use outside instructional materials. In the area of elementary 

social studies, the work of Diliberti et al. (2023) and their theory of “the missing elementary 

infrastructure” helps explain the findings of this question. This theory argues that, unlike other 

domains, elementary social studies does not have a robust infrastructure to support teachers in 

enacting high-quality social studies education. Social studies education is currently supported by 

piecemeal efforts rather than a comprehensive set of supports at the state and local levels. As 

such, this theory does not blame teachers who use TPT or teachers who create TPT lessons; it 

merely explains the proliferation of TPT lessons and argues that teachers have had to look for 

creative workarounds for the lack of quality elementary geography lessons, unfortunately 

without the expertise in geography education. This theory helps inform teachers' decision-

making regarding what elementary teachers find valuable in geography education. The following 

sections will break down the “Hypothesized Infrastructure Leading to Student Learning” levels 

and how failure at each level of support classrooms affects instructional decisions. I will then 

describe the four common social studies instruction types that have emerged from infrastructure 

deficiencies. 

The Policy Level 

Effective social studies instruction requires support from all bureaucratic levels of the 

education system. Diliberti et al. “Hypothesized Infrastructure Leading to Student Learning” 

(2023, p. 4) looks at social studies learning and instruction from a big-picture view.  Effective 

social studies instruction involves actions that stakeholders must take in multiple contexts. 

6 

 
Decisions made at state, district, and classroom levels ultimately influence social studies 

instruction. Diliberti et al. label these levels as the “State context,” “District and School context,” 

and the “Classroom context,” all of which work together to support elementary students' social 

studies learning. Within each of these levels lies four supporting factors. 

State Context 

At the state level, the supports are a supportive political environment around creating 

rigorous state standards, accompanied by high-quality instructional material and policies and 

strong accountability and assessment. The visual image created by Diliberti et al. (2023) features 

a strong, broad base where each of these factors works separately and together to determine what 

is happening at the top of our scaffolding, the classroom. A state without a political climate that 

supports a pluralistic society struggles to create rigorous state standards that represent current 

research and the ever-shifting cultural understanding and expectations. Without agreed-upon 

standards at the state context, developing instructional policies that influence purchasing and 

distributing high-quality instructional materials is difficult. The lack of an agreed-upon group of 

standards and materials ultimately leaves nothing to be assessed and little to be accountable for 

regarding social studies instruction. All of these factors support what teachers are using in the 

classroom. Without a clear message to teachers from the top in these areas of standards and 

instructional materials teachers can be left making uniformed instructional decisions.  

District and School Context 

The district and school context include the factors of clear guidance around curriculum 

materials adopted, which can facilitate common instructional practices supported by frequent 

professional development. More teacher evaluation is necessary to maintain accountability for 

the clearly laid out expectations on this level, specifically in social studies instruction. Each of 

7 

 
the four areas in the district and school context area requires support from the four levels of the 

State Context.   

Classroom Context 

The final context, influenced by the previous two contexts, is the Classroom Context. 

This context cites prioritized goals for learning activities supported by the use of high-quality 

curriculum materials with ample instructional planning time and sufficient instructional time. 

Teachers left without one of these supports may struggle to include social studies instruction in 

their classrooms. 

Each area represents part of a “Hypothesized Infrastructure to Student Learning” 

(Diliberti et al., 2023, p. 4) but could also be used to understand why teachers seek social studies 

resources on TPT. Failure of one area at any context level may leave classroom teachers without 

clear guidelines and quality materials in social studies instruction.  

Teacher Decision Making 

The “Hypothesized Infrastructure to Student Learning” showed how failures at each level 

influence instructional decisions made at the classroom level. But how are teachers making 

instructional decisions regarding social studies teaching? Diliberti. et al.'s study went on to 

survey social studies teachers, asking, “What social studies curriculum materials published or 

locally created required by their school districts in 2021-2022, what curricula they used, and for 

what portion of their instructional time did they use those materials?"=” (p. 25). Based on 

responses, the researchers placed teachers into four groups: Textbook Teachers, Local Materials 

Teachers, Do-it-Yourself Teachers, and Cobbler Teachers. Textbook Teachers and Local 

Material Teachers who use social studies materials exclusively provided by their district or 

school are unlikely to turn to TPT for classroom materials. The Do-It-Yourself Teachers and 

8 

 
Cobbler Teachers may better explain the popularity of online resource sites such as TPT.   

Do-it-Yourself Teachers 

The group of teachers that make up this category “used self-created materials for the 

majority of their instructional time, regardless of whether this practice was required or 

recommended by the school district” (Diliberti et al., 2023, p. 25).  Do-it-Yourself Teachers 

made up approximately 22% of the respondents. The teachers in this category are either unaware 

of state or district requirements and are ignoring them. These teachers are making their material 

to teach social studies. It is unknown where the ideas for their DIY lessons and materials are 

coming from. It's not too much of a stretch to assume the use of online materials. I cannot be 

sure where their ideas come from, but TPT would be a space to find ideas. Whether purchasing 

lessons for their classroom or recreating lessons in their own way, the source remains the same. 

Cobbler Teachers 

The Cobbler Teachers represent the largest group of respondents at 52%. This group of 

teachers does not fit exclusively into any of the other groups. Diliberti et al. break this group into 

smaller groups: "35% of these teachers did not use any curricula regularly, whether published or 

locally created, meaning they likely rely solely on additional supplemental materials for their 

lessons. 16% used some combination of published curricula and locally created curriculum 

materials regularly (at least one per week) but did not use either for the majority of their 

instructional time" (Diliberti et al., 2023, p. 25). These teachers admit to using supplemental 

materials in their classrooms when teaching social studies. The source of the supplemental 

materials is not clear. Again, like the DIY Teachers, the internet and TPT offer a wealth of 

options.  

9 

 
 
Decisions at the Top Lead Connect to TPT Use 

Diliberti et al.’s (2023) study examines social studies instruction and the decisions that 

occur at the classroom level, which are influenced by state, district, and local decisions. Their 

study found that a good number of teachers chose their materials. Teachers in the Cobbler and 

Do-It-Yourself groups represent 51% of the respondents. This study demonstrates little 

consensus on material in social studies instruction. The researchers stated, “We hypothesize that 

the high prevalence of cobblers and DIY teachers is related to the lack of guidance teachers were 

receiving from their local school systems about what materials to use and their perception that 

they have autonomy to determine what materials to use in their classrooms” (Diliberti et al., 

2023, p. 25).  

This study explores a group of first-grade geography lessons that are available for 

purchase from the online teaching site Teachers Pay Teachers. The number of teachers using the 

site is high. The reasons for this are not as clear. In the area of social studies, failure to develop a 

sound elementary social studies infrastructure has left teachers to make curricular decisions for 

their classrooms. Teachers are cobblers and do-it-yourself curricular makers who source 

resources and materials from places beyond textbooks and state guidelines. Sources on the 

internet seem the most easily accessible place to find classroom materials.  

Literature Review 

This study is grounded in four streams of research: young children’s spatial understanding, 

geography instruction in the lower elementary classroom, using children’s literature to teach 

social studies, and teaching online resources. Analyzing first-grade geography lessons, the focus 

of this study requires a grounding in how children learn complex geographical ideas, the ways in 

10 

 
which literature can effectively (and less effectively) teach social studies concepts, and the 

affordances and constraints of online resources. 

Young Children’s Spatial Understandings 

There are conflicting theories about how children understand the space around them and 

at what age that understanding begins. Piaget and Inhelder (1956), in The Child’s Conception of 

Space, stated their original theory on how young children develop their understanding of 

developmental space. The two theorists are separated between “practical” and “representational” 

space. Downs and Liben (1991), summarizing Piaget and Inhelder’s theory, described practical 

space, available from infancy, “allows the child to act in and on the physical environment based 

on sensorimotor feedback” (p. 310). An example might be seeing the objects in the way and 

feeling the pain involved with running into that object. 

The concept of representational space begins at an early age, and it is the ability to 

conceptualize spatial information through symbols that stand for spatial data. Representational 

space can be interpreted by children in three basic ways 1) topological concepts, 2) projective 

construction, and 3) Euclidean concepts. Topological concepts have young children starting to 

recognize space features in relation to a fixed object. For example, the child can say something is 

“on” or “in” the box. Projective construction takes topological concepts one step further by 

understanding that spatial relationships change with the point of view, i.e., liner or aerial view.  

The final way is through Euclidean concepts, which “comes with the capacity to establish and 

use arbitrary but fixed reference systems (such as cartesian or polar coordinates) for specific 

location, direction, size and distance” (Down & Liben, 1991, p. 310).  Scholars such as Beilin 

(1989), Blaut (1997), and Downs and Liben (1991) have questioned the entire theory but 

11 

 
recognized the importance of spatial awareness in the teaching and understanding of map skills. 

Downs and Liben stated, 

Development of understanding representation (Piaget, 1962) underpins the ability to 

understand the symbolic nature of maps. Understanding logical inference (Inhelder & 

Piaget, 1958; Piaget, 1952) is critical for understanding relationships logically implied by 

maps. For example, the ability to reason for the premises, A is contained in B, and B is 

contained in C, to the inference that A is contained in C, underlies the ability to  

understand geographic hierarchies (p. 309).  

Blaut (1997) called Piaget’s theory “pessimistic” (p. 168) because of its strict age 

parameters. He noted that these age parameters have been used as guidance for teaching 

standards in elementary geography, placing real work in map studies into later grades. Blaut 

cited studies of children as young as two and three years old making simple maps (Blaut & Stea, 

1974) and navigating using aerial view (Rieser et al., 1982). Studies have also shown that 

children as young as four and five years old can find hidden objects in a room using maps 

(Blades et al., 1996; Newcombe & Huttenlocker, 1992) even if the map is not initially properly 

aligned (Bluestein & Acredolo, 1979). 

Although researchers disagree on the developmental nature of spatial awareness, they 

have found that spatial awareness is linked to student success in mathematics, science, and social 

studies (Bednarz et al., 2011; Newcombe, 2013). Newcombe pointed out the relationship 

between spatial awareness and map skills, “Navigation, or ‘wayfinding’ is a somewhat different 

kind of spatial ability than mental rotation tasks typically used to assess spatial ability, but 

navigation may be as important in STEM learning and social studies learning as mental rotation, 

likely because of the usefulness of maps” (p. 28). Newcombe’s article encourages educators to 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“spatialize the existing curriculum” (p. 29) rather than teaching spatially related activities in 

isolation. She recommended teachers, “strengthen their (students) ability to learn spatially and 

benefit from studying visualizations such as maps and graphs” (p. 28). 

Geography Education in the Lower Elementary Classroom 

The C3 Framework is designed to be used by states as a framework for developing K-12 social 

studies standards. The C3 Framework advocates using inquiry to cover the social studies 

disciplines of civics, economics, geography, and history. One of the many purposes of 

geography education is described as follows: “Geography inquiry helps people understand and 

appreciate their own place in the world and fosters curiosity about the Earth’s wide diversity of 

environments and cultures (NCSS, 2013, p. 40) 

 There are several organizations dedicated to geography education. These groups include 

the National Geographic Society, the National Council for Geographic Education, and the 

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), among others. Each group uniquely articulates a 

similar vision of geography education. Geography education, according to Gilbert M. Grosvenor, 

Chairman Emeritus of the National Geographic Society (NGS), is described as “defined by 18 

standards grouped handily in 6 ‘essential elements’ each addressing a core set of geographic 

perspectives, skills, and experiences” (Grosvenor, 2007, p. 5). Those six categories are 

Understanding the World in Spatial Terms, Studying Places and Regions, Understanding 

Physical Systems, Human Systems, Environment and Society, and The Uses of Geography. The 

National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) cites the creation of National Geography 

Standards titled “Geography for Life,” which was created in 1994 and revised in 2012 (National 

Council for Geographic Education, 2024). The same six categories are used, although NCGE 

calls them “Essential Elements.” These “Essential Elements are then divided into three 

13 

 
‘Geography Standards,’ for a total of eighteen ‘Geography Standards’” (National Council for 

Geographic Education, 2012). These standards have not been adopted nationally, as each state 

has created its own geography standards for K-12th graders heavily influenced by the essential 

elements and standards stated in “Geography for Life.” 

The NCSS also reflects the work of the NGS and the NCGE in the geography section of 

The College, Career, and Civics Framework for Social Studies Standards, known as the C3 

Framework. The C3 Framework considers the six essential and eighteen standards in the 

Dimension 2 Geography section, which creates a “Suggested K-12 Pathway” (NCSS, 2013) for 

implementing these ideas into the classroom. The NCSS goes one step further by dividing its 

expectations into grade-level bans “by the end of second grade, By the end of 5th grade, By the 

end of 8th grade, and By the end of 12th grade” (NCSS, 2013, p. 4). These bands consider prior 

skills obtained and developmental readiness for topics and ideas.  

The NCSS explained the importance of map-related education as follows: “Creating 

maps and other geographic representations is an essential and enduring part of seeking new 

geographic knowledge that is personally and socially useful and that can be applied in making 

decisions and solving problems” (NCSS, 2013, p. 41). The importance of teaching map skills to 

children is undisputed. Researchers have spelled out a pedagogically appropriate timeline for 

these lessons. 

This study focuses on the C3 Framework standards for Geography “By the end of 2nd 

grade.” These three dimensions, “Geographic Representations,” “Human-Environment 

Interaction,” “Human Populations: Spatial Patterns and Movements,” and “Global Connections,” 

are broken down into twelve standards. The standards stated below represent the standards used 

for this study.  

14 

 
D2. Geo.1.K-2. Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places. 

D2. Geo.2.K-2. Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe  

places and the relationships and interactions that shape them. 

D2. Geo.3.K-2. Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify the  

cultural and environmental characteristics of places. 

D2. Geo.4.K-2. Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics  

affect people’s lives in a place or region. 

D2. Geo.5.K-2. Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental  

characteristics of places or regions.  

D2. Geo.6.K-2. Identify some cultural and environmental characteristics of specific  

places. 

D2. Geo.7.K-2. Explain why and how people, goods, and ideas move from place to place. 

D2. Geo.8.K-2. Compare how people in different types of communities use local and  

distant environments to meet their daily needs. 

D2. Geo.9.K-2. Describe the connections between the physical environment of a place and  

the economic activities found there. 

D2. Geo.10.K-2. Describe changes in the physical and cultural characteristics of various  

world regions. 

D2. Geo.11.K-2. Explain how the consumption of products connects people to distant  

places.  

D2. Geo.12.K-2. Identify ways that a catastrophic disaster may affect people living in a  

place. 

15 

 
In a 2007 special edition of Social Studies and the Young Learner, Grosvenor 

summarized the idea of “Understanding the World in Spatial Terms” (NGS, NCGE) as 

“Geography’s most defining characteristic in its use of the spatial perspective. Much as 

historians look at events chronologically, geographers use maps and other tools to ask questions, 

acquire and organize information, and find answers by looking at how things are organized 

spatially on the Earth’s surface” (p. 5). Maps are a common form used to understand the world in 

spatial terms. Map-making and map-reading occur in developmental stages, something that is 

often overlooked by those who write elementary social studies curricula. “Developmentally 

appropriate geography and sense of place activities are sometimes completely missing from the 

elementary curriculum, or they are often conducted in an inaccessible fashion with children” 

(Sobel, 1998, p. 11).  

Sobel detailed the results of his study, which analyzed the mapmaking of young children 

in the United States, England, and Grenada. His study begins at ages five and six when children 

create child-centered maps that are more detailed pictures than maps. “The early cartographer 

chooses a frontal perspective for his or her map. There is usually only one baseline in these early 

maps and not much sense of depth” (1998, p. 16). This means that early maps look much like 

pictures with a defined ground line, such as a sidewalk, and objects rest directly on that baseline. 

An example would be three houses sitting beside each other on a sidewalk. The child does not 

add any background objects. If people, pets, or cars are involved in the map, they also stand on 

the baseline. All objects on the map rest on one baseline. There is no sense of perspective with 

larger houses in front and small houses in the background. As children reach seven and eight 

years old, their worlds expand, affecting their mapmaking abilities. “A sense of depth starts to 

characterize the maps of seven- and eight-year-olds. A distinction between foreground and 

16 

 
 
background emerges, often by the inclusion of multiple baselines” (p. 17). Children’s 

mapmaking begins to include a greater perspective, aerial view, and roads at the ages of nine and 

ten. “Real perspective has emerged for many children by this age. Many maps are drawn as if the 

cartographer is up on top of a high hill or very tall building looking down at the neighborhood or 

community” (p. 19). Sobel’s analysis of children’s map-making ends at ages eleven or twelve, 

where he states, “The aerial view, prematurely imposed on children starting in kindergarten and 

first grade, finally flourishes now” (p. 20). 

The lessons used in this study are intended for first-grade students, who are typically about six or 

seven years old. Students in this age range create maps that are just beginning to move beyond 

one baseline. The world of a six- or seven-year-old is only beginning to expand as the child 

notices things that are beyond his immediate surroundings. According to Sobel, the idea of 

perspective as it relates to maps only begins around age nine or ten, three years after the age of a 

typical first-grader. This means any lessons using aerial perspective may be beyond the 

understanding of a first grader. Asking a child to create an aerial view map of the classroom or 

their neighborhood might be premature. 

These developmental stages of map-making and understanding are not set in stone. As 

we know, there are no definite patterns in children’s development. Frazee (1984) stated, 

“because a child does not seem developmentally ready to master a particular mapping skill does 

not mean the child should not be introduced to it” (Frazee, 1984, p. 79). Mapmaking skills are 

added to elementary social studies curriculums in part because “A pupil should be informally 

introduced to specific concepts which can be related to the child’s actual experiences, even 

though the student may be limited in the ability to comprehend the particular ideas fully” (p. 79). 

Continuing the debate on age and developmental readiness in geography education, Downs and 

17 

 
Liben (1991) found that even college students may lack the cognitive and spatial skills necessary 

to understand map projections.  

One of the most common ways to teach students geography is by using maps. The C3 

Framework three standards in Geography Representation-Spatial Views of the World, By the 

End of Second Grade state: “Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar 

places; Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the 

relationships and interactions that shape them; Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic 

models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places” (NCSS, 2013, p 41). 

make a note of the use terms such as “familiar places” and “simple geographic models to 

identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.” The C3 Framework does not 

mention creating world maps or memorizing the names of continents and oceans. 

A map is defined by the C3 Framework as “a representation of an area and is usually 

depicted on a flat surface. Maps describe spatial relationships of the specific features 

represented” (NCSS, 2013, p 102). Maps vary in size and purpose. When thinking about a map, 

it is important to consider the scale, the projection, and what each thing on the map is meant to 

symbolize. Monmonier (2018) explained, “Each element (scale, projection, and symbolization) 

is a source of distortion” (p. 5). Scale refers to the size of the map in relation to the set 

measurement used on the bottom of the map. For example, 1 inch may represent 1000 miles, and 

1 centimeter may represent 10,000 miles. The larger the ratio, the wider the scope of the map. As 

the map widens, small details tend to disappear. Map projections also known as the flat maps 

most frequently seen in geography textbooks and lesson plans, “transform the curved, three-

dimensional surface of the planet into a flat, two-dimensional plane, can greatly distort map 

scale” (Monmonier, 2018, p. 8). Despite the seemingly straightforward appearance of maps, each 

18 

 
one is created with a specific purpose and perspective. Kaiser and Wood (2001) remind us that 

“maps are not neutral” (p.21). Rodríguez (2024) pointed out that “maps always construct a 

narrative, which means we need to be mindful of power and perspective” (p. 22). Wood et al. 

(2006) stated, “Every map is a purposeful selection from everything that is known, bent to the 

mapmaker’s ends. Every map serves a purpose. Every map advances an interest” (p. 4). 

The Mercator Map, created in 1569, is the most commonly used world map projection in 

the United States. The Mercator Map places the continents between equal lines of longitude and 

latitude. A map style best used in ship navigation. The line of latitude stretches around the globe, 

starting at the equator. The lines of longitude start at the Prime Meridian, which runs through 

England. On a sphere-shaped globe, the lines of latitude get smaller as the area around the globe 

gets smaller, for example, near Greenland. The lines of longitude on a globe will all meet at the 

North and South Poles. The Mercator Map takes the idea of lines of longitude and latitude and 

flattens the space. The consequence of this is that all latitude lines become the same length while 

lines of longitude simply run off the edge of the paper instead of meeting the North and South 

Poles. The land masses closest to the two poles stretch and increase in size. The countries closest 

to the equator, which take up the most space widthwise on a globe, must shrink to fit all 

continents and countries within the grid system on a flat map.  

The Mercator Map is the most widely used, but not without controversy. It “has been 

attacked as being Eurocentric and wildly distorted. It has become an icon of Western superiority, 

reflecting an era of imperialism and colonial domination” (Wood et al. 2006, p 153). Distorting 

the size of the seven continents, particularly the areas near the Equator and Poles, distorts our 

perception and understanding of size.  

19 

 
The Peter’s Projection Map, introduced in 1974, shows each country in proportion to its 

actual size (Wood et al., 2006, p.152). The map is named for Arno Peters, who “believed that 

widespread use of the Mercator maps for purposes that had nothing to do with navigation built 

up in our minds a seriously distorted image of the world” (Wood et al., 2006 p. 10). This map 

was intended to be a more accurate representation of the world. It significantly shrinks the size 

of the United States and Europe compared to the Mercator Map. Peter’s map is inspired by 

current issues related to equity and justice, “Peters was especially concerned about our image of 

Africa and the countries close to the equator that were given short-shrift as a consequence of the 

Mercator projection” (p. 11). Peters believed that size equated to power. That people’s 

perception of a powerful country could be influenced by repeated exposure to geography maps 

studied in school. Wood et al. (2006) used the example of the space occupied by the former 

Soviet Union, “On the Mercator, the former Soviet Union is much larger than Africa…Africa is 

actually about the same size as the former Soviet Union and the United States combined. Africa 

is substantially larger than the United States and the current Russia” (p. 11). 

In summary, it is necessary to understand the differences between the two map styles and 

how the largest countries on the map shift dramatically between the two perspectives. In the 

Mercator projection, the United States appears much larger than other continents closer to the 

Equator. The Peters projection more accurately shows how much larger South America and 

Africa are than the United States and Europe. In a society where the saying “bigger is better,” 

size can equal power. Using the Mercator projection maintains the dominant narrative, which 

gives power to the United States and Europe. 

20 

 
 
 
Children’s Literature to Teach Social Studies 

Researchers have suggested that teachers looking to move away from traditional methods 

of teaching geography, such as maps and globes, look to children’s literature for help (Gandy, 

2007; Hannibal et al., 2002). Pitts et al. (2023) advocated for using picture books for social 

studies instruction at the high school level, demonstrating the timelessness of children’s 

literature: “whimsy and nostalgia shouldn’t be contained to only elementary classrooms” (p. 

147). McGowan et al. (1996) noted, “Educators have long argued that many features of trade 

books, particularly their detailed descriptions, complex characters, and melodic passages, allow 

young readers to construct understanding in powerful ways” (p. 87). 

Children’s books related to basic geography ideas are certainly in short supply. Finding 

quality resources related to early geography map skills can be even more difficult. Despite the 

noted potential, “When early childhood educators learn to use children’s literature as a resource 

in teaching essential geography concepts, they move away from a map-and-globe- approach and 

enable children to learn that geography is made up of real people, places and events in their 

world” (Hannibal et al., 2002, p. 86). 

The NCSS annually convenes a group of social studies educators and researchers to 

evaluate the most recently published books, children’s and young adult books, both fiction and 

nonfiction. An annual list, “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People,” is created to 

help educators quickly find valuable classroom resources. The list is divided into categories 

based on the social studies disciplines of civics, geography, government, history, and economics. 

Most recently, the geography category has been titled “Geography/People/Places.” Earlier lists 

had the category “Geography/People/Places/Culture.” Culture has recently been moved to its 

own category. Despite being published since the mid-1990s, it has only recommended one title 

21 

 
   
designed to teach map skills: Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills by S. Ritchie. 

This children’s book was published in 2009 but not recommended until the “2020 Notable Social 

Studies Trade Books for Young People” (NCSS, 2022). In contrast, searching “Follow That 

Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills” on TPT only yields two results. 

The Notable Studies Trade booklist does not ignore geography but recommends books 

related to specific places, such as China or Australia. They are focusing more on the geographic 

category of the Study of Places and Regions (Grosvenor, 2007). The list has also recommended 

Atlas in 2009 and 2016. While an atlas can be an excellent reference book, they are not as 

helpful when teaching children the overall geographic ideas of location. The May/June 2023 

issue of the popular social studies journal Social Education is dedicated to “Literature and the 

Social Studies.” This issue did not feature any articles related to geography education. Despite a 

lack of children's books specifically explaining geographic terms and ideas, some connection 

between geography instruction and children's literature seems probable.  

Curriculum Integration Challenges 

 Literacy and language art instruction is a key focus in early elementary classrooms. 

Standardized tests in language arts and mathematics, linked to school funding, prioritize these 

subjects over science and social studies. Time is a limited resource in any elementary classroom, 

and finding ways to include science and social studies instruction can be challenging. One 

commonly attempted solution is curriculum integration. Although researchers have found 

benefits from combining social studies and ELA curriculum, including “more opportunities to 

address required (social studies) standards, curriculum, and objectives” (Huck. 2019, p.14), this 

match is not always a good solution. Hinde (2015) noted three “Common Manifestations of 

Curriculum Integration in Elementary Classrooms” (p. 25) for social studies. Hinde categorizes 

22 

 
these common manifestations as “fractured, stealthy, and healthy integration” (p. 25). Hinde 

describes “Healthy Integration” as when “Reading and language arts activities are focused on 

developing disciplinary frames of mind in students” (p. 25). The counter to a “healthy 

integration” would be one that is fractured. In “Fractured Integration,” “The purpose of social 

studies is mainly to enhance reading/language arts and is not focused on preparing students for 

effective citizenship” (p. 25). 

Somewhere between these two integration examples lies “stealthy integration.” This type 

of integration occurs when social studies is used as the topic of the reading lesson. Often, 

“Teacher chooses reading/language arts materials with rich spatial or historical content but 

focuses on reading/language arts skills.” (Hinde, 2015, p. 25). In examples of stealthy 

integration, the teacher tries to slip social studies content into other subjects without creating a 

separate space for the subject. Children may not even realize they are learning content related to 

social studies. The heavy emphasis placed on reading and mathematics in the early elementary 

classroom makes teaching social studies difficult. Some school districts mandate a set amount of 

daily time spent on language arts/reading instruction. Attempting to integrate curriculum is a 

good solution. Unfortunately, integrating social studies and language arts in these classrooms 

resembles Hinde’s “fractured” and “stealthy.”  

The integration of social studies and ELA may be easier for grades 3-5 than in k-2, “The 

historical content of the curriculum in those grades is more readily integrated into other content 

areas such as ELA, because of the need for accessing and applying literacy skills to the many 

features of text prevalent in reading instruction (Huck, 2019, p. 3; Vogler, 2011).” Brugar and 

Whitlock’s (2020) case study of a first- and fifth-grade teacher found “healthy” (Hinde, 2015) 

examples of social studies and literature. Again, they noted the availability of historical fiction 

23 

 
for older grades or more advanced readers. “Healthy, Stealthy, and Fractured” (Hinde, 2015). 

Ultimately, successful curriculum integration lies with the teacher: “student achievement hinges 

on the teacher’s ability to integrate content across disciplines effectively in meaningful ways” 

(Hinde, 2005, p. 107). 

For years, education scholars have researched the ways that language arts can be 

integrated with geography education through children’s literature and informational books. 

Specific book lists and lesson ideas have repeatedly been shared. Hannibal et al. (2002) 

specifically addressed the idea of teaching geography with children's literature. Their article 

included rational and specific examples of texts that teachers could use. The work of Fertig and 

Silver’s (2007) article contains a reader’s theater that helps students learn about place. Hann and 

Hagelman (2021) wrote an article that contains specific examples and lists of current children’s 

books that can assist in teaching the five themes of geography. These researchers have 

introduced texts that help teachers successfully integrate language arts and geography. 

The NCSS is also involved in assisting with the curricular integration of language arts 

and social studies. They regularly publish a list of “Notable Social Studies Books for Young 

People.” Unfortunately, the books for the geography section often have to do with specific 

countries instead of broader geography themes. One highlight, however, created by Ballock and 

Lucas (2013) is a pullout section as part of their article listing the five themes of geography with 

activities and books corresponding to each theme. Despite several lists containing relevant 

children's books for teaching geography, one book seems to dominate. 

Me on the Map and Expanding Communities.  

Me on the Map (Sweeney, 1996, 2001) is a tremendously popular book for teaching 

elementary students and combines the subject areas of literacy and geography. Me on the Map is 

24 

 
  
a controversial title among social studies educators and researchers. There are both pros and cons 

to its use in the elementary classroom. A Google search for “Me on the Map activities” yields 

933,000,000 results. The exact search on Teacherpayteacher.com yields 3,200 results. 

Youtube.com has dozens of videos of educators reading Me on the Map aloud. The Ohio Council 

for the Social Studies suggests explicitly using the book in its publication, “Using Children’s 

Literature to Teach Social Studies in the Ohio Content Standards” (2018, p. 64). Researchers 

have also recommended using the book in social studies education in academic and practitioner 

journals (Britt & LaFontaine, 2009; Fertig & Silverman, 2007; Gandy, 2006, 2007), including 

recently (Gandy, 2020; Swift & Brown, 2022). 

The children’s book Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney is a popular social studies teaching 

tool because it very literally illustrates a core idea that the elementary social studies curriculum 

is based on, is developmentally appropriate for elementary students, and covers multiple social 

studies-related curricular standards in geography. It shows the expanding communities, also 

called expanding environments or expanding horizons, an approach popular as a framework for 

elementary social studies curriculum. The expanding communities approach is built from the 

ideas of German Charles A. McMurray. Paul R. Hanna popularized the idea in the 1930s and 

1940s (Bisland, 2009; Halvorsen, 2009, 2013; Stallones ,2013). Hanna’s expanding communities 

model advocated, for the elementary and junior high school student, a multidiscipline, wholistic, 

and coordinated study of people living in societies which he referred to as communities: 

With the Learner placed at the center, or core, of his/her environments, it was maintained 

that every one of us lives simultaneously in all communities: the family, the school, the 

neighborhood, the local, the state, the regional, and the national community… Hanna 

proposed that the ‘action’ involved within the ‘Expanding Communities” model moved 

25 

 
from the smaller and more intimate communities to the larger and more inclusive 

communities as the child progressed through the elementary school and expanded his/her 

activities geographically and culturally (Baskerville & Sesow, 1976, p. 20). 

Although seen primarily in geography curricula, examples of this approach can also be 

found in other areas, including history and civics, and in other elementary subjects such as 

reading. The expanding communities approach is a natural approach to understanding 

geography. “Of all the social science disciplines, the expanding communities approach is 

especially well developed in geography” (Halvorsen, 2009, p. 119). 

Critics of the expanding communities approach feel the process “lacks intellectual rigor 

and is redundant in that it repeats what children already know” (Halvorsen, 2009, p. 115) as well 

as only studying only one ‘environment’ or community at a time “obscures interrelationships 

among communities” (Wade, 2002, p. 118) creating “the unrealistic notion of isolated and 

separate levels of political organization (LeRiche, 1992, p. 130). Wade (2002) summarizes the 

objections to the expanding communities approach in her article, calling for new curricular 

directions for social studies curriculum. Wade, drawing on the work of the Curriculum Task 

Force of the National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools (1989), points out that even 

“from a young age due to television, travel, and the Internet…children in today’s society come to 

school knowing, more about the world and with interests that transcend the ‘environments’ of 

self, family, and neighborhood presented to them in their  social studies curriculum” (Wade, 

2002, pp. 116-117). Me on the Map attempts to illustrate this critical concept to children.  

Although I referred to Me on the Map as a good example of the expanded community 

approach to teaching social studies, its representation is only surface level. Me on the Map 

actually misses the most essential point of the expanded communities approach: 

26 

 
interconnectedness. The book illustrates where a child is on Earth; each set of pages represents 

one level of this placement. For example, the opening pages are in the main character’s 

bedroom, and the pages expand outward from there. This design allows young readers to focus 

on each level separately. This single focus may be more appropriate for learning new concepts 

and vocabulary. Unfortunately, the book never demonstrates how these separate areas are all 

interconnected. One’s bedroom can be affected by what is happening to the house. The house is 

affected by what happens on the street and in the city. The city is affected by what happens in 

the state and so forth. The pages of the book treat each area as a separate entity. The only thing 

that ties all these separate places or pages together is that they are contained in one book. The 

book fails to demonstrate the interconnectedness of the expanding communities' different levels, 

which is essential to its purpose (Doornbos, 2014). 

 Me on the Map has also been criticized for perpetuating a Eurocentric narrative through 

its limited viewpoint and troublesome illustrations (Doornbos, 2014). A “refreshed version” of 

the book, with a new illustrator, was published in 2018. The main character was changed from a 

blond, white girl to a dark-haired Asian girl. The main illustrations of the book are primarily the 

same. The Me on the Map as a lesson in elementary geography was featured in 25 of the 50 

lessons reviewed for this study. 

Teaching Resources Online 

The Internet has forever changed how teachers prepare engaging lessons for their 

classrooms. Long gone are the days of libraries and local teacher’s stores with books and 

magazines filled with lesson-planning ideas and reproducible activities. The internet offers 

seemingly endless resources for teachers. One study citing a multistate survey by Blazar et al. 

found “that 95% of all teachers report using materials sources from the internet- and about half 

27 

 
use such materials in at least one-quarter of their lessons (Polikoff, 2019, p. 20). This section 

will examine the reasons behind the sudden popularity and the internet's most frequently used 

site or buying and selling lesson plans. 

Online Lesson Popularity 

The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the teaching profession forever, finding students 

at home and teachers scrambling to create lessons accessible online. With little time to rework 

current lesson plans, teachers needed help. The availability of teaching resources online looked 

to be the answer. The end of the pandemic brought students back into the classrooms and 

presented teachers with new lesson-planning challenges. Again, teachers faced too much to do 

and needed more time to do it. The popularity of online lesson planning websites is understood. 

Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) 

Internet search engines such as Google and social media sites such as Facebook, 

Instagram, and Pinterest are popular free spaces for teachers and educators to share their ideas 

and experiences. Amazon Ignite, ReadWriteThink, and Share My Lesson are sites allowing 

teachers to buy and sell prepared lesson plans. The most popular of these sites is TPT.  

TPT is an online site that offers opportunities for teachers to buy and sell lesson plans. 

Sellers can create a virtual storefront where they can post various lesson plans. Buyers can easily 

search lesson plans by format (PDF, Easel, Google Apps), grade level, Common Core State 

Standard, subjects, price range, and keywords. Sellers use this search system to their advantage 

by tagging their lesson plans in various areas to ensure more traffic to their virtual storefront. 

According to its website, TPT was created by a New York City public school teacher 

named Paul Edelman in 2006. The website stated, “TPT is the largest marketplace for PreK-12 

resources, powered by a community of educators'' (teacherpayteacher.com). While reliant on a 

28 

 
   
   
  
community of teachers who buy and sell lesson plans, TPT is actually a for-profit company that 

was purchased by IXL Learning in 2023. “IXL is a developer of personalized learning tools for 

schools. They also own several other brands, including Rosetta Stone (Nagel, 2023). “Developed 

to turn a profit, the TPT platform earns 20% from most sales, collects user data, and encourages 

future buying behavior” (Shelton et al., 2022, p. 268). The parasitic relationship between TPT 

and its contributors has not gone unnoticed (Brown et al., 2023) “Developed to turn a profit, the 

TPT platform earns 20% from most sales, collects user data, and encourages future buying 

behavior” (Shelton et al., 2022, p. 268).  

The contributors to TPT have become known as teacherpreneurs. The parasitic 

relationship between TPT and its contributors has not gone unnoticed (Brown et al., 2023). “The 

practice thrives because teachers are willing to spend their personal funds to purchase 

teacherpreneurs’ resources” (Shelton & Archambault, 2019, p. 399). Despite the one-sided 

nature of TPT, teachers see a cost analysis benefit: “Teachers report accessing material to save 

time. They find a lot of lessons that they, too, could have developed, had they enough time, but 

downloading ready-made resources saves hours” (Polikoff, 2019, p. 33). Polikoff quoted one 

teacher: “Two dollars is a lot cheaper than two days of my time” (p. 33).  

Researchers have criticized TPT for its lack of oversight, particularly for not vetting its 

users or reviewing content posted on their site (Aguilar, 2022; Shelton & Archambault, 2019; 

Shelton et al., 2022; Swalwell et al., 2023). This has led to inaccurate content (Bauml, 2015), 

lack of Common Core alignment (Aguilar et al., 2022), and misrepresentation of ideas of race 

and ethnicity (Rodríguez et al., 2020; Rodríguez & Swalwell, 2021; Swalwell et al., 2023). TPT 

relies on its users to police the site for inaccurate or offensive lesson plans. Users must file a 

formal complaint with the TPT, which then asks the user to remove the lesson or risk losing their 

29 

 
storefront on the site (Swalwell et al., 2023). Swalwell (2023) noted that TPT created a Content 

Moderation Board; however, “the group’s specific responsibilities, frequency of meeting, or 

impact remain unclear” (p. 106). 

In summary, this study is grounded in young children’s spatial understanding, geography 

education in the lower elementary classroom, using children’s literature to teach social studies, 

and teaching online resources. It seeks to build on these streams of research by documenting the 

specific ways in which first-grade geography lessons reflect, contradict, or extend the ways in 

which TPT lessons have been analyzed.  

30 

 
 
 
Research Design 

METHODS 

This study is a qualitative text analysis (Kuckartz, 2014) of a subset of lesson plans 

posted on the popular teaching website TPT. Each lesson plan was chosen for its intentional 

focus on early elementary social studies geography skills. Although text analysis brings to mind 

the analysis of texts as books, the term texts can undoubtedly be broadened for this study to 

include the written lesson plan. In keeping with Kuckartz (2014), qualitative text analysis uses 

primarily one of three methods: thematic, evaluative, or type building. This study uses 

qualitative text analysis’s “evaluative method.” 

The evaluative method follows this path: “(1) Define evaluative categories; (2) Identify 

and code the relevant text passages for the evaluative category; (3) Compare the text segments 

coded with the same code; (4) Define levels (values) for the evaluative categories and assign 

them to the text segments. If necessary, modify the category definition and the number of 

category values; (5) Evaluate and code the entire data set; (6) Analyze and present results 1: 

Category-based analysis; (7) Analyze and present results 2: Overviews, in-depth interpretation of 

cases” (Kuchartz, 2014, p. 89). 

Purchasing and accessing 50 different first-grade geography lessons proved more 

challenging than I expected. In organizing and numbering the downloaded lesson plans, I found 

that I had downloaded the same lessons several times. Duplicate purchases occurred for one of 

two reasons. First, TPT uses only a preview photo and occasionally a few screenshots to describe 

the lessons. Only after you purchase the lesson can you see the whole lesson plan. Someone can 

buy the same lesson plans in different ways. The preview window can show alternative 

screenshot pages from the lesson, and the title could differ. This means you could purchase the 

31 

 
same lesson by a different author. The second reason I had difficulty obtaining 50 unique lesson 

plans is that lessons can be available individually and as part of a bundle. When purchasing a 

bundle, I did not realize that specific individual lesson plans I had already purchased were part of 

this bundle. This left me with duplicate lesson plans, which I did not know until I began 

numbering the lesson plans for organizational purposes. For example, Lesson 7, “Learn the 

Continents and Oceans-Geography” was also included in the three-bundle pack 18. I had two of 

the same lesson plans. After downloading the lessons, I realized the authors and the cover page 

were identical. The individual lesson and the bundle preview windows were different, making 

them appear to be different lessons. Several times, I thought I had 50 unique geography lesson 

plans, only to find that I had duplicate copies. The website TPT did not attempt to alert me that I 

had already purchased part of this bundle or lesson plan. I cannot speculate whether this is a 

problem for teachers in the field as I do not know how often teachers purchase and download 

multiple lessons on one topic. 

Data Sources 

There is one data source for this project: online lesson plans for first-grade (N=50) 

geography. The lesson plans used in the data analysis were downloaded and purchased from the 

popular website TPT, widely known as TPT, over several months. Although there are other 

lesson plan-sharing websites, this study will only focus on TPT because of its broad base, 

accessibility, and popularity among elementary school teachers. The TPT website boasts a user 

base of “7 million teachers worldwide” and “1 billion resources downloaded”. If these claims 

hold, the lesson plans on this site may significantly impact current and future educators (TPT, 

2024). 

32 

 
   
 
 
Lesson Plan Collection 

The following steps were taken to find the specific lesson plans for this study and narrow 

the field on the expansive website TPT. I began by logging in to teacherpayteachers.com. 

Creating a log-in is free and requires very little personal information. I selected “lesson plans” 

from the “Resource Type” tab at the home screen's top. Initially, the plan was to check the 

kindergarten, first, second, and third grades because they represent where early elementary social 

studies learning would occur. The TPT site limits users to choose only one grade. This study 

focused on first grade, representing the middle of the K-3 grade span. The NCSS C3 Standards 

in elementary group grades K-2 and 3-5. Choosing first grade allows the study to narrow its 

focus on the standards for the K-2 range. Continuing the TPT search, I chose “Social Studies-

History” and specified only “geography”-related content. To give the reader an understanding of 

the effectiveness of the TPT filters, a search on TPT in the category “Lesson Plans” yields 

800,000 + results. Adding the additional “Elementary 1st-grade” filter narrows the field to 

160,000+ results. Choosing the subject of “social studies” brings the search results down to 

8,241. Adding the final filter of a geography focus within the social studies subject brought our 

search to the final numbers. The TPT search for this study, “Resource Type-Unit Plans-1st 

grade-’Social Studies-History’-geography,” yielded 1,747 options for purchase. 

 I ultimately purchased and downloaded the first 50 unique lesson plans. Compiling the 

50 lesson plans for this study happened over several months. I purchased the lessons from TPT 

in groups of ten. Purchasing and downloading the lesson plans in groups of ten allowed me to 

manage the data and examine each lesson plan before continuing the search. Lesson plans were 

ultimately chosen from a preview screen, which provided only general overview information 

about the lesson's content. Working in small batches allowed me to carefully evaluate the 

33 

 
content to ensure it met the qualifications for the study. I was able to recognize lessons and 

activities that were repetitive. I stopped at 50 because I was no longer seeing any “new” or 

“different lesson ideas: I had reached a saturation point. Examining lesson plans in small batches 

also proved beneficial because TPT repeats and offers lesson plans and activities in multiple 

ways. For example, one lesson plan may appear with one title, and the same lesson plan would 

be listed by another title or as part of a “bundle.” Bundles are a way to buy a group of lesson 

plans on the same topic or by the same author. Bundles are intended to benefit teachers but 

proved time-consuming when gathering lesson plans for this study. 

I chose the lesson plans for this study from a preview screen offered by TPT. This 

preview screen provides little information to potential buyers. Buys can only see the author, a 

short description, often containing the keywords and phrases I searched for, and a small cover 

picture. Occasionally, sellers offer a sample page for viewing. I assume TPT limits the specific 

details of their lessons to promote purchase. Teachers purchasing lessons on TPT may have to 

gamble on their purchases, as I found in my duplicate purchasing. 

I narrowed the 1,747 lesson plans available by omitting lesson plans that were state—or 

country-specific or focused on areas outside of the United States. For example, lessons specific 

to the geography of Texas or Australia were not considered for this study. On a side note, there 

was a surprising number of lesson plans available related to the geography of Australia. One 

exception to the omitted state-specific lesson plans is lesson plans that claim to follow particular 

state standards. An example is Lesson Plan 13, “All About Maps-South Carolina College and 

Career Ready Standards-Unit 2 Lesson Plan”, which claims to follow the state standards created 

by South Carolina but ultimately covers map skills. I omitted these lessons because I wanted the 

lessons in this study to be universal, meaning that teachers from any state could use them in their 

34 

 
classrooms. Teachers looking for state-specific lesson plans would encounter a much smaller 

field. Also, in many state standards, such as Michigan (3rd), New York (4th), California (4th), 

and Texas (4th), state-specific history and geography occur beyond first grade. 

The lessons downloaded and purchased for this study were numbered according to the 

date I purchased them. Lesson 1, “Mapping Skills Unit Maps and Globes Continents and 

Oceans,” is the first lesson plan purchased for this study. The final lesson I purchased for this 

study was Lesson 5, “Continents and Oceans Mini Book.” It is important to note that the 

numbering system used for the lessons does not reflect the points accumulated on the CAOLSS 

used to evaluate each lesson plan. 

The lesson plans used in this study varied greatly in size, specifically the number of 

pages. Some lessons were as few as ten pages, while others were 130 pages. When I use the term 

“lesson plan,” I refer to the entirety of the product purchased. The lesson can include a written 

lesson plan, student worksheets, assessments, and other things needed to implement the lesson or 

lessons successfully. Some lessons contained only one lesson that teachers could use in their 

classrooms.  

Other lesson plans were more like units comprising many different lessons. An example 

of this would be Lesson 20, “Social Studies First Grade Dynamic Relationships.” This lesson 

was 19 different lessons that covered a variety of relationships, including family relationships, 

economic relationships, and relationships with the environment. There were also lesson plans 

downloaded that could be used as an entire social studies curriculum. An example is Lesson 23, 

“Comprehensive Social Studies Unit for 1st Grade Covers All Standards”. This lesson plan 

included units on “Government,” “History,” “Geography,” and “Economics”. Despite narrowing 

my search by specifying “Lesson Plan” on the “Reference Type” tab on teacherpayteachers.com, 

35 

 
many lessons were curriculum, unit plans, or activities.  TPT has a broad definition of the term 

lesson plan.  

When analyzing the more extensive lesson plans, such as Lesson 20 or Lesson 23, I 

evaluated lessons related only to geography. I did not evaluate any lessons that were not 

geography-specific. This means I did not evaluate every lesson in every lesson plan downloaded. 

However, if one lesson plan had several lessons in geography, I would evaluate all those lesson 

plans using the CAOLSS. 

Data Analysis 

Research Tool and Application  

This study aims to help teachers assess the quality and content of geography lessons, 

units, and activities for early elementary students available on the website 

Teacherspayteachers.com for purchase. A checklist (Appendix 1) was created to help evaluate 

these geography lessons. This checklist, written in seven categories, is influenced by the 

“Pinning with Pause Checklist” (Gallagher et al., 2019, p. 221). The original “Pinning with 

Pause Checklist” is designed to help teachers quickly evaluate the effectiveness and 

appropriateness of the 7,400,000+ elementary lessons available on TPT. Gallagher et al.’s 

checklist challenges teachers to think critically about a lesson plan's purpose, reliability, and 

perspective.  

There is some overlap between the original “Pinning with Pause Checklist” and my new 

modified geography-focused version. The checklist used for this study intends to evaluate the 

purpose, reliability, and perspective of a specific area of social studies, first-grade geography. 

The checklist I created for this study was used to evaluate each of the 50 TPT purchased lessons 

in 1st-grade geography. The checklist used in this study went through several iterations during 

36 

 
its creation. Throughout the process, my advisor helped me clarify and narrow down the 

questions on the checklist.  

The process of designing the questions for the checklist began by envisioning the “ideal” 

first-grade geography lesson plan. This lesson plan would have all the main components of a 

good lesson plan, including stated standards and outcomes, accurate information presented, 

active student participation with developmentally appropriate expectations for 1st-grade 

students, and a formative or summative assessment to gauge student understanding. Beyond 

these essential components of a lesson plan, the lesson would be considerate of the context in 

which it was being taught. Are there considerations for equity and justice issues that “may harm 

students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds” (Gallagher et al., 2019, p. 221).  

I titled the checklist I created CAOLSS, an acronym for Checklist Assessing Online 

Lessons Plans in Social Studies. The CAOLSS contains seven categories evaluated on a scale 

from zero to three with an option for not applicable (N/A). The checklist’s evaluation categories 

are Standards, General Instruction, Assessment, Geography Content/Process, Illustrations, and 

Justice & Equity. Each category contains between two and seven questions. Unscored areas for 

evaluating the Qualities of Powerful and Authentic Social Studies and a holistic lesson 

evaluation are also on the checklist. However, the results from these sections were not included 

in the findings of this study. 

 I created a scoring scale to evaluate each area. Questions in each area could score 

between 0-3 points depending on the prevalence and quality of the area. The rubric in Figure 1 

describes the criteria for the scores between 0-3. Zero means no or not evident in the lesson, and 

three points indicate yes or present in the lesson. The middle score of two was used for some 

37 

 
evidence present in the lesson, but it may be difficult for novice teachers to spot. There are 87 

possible points on the checklist.  

An N/A category was added for each question so that lesson plans would not receive a 

lower score because they did not do something from the checklist they never claimed to do. For 

example, Lesson 26, “Maps and Globes Sort,” is a one-page activity where the kids sort 

descriptive phrases about a map or a globe. This lesson does not feature maps, so questions 

about map accuracy would be non-applicable (N/A). A score of N/A deducted 3 points from the 

total points available for the lesson. This means that lessons with one or more N/A areas have a 

lower starting score than lessons with all categories included. In the example above Lesson 26 

would have a starting score of 84 points because it had an N/A to one question.  

Questions in the Justice & Equity section did not have an N/A section. Questions in this section 

are representative of themes and ideas that should be present in all lesson planning. All lesson 

plans used in this study were evaluated on each question in this section. No N/A answers were 

given. It was expected that each lesson would include themes of justice and equitable 

representation of all people of the world. Lessons that failed to do this received lower scores. 

Four questions were reverse-scored (that is, reversing the numerical values of responses, 

whereby a 0 would be a 4, a 1 would be a 3, and so forth) to account for a “yes” answer being 

negative. These questions are “Does the lesson rely exclusively on vocabulary cards?”, “Does 

the lesson feature the Compass Rose (NESW) without any scaffolding?” “Are the maps digitally 

altered to fit the page?” and “Does the activity, resource, or idea harm students- especially those 

with marginalized backgrounds?” (Gallagher et al., 2019, p. 221). A zero or no answer to these 

questions received three points. The reversed-scored questions are marked on the checklist by an 

asterisk.  

38 

 
According to the checklist, the top-scoring first-grade geography lesson plan would score 

three points for each question, earning 87 points, with no areas scored an N/A. Lesson plans with 

areas marked N/A had lower starting scores to account for the difference in point value. For 

example, a lesson plan that did not have an assessment would not be evaluated on the 

authenticity of that assessment, taking the total starting score from 87 points to 84 points.  

Figure 1 

Evaluative Scoring Rubric 

Numeric Score 

0/No 

1 

2 

3/Yes 

N/A 

Reasoning 

No evidence 

Little evidence, inappropriate, failed to include 

Some evidence, an attempt to thoughtfully include 
may be difficult to spot 

Evident in lesson 

Not Applicable 

The following paragraphs describe the six categories, and the questions present in each. 

Standards. The Standards category (Figure 2) of the CAOLAA seeks to discover the 

lesson plan’s claim to align with current elementary geography standards. The lack of  

nationally agreed upon elementary social studies standards explains the need for my checklist 

 to access state-specific or local standards and the C3 Framework elementary geography 

 standards. The C3 Standards cover grades k-2 and have been influential in developing many 

state-specific social studies standards. The first question this study seeks to answer is: How do 

 the first 50 lesson plans that appear when searching lesson plan first-grade-social studies-

geography using the TPT search tool measure along criteria including geography content, 

assessment, alignment with standards, and justice and equity?  

39 

 
 
The TPT website cross-references the Common Core State Standards in Literacy and 

Mathematics for all lessons in those subjects. This feature is not available for lessons in subjects 

outside of Language Art and Mathematics, even though there is clearly a crossover. It is 

unreasonable to expect that TPT would check each social studies lesson against the social studies 

standards of each state. This section’s first, second, and fourth questions assess whether the 

author claims to cover local, state, or NCSS C3 Standards in their lesson plan. What standards or 

lesson outcomes does the author claim to fulfill with this lesson? Elementary teachers have too 

much curriculum to cover and too little time. Covering as many standards and subject areas as 

possible in one lesson makes sense. Question four looks to find if the TPT lesson plan claims to 

cover any other standards, such as those from literacy or mathematics. 

The third question seeks to discover if the lesson covers any C3 Framework K-2 

geography standards, regardless of whether the lesson plan makes a claim. This means that if the 

lesson plan stated it would cover C3 Standards, I would assess that. If the lesson plan did not 

claim to cover C3 Standards, I would still examine the lesson for areas that meet the C3 

Framework geography standards. A detailed list of the twelve standards can be found on page 2 

of the CAOLSS. 

 The C3 Framework, Dimension 2, contains the four disciplinary areas of social studies: 

civics, economics, geography, and history. Within each discipline there are categories and 

standards. The discipline of geography focuses on four main areas: Geographical 

Representations, Human-Environment Interaction, Human Population: Spatial Patterns and 

Movements, and Global Interconnections (NCSS, 2013). Each geographically related area has 

three standards.  

40 

 
In assessing each lesson plan, I did not use the 0-3 scale, which appears throughout the 

rest of the checklist. The lesson plan either claimed to cover a standard, ending in three points 

for a “yes,” or made no claims or statements about standards, earning zero points for a no. No 

“1” or “2” points scores were awarded in this area. 

Data were recorded directly on printed checklists alongside anecdotal notes with the 

answers to the questions. Digital copies of lesson plans were collected and stored on my 

computer, and a printed “hard copy” of the checklist was collected for each lesson. Combining 

these two evaluative approaches allowed me to generate qualitative and quantitative data. 

Figure 2 

Questions from the Standards Section as They Appear on the Checklist 

Standards Question 

0/No 

1 

2 

3/Yes  N/A 

Does the document claim to support a local or 
state elementary geography standard?  

If so, which one(s): 

Does the document claim to support a C3 
elementary geography standard?  

If so, which one(s): 

Does the document claim to support a C3 
elementary geography standard?  

If so, which one(s): 

Does the document claim to support a standard 
NOT related to geography?  

If so, which one(s): 

General Information. Section two of the CAOLSS, entitled “General Information,” 

assesses the appropriateness of the pedagogical techniques used in the first-grade social studies 

41 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
geography lesson (see Figure 3). This section intends to closely examine what activities, if any, 

the lesson plans are asking the students to do. Is the lesson asking students to be actively 

involved in their learning, or does the lesson place the teacher as the primary source of 

information? The zero to three scale applies to this section of questions. Questions two and three 

address the students’ opportunity to write and create. The first and fourth questions examine any 

passive aspects of the lesson. The assumption is that first-grade students will not benefit from a 

lesson that asks them to sit passively and simply remember complicated vocabulary. Lessons 

that focus on something other than rote memorization score higher than those that do not—the 

simple addition of having students write and create moves the lesson away from simply 

memorizing facts.  

The scale proved helpful in assessing the areas of writing and creating. There is an 

expansive range of what it means to “ask a student to write independently” and “create/produce 

something.” The study examined lessons that only asked students to cut out a booklet, producing 

something but not much (1 point). Alternatively, lessons that asked students to create a complete 

map of their classroom (3 points). In some lessons, the students do nothing but listen and watch 

their teacher present a PowerPoint presentation (0 points on the last two questions). In the area of 

writing independently, some lessons had students simply trace over the names of the oceans or 

continents (1 point) or write their address, city names, and state (2 points). While requiring 

students to copy the names of continents and oceans may be active, it does not require much 

thought on the part of the student. In a few lessons, students write about their city or describe a 

new place they would like to visit. These writing activities ask students to express their thinking 

with words (3 points).  

42 

 
 
Figure 3 

Questions from the General Information Section as They Appear on the Checklist 

II. General Instruction 

Questions from the General Instruction Category II as They Appear on the Checklist 

General Instruction Questions 

0/No 

1 

2 

3/Yes  N/A 

Does the lesson rely on vocabulary cards? * 

Are the children asked to write 
independently? 

Are the children asked to create or produce 
something? 

Does the lesson ask the children to do 
anything beyond remember level? 

Assessment. Questions in the “Assessment” section (Figure 4) are intended to audit the lesson 

for noted formative or summative assessments. The first two questions, about the presence of a 

summative or formative assessment, were not scored on the 0-3 scale. The “0/No” and “3/Yes” 

were the only choices used. To receive a “3/Yes,” the lesson must identify a summative or 

formative assessment somewhere within the lesson. This means the assessment is labeled, or the 

lesson discusses or references an assessment. If an assessment was not noted or labeled, the 

lesson received a score of “0/No” points. It could be assumed that the lesson activity’s successful 

completion could be used as an assessment. I did not make this assumption. Good lesson plans 

contain thoughtful consideration for all lesson plan components, including assessment of stated 

goals or outcomes. Most lesson plans within this study did not claim to cover any standards, 

goals, or student outcomes. Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect an assessment of the unstated 

standards, goals, or student outcomes. 

43 

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
The last question in the “Assessment” section evaluated the lesson assessment and the 

authenticity of the task. Were the students asked to simply regurgitate facts or make selections 

on a multiple-choice or true/false test? Or did the assessment ask students to apply what they 

have learned? The 0-3 scale was used for this question. A score of “0” was given to multiple 

choice, fill-in, or true/false quizzes and tests. A “3” was given to assessments that asked children 

to create, compare, apply, or write about what they had learned. A “2” or “3” point assessment 

was often presented as an activity instead of a quiz or a test for which students would be 

expected to study.  

As a final note to this section, lesson plans that did not claim to contain a formative or 

summative assessment were not evaluated on the final question, “Does the summative 

assessment ask the children to do an authentic task?” If a “0/No” was scored on “Does the lesson 

have formative assessment checks?” or “Does the lesson have a summative assessment?”, the 

third question was “NA.” It would not make sense to assess the authenticity of a task that was 

not provided. The total point value for lesson plans with an “NA” on this question was lowered 

by three points. 

44 

 
 
 
Figure 4 

Questions from the Assessment category III as they appear on the checklist 

Assessment Questions 

0/No  1 

2 

3/Yes  N/A 

Does the lesson have formative assessment checks? 

Does the lesson have a summative assessment? 

Does the summative assessment ask the children to do an 
authentic task? ** 

  Note: Question taken from “Pinning with Pause Checklist” (Gallagher et al., 2019) 

Geography Content/Process. The fourth section, “Geography Content/Process” (Figure 

5), was created to assess the factual accuracy of the geography-related content within each lesson 

plan. Are the lesson plans accurately presenting information related to geography? Or, in an 

attempt to make complex concepts understandable to children, was the information dumbed 

down or changed in a way that creates misrepresentation or misunderstanding? This section is 

also designed to search for necessary scaffolding for understanding geography content related to 

maps. 

The “Geography Content/Process” section addresses two specific concepts related to 

geography. These concepts are map type and aerial view, which are necessary to teach map 

making and use. Does the lesson address map types? This checklist asks only specifically about 

“flat maps” but ultimately seeks clarification for children about the difference between maps 

(paper and digital) and globes. In a first-grade lesson plan, discussing the idea of aerial or bird’s-

eye view would also be relevant for presenting children with maps to navigate. Does the lesson 

address aerial view? Is there any evidence that the maps the children are navigating from are 

different from what they usually see? Even the task of mapping your classroom requires children 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
to understand the visual perspective they are using. See the checklist “Key (Figure 1) to know 

how scoring decisions were made in these categories. 

Section four, “Geography Content/Process,” also evaluated the use of the compass rose 

within the lesson. Studies have shown (Downs & Liben, 1991; Muir & Cheek, 1991; Towler, 

1970) that young children need to understand words that describe a relative location, such as up, 

down, left, and right before being expected to understand the nature of north, south, east, and 

west. Memorizing the letter placement on a compass rose is of little help if the student is 

unfamiliar with directionality. A common problem with the compass rose taught without context 

is the misconception that the North is always up. 

In addition to proper scaffolding, understanding geography related to map skills requires 

appropriate representation. The CAOLSS questions “Are any maps presented in the lesson 

accurate?” and “Are the maps digitally alerted to fit the page?” assess the illustrative choices 

made in an attempt to teach the continents and oceans. Design choices can misrepresent states, 

countries, and continents. For example, in Lesson 27, “Continents and Major Oceans 1st grade”, 

the continent of North America is drawn as one solid shape with curved lines, which omits the 

state of Michigan. It could be difficult for a child from Michigan to understand the scope and 

shape of the continent on which they live. They would not be able to see their home state in a 

map of their continent North America. This map also illustrates the third question in this section, 

which assesses digitally altered maps. The maps in this lesson have clearly been stretched and 

altered to fit neatly on one page. The islands of  Cuba and Hawaii been omitted because they do 

not fit on the page with the continental portion of North America. This maps’ accuracy has 

compromised for the sake of a neat-looking lesson. Although not all lessons within this study, 

many lessons contained maps that had mistakes or omissions. “No map can match the globe in 

46 

 
preserving areas, angles, gross shapes, distances, and directions, and any map projection is a 

compromised solution” (Monmonier, 2018, p. 14) However, expecting maps to represent areas 

as accurately as possible is reasonable. Moving or eliminating places on a map marginalizes the 

importance of that area. The findings section will discuss this point further. 

It is common to associate geography and map skills with the continents and oceans of the 

world. The question, “Does the lesson cover continents and oceans?” is intended to discover how 

often that occurs in the 50 Lesson Plans used in this study. If the lesson featured the continents 

and oceans as the center of the lesson, where students were asked to write out continents and 

oceans names or label continents and oceans on a map, the lesson received a score of “3”. If the 

lessons featured the continents and oceans without requiring students to memorize, write out, or 

label, the lesson also received a score of “2” or “1”. The difference between a score of “2” and 

“1” considered the prominence of the continents and oceans in the lesson. If the continents and 

oceans were simply mentioned or pictures included a score of “1” was given. If the continents 

were a more significant part of the lesson and mentioned often, but students were not required to 

write out the names of label maps, the lesson received a score of “2”. If the lesson did not feature 

continents and oceans anywhere in the lesson, a score of “0/No” was given.  

47 

 
 
 
Figure 5 

Questions from the Geography Content/Process section as they appear on the checklist 

Questions from Geography Content/Processes Category IV 

0/No  1 

2 

3/Yes  N/A 

Does the lesson feature the Compass Rose (NESW) without 
any scaffolding? * 

Are any maps presented in the lesson accurate?  

Are the maps digitally altered to fit the page? * 

Does the lesson include map types beyond “flat maps”? 

Does the lesson include instruction on absolute vs. relative 
location when relevant? 

Does the lesson address aerial view (bird’s eye view)? 

Does the lesson cover the continents and oceans? 

Does the lesson make the ideas concrete for children? 

Illustrations. This checklist’s illustrations section evaluates the illustrations of people 

and the overall “look” of the lesson plan (Figure 6). The first question, “What are the 

illustrations of (if there are illustrations)?” refers to illustrations anywhere in the overall lesson. 

This question was not scored as part of the CAOLSS total. The section was used as an anecdotal 

way to record the images used in elementary lesson plans. These could include recognizable 

images, such as people or buildings, and colorful images used to enhance the look of the lesson 

plans, such as a decorative border along the outline of the page. There were also many 

illustrations of animals, some with human characteristics. Many lesson plans feature people as 

representatives of a place or culture. The illustrated people in this study include drawings of 

48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
male and female children, grandparents, adults, teenagers, and those of an indeterminate age or 

gender.  

The two questions, “Are the representations of children/people culturally authentic and 

nuanced?” and “Are the children/people representative of an identifiable cultural background 

beyond white?” assess the look of any illustrated or photographs of people in the lesson plan. 

This section was inspired by the work of (Rodríguez et. al., 2023), which found online history 

lessons filled with stereotypical images of Indigenous peoples, some without faces altogether. 

These questions were designed to evaluate the nature of clip art related to people used in 

geography lessons. Lesson plans that did not feature illustrations or photographs of people 

received an “NA,” and the total score was reduced by 3 points for each question, for a total of 6 

points. 

Figure 6 

Questions from the Illustration Section as They Appear on the CAOLSS 

What are the illustrations of (if there are illustrations)? 

Questions from the Illustrations Category V. 

0/No  1 

2 

3/yes  N/A 

Are the representations of children/people culturally 
authentic or nuanced? 

Are the children/people representative of an identifiable 
cultural background beyond white? 

Questions from the Illustration Section as They Appear on the CAOLSS 

Justice & Equity. Section VI. is titled “Justice & Equity,” and is intended to evaluate 

each lesson plan's attention to issues of justice and equity. It is also inspired by the work of 

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
scholars evaluating online lesson plans (Gallagher et al., 2019; Rodríguez, 2023; Shelton et al., 

2022). The final question is from the “Pinning with Pause Checklist” (Gallagher et al., 2019, p. 

219). The other questions in this category evaluate the lesson plans for activities that push 

geography teaching beyond stereotypical ideas that are Eurocentric or prioritize the United 

States over other countries. These questions evaluate the lesson’s ability to use geography 

education to help children gain agency in effecting change in their world. 

The 50 lesson plans in this study were all scored in the “Justice & Equity” section, meaning 

there were no “N/As” given to any question. Each lesson was held to the same standard 

regardless of topic (aerial view, continents and oceans, map skills) or size (1 page or 130 pages). 

In scoring this section, I found that I was answering dichotomously. The lesson plans either 

presented evidence of the question (“3/yes”) or did not present evidence (“0/no); there was little 

nuance (“2” or “1”) to any of the lessons used for this study. 

50 

 
 
 
Figure 7 

Questions from the Justice & Equity section as they Appear on the CAOLSS 

VI. Justice & Equity 

0/No  1 

2  3/ Yes  N/A 

Does the content reflect my students’ cultures or contexts? 

Does the content give my students windows into new 

cultures or contexts? 

Does the lesson help my students question dominant ideas 

about what is normal or good? 

Does the lesson emphasize that cultures and communities 

are diverse? 

Are the representations of place broad (beyond stereotypes)? 

Does the lesson encourage children to learn skills to effect 

change in the world? 

Does the activity, resource, or idea harm students—

especially those with marginalized identities and/or 

backgrounds?* 

Interscorer Reliability 

To ensure the reliability of the CAOLSS that I created and used to evaluate each of the 

50 lesson plans in this study, I administered an interscorer reliability test. I enlisted the help of 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
two researchers with expertise in teacher education. Each researcher evaluated five lesson plans I 

selected, representing 10% of the total studies used for this research. The lesson plans varied in 

topic, page length, quality, and pedagogical techniques. I wanted to give the researchers a wide 

range of CAOLSS options. The five lessons used for this interscorer reliability text were Lesson 

2, Lesson 7, Lesson 22, Lesson 26, and Lesson 28. The initial percent agreement among the two 

researchers and me was 74%. 

After analyzing the scores, I thought a few areas of disagreement could be resolved with 

additional conversation. The researchers and I met again to discuss four questions that reflected 

disagreement in all five lessons. These questions were “Does the lesson ask for the children to do 

anything beyond the remember lesson?”, “Does the lesson make ideas concrete for children?”, 

“Does the content reflect my students’ cultures or contexts?” and “Does the activity, resource, or 

idea harm students-especially those with marginalized identities and/or backgrounds?” Each of 

these questions contained terms that could be interpreted differently. For example, what is meant 

by “making ideas concrete for children” or “does the content harm children”. In creating these 

questions, I had a clear idea of the definitions of each term. I don’t believe I explained my 

understanding of these terms well. After a thorough discussion, the researchers understood my 

thinking and agreed to modify their responses to these questions. This revision of their scores 

brought the total agreement to 84%. 

 Researcher Positionality 

A research positionality statement is necessary here because my perspective has been 

shaped by my experiences and ways of understanding the world. It is important to note how my 

identities, such as gender, race, socio-economic status, and cultural ethnicity may have 

influenced my research (Milner, 2007). As a young, white, female third-grade teacher in an 

52 

 
affluent school district from 2000 to 2015, I taught many geography-based lessons in social 

studies. I always aimed to make social studies lessons exciting and engaging for my students. I 

expect most of the lessons downloaded for this study to feature some variation of hands-on 

projects I used in my classroom. One of my favorites was the “Me on a Map” activity. This 

project features a series of concentric circles, each representing one level of the student’s 

physical location on Earth. The smallest circle is labeled “me” to represent the child, followed by 

circles of ever-increasing size labeled house, city, state, county, continent, and planet. The 

circles glued to one another, with the smallest circle in the middle, represent the child’s location. 

The student can then read from the project that they live in a house, in a city, in a state, in a 

country, on a continent, on Earth. I created tracers for the circles and downloaded and printed 

little state, county, and world maps for the students to color and glue. 

Knowing what I know today about social studies education in early elementary grades, I 

would have made many changes to my original lesson plan. I placed such heavy emphasis on the 

craft part of the project, tracing, cutting, and gluing, glossing vital points regarding the intricate 

relationship among these circles. I did not spend much time thinking about students who did not 

live in houses or suburban settings. I realize now the potential negative impacts of this lesson on 

my students. I was reinforcing the centering whiteness, middle-class values in Me on the Map. 

How many students did I assume had all the same privileges I had growing up? Who was I 

marginalizing by assuming students lived in houses? I realize now that these privileges influence 

my perspective and understanding of the world. Recognizing this privilege allows me to begin to 

change my perspective and become more inclusive and understanding in my teaching. It is 

ultimately a privilege to be able to purchase lesson plan materials from an online source. No 

matter how problematic the lessons on that site may be. Many teachers and districts cannot use 

53 

 
TPT. I recognize the bias that I continue to have and how that may have influenced my analysis. 

My limited experiences shape my thoughts and ideas. As a researcher I strive to be inclusive and 

open to new ideas and experiences. But obviously I cannot know what I do not know. It is likely 

I am missing something from others’ perspective in my analysis of these lesson plans. 

Recognizing this idea leaves me open to new ideas and interpretations. I hope to use my research 

to help others with similar backgrounds begin to see the world differently. 

54 

 
 
 
FINDINGS 

The findings section is organized along the research questions. I begin by addressing 

Research Question 1: How do the first 50 lesson plans that appear when searching “lesson 

plans-first-grade social studies-geography” on Teachers Pay Teachers- measure against criteria 

including geography content, assessment, alignment with standards, and justice and equity? 

These results were determined from the numerical score after each lesson was evaluated using 

the Checklist to Access Online Lesson Plans in Social Studies (CAOLSS) evaluation tool. The 

CAOLSS scores were sorted into three distinct categories using a weighted scoring system, 

which emphasized specific categories. I will describe each category in detail, including examples 

from the TPT lesson plans. I will then move to Research Question 2: What are the significant 

problems within these TPT lessons? This section describes problematic patterns among the 

geography social studies lessons used in the study. 

RQ1: Measurement of TPT Lessons Along Criteria 

In this section, I report the overall scores of the 50 lessons I evaluated. I used a weighted 

scoring system to keep the study of social studies focused, emphasizing the areas of standards, 

assessment, geography content and process, and justice and equity. The illustration and general 

instruction areas were given less emphasis. The resulting scores from the CAOLSS placed the 

lesson into three groups: the Focused Top, a large middle section of Mediocrity and Busy Work. 

and the Listen to Learn bottom.  

Evaluation of the TPT Lessons 

Table 1 shows the titles of the 50 lessons and the total points earned from the CAOLSS 

checklist. There are 13 lessons in the top group, 27 in the middle group, and 10 in the lowest 

group. The green color titles represent the Focused Top. A purple color font was used for the 

55 

 
Mediocre Middle and Busywork. The lowest scoring lesson plan titles Listen to Learn are in red 

font. 

Table 1 

CAOLSS Percentage Scores 

Lesson Number and Title 

46. Location, Location, Location Rural, Urban, and Suburban 

37. Multiple Perspectives Week Long Unit with Book:             

           This Is How We Do it "World Perspective Detective" 

26. Maps and Globes Cut and Paste Sorting  

          Worksheet-Social Studies 

Percent 

Score 

80% 

79% 

69% 

30. Aerial View Mapping Activities                                           

67% 

         (Geography Bundle K-1 Bundled Activities) 

39.Geography Bundle-Map Skills, labeling,               

       Questions for Atlas & Internet (K-12) 

33. Bite Sized Social Studies Landforms                     

        Social Studies Lesson PowerPoint & Google Slides 

41. Little 1st Grade SOCIAL STUDIES Thinkers  

     {UNIT 5: Geography} 

28. Where I Live Social Studies Unit with Lesson       

        Plans-K, 1st & 2nd Grades 

63% 

57% 

53% 

49% 

56 

 
 
 
  
 
 
Table 1 (cont’d) 

6. Absolute and Relative Location                                           

     (Geography Bundle K-2 Bundled Activities) 

44. Continents Book-Map Activities-Color, Cut,                          

      and Paste-7 Continents and 5 Oceans 

5.  Types of Maps                                                            

14. Physical and Human Characteristics                        

12. Map Skills, Location, Urban, Suburban & Rural  

      Grid Maps, Landforms, Trace Ancestors 

     (Map Skills Bundle) 

36. Communities: Urban, rural and suburban!!          

1.  Mapping Sills Unit Maps and Globes                                      

     Continents and Oceans 

13. New South Carolina Social Studies 1st Grade      

      Unit 2: All About Maps 

23. Comprehensive Social Studies Unit for                               

       1st Grade: Covers All Standards 

31. Map Skills Unit Reading Maps Activities                                 

      for Primary Grades 

40. Kinds of Communities: Urban, Suburban,            

       Rural-Complete Project and Rubric  

27. Continents and Major Oceans for 1st Grade                  

49% 

48% 

46% 

46% 

45% 

45% 

44% 

44% 

44% 

44% 

42% 

42% 

57 

 
 
 
 
 
Table 1 (cont’d) 

22. Continent Coloring Pages- Maps of all                                    

       Continents to Color-World Geography 

20. Social Studies Grade 1 Unit 2 Dynamic Relationships    

42. 7 Continents Mini Book {Black and White}              

19. Simply Social Studies First Grade-Unit 5- On the Map   

9. My Place in the World Project: “Me on the Map”                   

    Geography for Kids (Geography for Kids:  

    Three Hands-on Activities) 

25. Mapping Skills with Google Earth:                       

      How to Read a Map Gr. PK-2 

15. 2nd Grade Map Skills Worksheets, Maps Activities,     

      Lapbook Template and Posters 

32. Map Skills Worksheets First Grade Mapping Activity-         

Candy Map Mapping Lesson   

21. "Where in the World?" A free mini geography                       

 unit for first grade 

29. Let's Make a Map!                                         

38. Build A Treasure Island Design & Craft-Pirate &  

       Mapping Geography Resource 

34. Where We Live- A Map and Globe Thematic Unit               

50. Continents and Oceans Mini Booklet and Worksheets     

49. Me on the Map Mini Book                            

58 

39% 

39% 

37% 

37% 

36% 

35% 

35% 

33% 

32% 

32% 

29% 

29% 

28% 

28% 

 
 
 
Table 1 (cont’d) 

35. Map Skill Bundle (Lesson and Worksheets)          

28% 

      Key/Legends/ Compass Roses, Titles 

16. Finding My Place-A Mini Unit for                        

     Young Learners (Map Unit) 

3. Maps and Globes                                                          

8. Landforms Let's Learn About Them         

24. Communities-A Social Studies Unit               

7. Learning The Continents and Oceans                                     

    Geography Map Activity 

 2. Landforms Unit for Little Learners        

17. Mapping My Classroom Pop Up Style                                 

      Kindergarten & First Grade Social Studies 

18. Map the Route Activity to Learn Continents 

      Geography for Kids (Geography for Kids Bundle:  

      Three Essential Hands-on Activities) 

47. Continents and Oceans Lapbook                              

45. Where in the World Am I? Kindergarten                               

       Social Studies Unit 

43. Me on the Map Student Book (all 50 states included) 

11. Continents and Oceans Anchor Charts                       

48. Me on the Map Flipbook                                            

59 

26% 

26% 

25% 

24% 

23% 

22% 

22% 

21% 

21% 

20% 

20% 

19% 

17% 

 
 
 
 
Table 1 (cont’d) 

10. Mapping Skills Reader for Kindergarten and                              

       First Grade Social Studies 

4. Me on the Map: A Literature & Social Studies Mini-Unit 

16% 

12% 

The Focused Top   

The thirteen lessons comprising this top first-grade geography lessons group ranged in 

scores from 72-110 overall points and scored higher than average in each category. These 

lessons had several factors in common: a sharply defined lesson focus (thus the label of The 

Focused Top), stated standards, clearly stated goals or objectives, detailed instructional activities 

and/or a pacing chart, and assessments to check for understanding. I describe three lessons in this 

category that exemplify the general characteristics of “Focused Top” lessons. 

Lesson 30, “Aerial View,” by The Principal’s Wife, represents the qualities of lessons that fit the 

top group. In this lesson, the students begin learning the idea of aerial view, a concept necessary 

to understanding the perspective used in map making. The general learning target for this lesson 

is that things look different if you look at them from above (i.e., aerial perspective) compared to 

straight on (i.e., linear perspective). Although maps were a part of almost every lesson in this 

study, most lessons lacked the basic idea of aerial perspective. This lesson began by addressing 

the necessary concept of aerial view as a perspective from which to see things. The lesson is 

scaffolded so that students can compare perspectives first, whereas other lessons in this study 

simply use maps to explain maps without intentionally presenting the perspective in which maps 

appear. Students may not recognize this change in perspective without deliberately addressing 

the idea.  

60 

 
 
 
 
This “Aerial View” lesson contained stated goals and directions for the teacher, including 

tips and a pacing guide. The lesson begins with having students look at actual photographs 

(included in the lesson) of objects, such as a building, from the aerial view. The lesson also 

includes the phrase “bird’s-eye view,” another common way to describe this perspective to 

young children. The lesson also includes additional activities for the students to practice the 

concept. It begins with a hands-on picture- sort of “Aerial View” and “Not Aerial View” 

photographs.  

The students then use an imaginary classroom map to identify symbols representing 

objects from an aerial view perspective. Rectangles represent tables, and squares represent 

individual desks. The lesson concludes with an opportunity for students to draw an aerial view 

map of their classroom and create symbols for the four items of their choice. The final activity 

can be used to assess student understanding as the teacher evaluates the students' drawings. The 

student-drawn classroom map allows for students to demonstrate various levels of 

understanding. For example, the student may understand that a table appears as a rectangle from 

an aerial perspective but may draw another object, such as a chair or computer, from a non-aerial 

view perspective. As with many concepts, the aerial view can be easier to visualize with some 

objects than others. 

The appearance of Lesson 30 is straightforward, with no superfluous graphics or 

embellishments. Emerging readers would be able to easily read the chosen font. There are no 

cute borders or smiling cartoon children at the corners. The materials for the students are 

photographs of objects they will recognize, as opposed to stylistic cartoon illustrations used in 

other lessons. The example classroom map contains simple shapes to represent everyday 

classroom objects. The lesson also resists opportunities to add additional extra practice lessons 

61 

 
  
or worksheets.  

Lesson 39, “Geography Bundle-Map Skills, Labeling, Questions for Atlas & Internet (K-

12),” sold by The Harstad Collection, downloads as a large file with five files and three activities 

inside. Unlike many lesson plans in this study, Lesson 39 does not have specific lesson plans for 

teachers to follow. It is more of a reference source than a teaching lesson plan or unit. Lesson 39 

contains folders with detailed outlines and maps from the United States and worldwide.  

The United States folder contains 28 different maps of the United States. There are a variety of 

maps in this folder, including physical maps, electoral maps, federal land maps, and maps with 

major cities included. Some maps isolate significant areas of the United States, such as the 

Northeast and the West. This collection of maps, while not a lesson alone, demonstrates the 

variety of ways maps are used. The maps from this section could be printed or projected for 

students to explore.  

Lesson 39 also includes maps from around the world, a folder of “World and Science 

Maps,” and a group of maps for labeling. Also included are “200 Map Questions” for students to 

answer using some of the maps provided. These activities could be completed independently or 

in groups by students. The large number of maps and questions provided allows for some 

differentiation in difficulty and length.  

Intended for students in K-12 grades, many of the activities in this lesson are too advanced for 

first-grade students. It may be difficult to envision a lesson that could be useful to teachers in 

such a large grade span. Lesson 39 accomplishes this, however, and is a valuable resource for 

teachers. The maps provided are diverse and detailed in appearance. The attention to detail in the 

maps provided in this lesson is considerably better than the maps of any other lessons in this 

study. 

62 

 
The final example of the lessons of the Focused Top is Lesson 33, “Bite-Size Social 

Studies Landforms,” sold by Sarah Gardner. This lesson is a web quest with informational links, 

online videos, and songs. A web quest (it may have a more updated name) is a PowerPoint 

presentation with embedded links and videos for students to explore. Each child would have this 

lesson on their computer. The student clicks through the pages and clicks on things to learn 

more. A web quest is an online activity where children can work independently. Each child 

creates their unique lesson by making decisions and choices about what interests them.  

Lesson 33 is a colorful web quest with a mixture of animated and authentic images used to 

introduce basic landforms. This lesson covers water types, large and small, from a vast ocean to 

a much smaller bay. It also includes water in the frozen form of the glacier. While clicking 

through the slides, the students can click on fish and other pictures, where they are directed to 

videos from educational websites, such as National Geographic Kids and PBS.com. The lesson 

also covers landforms such as mountains, volcanos, and valleys using the same web quest 

technique used in the water section. At the time of my evaluation of the lessons, I found that all 

the embedded links worked. 

The lesson ends with a game students can play and an opportunity to write and draw. I 

did not understand how students were to complete the writing and drawing activities, as there 

was no way to type or draw in that section. Perhaps these activities could be done on paper later. 

The lesson provides a valuable opportunity to synthesize and reflect, which is the important part. 

In summary, the thirteen lessons in The Focused Top most resemble a traditional teaching lesson 

plan. These lessons featured clear lesson standards, objectives, or goals with accompanying 

assessments to assess student understanding. The lessons focused on small concepts and ideas 

within geography, allowing the scaffolding of ideas for a better understanding of larger 

63 

 
concepts.  

 The Middle of Mediocrity and Busywork  

The 27 lessons in this middle group are primarily big units that attempt to cover all aspects of 

early geography concepts. These lessons attempt to cover as many geography-related topics as 

possible, blurring the lines among a lesson, a unit, and a full geography curriculum. The lessons 

in this group present geography learning, as they say, a mile long and an inch deep. 

The lessons in this group were often over 100 pages long, filled with worksheets, cartoon 

illustrations, and pre-written sentences for students to cut and glue onto their craft projects. The 

worksheets and projects in these lessons will look impressive when sent home to parents and 

hung in school hallways. Unfortunately, when digging deeper, little actual geography content is 

taught. The projects and worksheets in these lessons require little independent thinking by the 

students. This group represents geography-based projects that produce a classroom of twenty-

one identical “Me on the Map” books. 

Printable student worksheets make up the majority of the content of the lesson plans in 

this middle group. Opportunities for teachers to hand out the worksheet students may or may not 

be able to read on their own and write in answers the teacher puts on the board. These 

worksheets are billed as “extra practice” but actually amount to busy work. There were many 

opportunities within these lessons for students to practice their navigational skills using the 

cardinal directions in imaginary flat map neighborhoods.  

A good representation of the lessons in this middle section is Lesson 19, “Simply Social 

Studies-Unit 5-On the Map,” created by Cara Carroll. This 130-page document features 12 topic-

based lessons, each with suggested ELA extension books and activities, discussion prompts, and 

colorful vocabulary cards. Lesson 19 contains colorful cartoon illustrations of children and 

64 

 
geography-related objects. The aesthetic is cute and happy, although, as Bauml (2016) noted 

about elementary social studies curriculum, “cute” is often at odds with whether it “counts.” In 

addition, colorful signs and pictures are included to hang around the classroom. The bundle 

consists of six complete PowerPoint presentations that can be presented to the class. Each lesson 

has at least two student worksheets. 

On the surface, this stylistic and colorful unit has everything a teacher would need. In 

examining the lessons presented in the unit, minimal social studies content is hidden in a lot of 

printing. The PowerPoint presentations are thorough, but it might be unreasonable to expect 

first-grade students to learn from this type of teaching. There are vocabulary cards with 

geography terms for the students to cut out and keep. Much like the worksheets, these cards are 

written using language that might be difficult for many first graders to read independently. The 

cards and worksheets make it easy for parents to see the geography content covered in the 

classroom. Even if in the completion of the project, little was understood or retained. The unit 

itself is more “teacher-friendly” than “kid-friendly.” 

Lesson 9, “My Place in the World Project/Me on the Map,” is 103 printable pages used 

to make a Me on the Map concentric circle project. This lesson is page upon page of circles with 

one or two words printed on the bottom. For example, the largest circle, which all other circles 

fit into, has “My Planet” printed across the bottom. The following pages are “My Continent,” 

“My Country,” “My State,” “My City,” and “My House.” The lesson also includes circles of 

“My Province” and “My Territory” for students in countries such as Canada and Australia. The 

first few printable pages allow students to illustrate their planet, country, state, and home. The 

remaining pages of this lesson are labeled circles with the drawn outlines of the select continents 

of North America, Europe, and Australia. The only countries outlined are the United States and 

65 

 
  
England. In what I assume is an inclusive gesture, outlines of all 50 states and Washington D.C. 

and outlines of all Canadian provinces and Australian territories are included.   

Lesson 9 is a pre-made opportunity designed for teachers to simply print off the 

appropriate number of copies and go. This lesson is convenient for teachers but requires very 

little work on the part of the student. Students must simply cut along the dotted lines and staple 

or glue the circles together. There are many ready-made printable student projects in this 

Mediocre Middle group of lessons.  

Lesson 38, “Build a Treasure Island,” is the final example from this middle group. This 

lesson has students cutting and gluing printed examples of geography-related objects to an island 

to create their own Treasure Island. The lesson offers five different black outlined blobs that 

represent the island. The students then cut out pictures of mountains, trees, rooks (sic), rock 

caves, bridges, treasure marks, treasure chests, compass roses (sic), empty scrolls, and sand 

blobs. These pictures are then colored and added to the initial blob, the island, to “Build a 

Treasure Island.” 

Lesson 38 does offer some opportunities for students to use spatial management skills 

and be creative. The thoughtful placement of objects such as mountains, bridges, and trees could 

demonstrate an understanding of a few geographic landforms. However, this idea could be 

implemented without all the pre-drawn objects. This lesson style makes things easy for the 

teacher but limits a students’ creativity. 

In summary, the majority of the lesson plans used in this study fell into this group. 

Thirty-one lesson plans make up the middle group. The lessons in this group were often large in 

number of pages and scope of lessons. Many lessons in this group could be seen as a social 

studies curriculum or unit instead of what one thinks of as a lesson plan. The lessons are packed 

66 

 
with printable worksheets and activities for students to complete. The fill-in-the-blank style 

worksheets allow little opportunity for independent student thinking or exploration. Teachers 

could easily print off many of the printable activities in this group and have social studies work 

with little prep or time spent teaching. This group is best summarized by its title, The Middle of 

Mediocrity and Busywork. The lessons could be thought of as more teacher-friendly than 

student-friendly. 

Listen to Learn 

The ten lessons that comprise the bottom group contain many of the same characteristics 

as the middle group but with no opportunities for students to do any work independently. There 

are no opportunities for students to write, draw, or express their thoughts and ideas. The lessons 

in this group are literacy lessons with a social studies focus. These lessons are teacher-centered 

and require little active participation from the students. These texts in the lessons are reminiscent 

of a typical elementary social studies textbook, as they are dry and challenging for students to 

read independently. The learning in this lesson involves only listening to an adult read and 

looking at the pictures. 

An example of the lessons in the bottom group is Lesson 10. This lesson consists of a 

ten-page booklet entitled “All About Maps.” Two versions of the same book are included, one in 

color and one in black and white. There is no lesson plan, suggested activities, or even a few 

sentences about how someone could successfully implement the activity in their classroom. The 

assumed use would be to copy one booklet for each child. The child would then read the book 

independently or as a choral reading whole class activity. Either option is a literacy activity with 

social studies as the subject. The book features two children in a car and describes aspects of a 

map, including the focus vocabulary terms: map, compass rose, symbol, and key. These concepts 

67 

 
are explained in one short sentence with no additional context or scaffolding, “A map has 

symbols. It shows something in the real world. Where is the park?” This description is at the 

bottom of a page with two children looking at a folded map with ambiguous blobs on it. The 

pictures do not match the descriptions on the page. The book pages introducing the concept of 

symbols have no examples of symbols for children to look at. The children are asked, “Where is 

the park?” We will never know the answer to this rhetorical question because there is no park 

anywhere in the picture to spot. The pictures do not provide key context clues that help first-

grade readers. Emergent readers use pictures to help them with new or difficult words. This book 

presents new words without any pictures to match the words. Using the black-and-white version 

of this booklet would allow the students to color the pictures on each page, which is another 

decidedly non-social studies activity. 

Lesson 47, “Continent and Ocean Lapbook,” is another example of a lesson in the Listen 

to Learn group of lessons. The resulting product of this lesson is a file folder with preprinted 

information about the seven continents and four oceans glued in specific areas. This project 

looks impressive when completed, but it requires very little active thought on the part of the 

student. The student must only follow the teacher's lead regarding where sections should be 

glued to the file folder. There is a foldable with each ocean printed on the front. The instructions 

read, “On the inside of each fold, students can write something interesting about the ocean.” No 

facts are included in the lesson, and where students would obtain this information is unclear. 

This section could be considered a social studies activity if an actual research component was 

included in this section. However, it is intended for first-grade students, most of whose reading 

levels and their limited reading skill would make independent research difficult. If the teacher 

provides the “ocean facts,” the student only copies the text again.  

68 

 
The seven continents are described on pre-printed squares with problematic stereotypical 

images. For example, Africa focuses on safari animals, and Asia features a man without shoes 

who is farming rice in a cone-style straw hat. Much like the previous example, the only learning 

activity is for students to read complicated text or listen to someone reading it. The lessons in 

this bottom category are solid examples of a “sit and get” style activity. 

In summary, the lessons in this category are pre-printed books and activities that “look” 

like geography lessons without requiring much actual thought from the learner. These lessons 

would signify to parents the content covered in school, but little was made by their children. The 

social studies lessons in this category require children only to color or listen. This section 

described the enormous range in the quality of the first-grade geography lesson plans. There was 

considerable variation even within the three categories of The Focused Top, The Mediocre 

Middle and Busywork, and the Listen to Learn. The next section takes a deeper dive into the five 

major significant problems that appeared in lessons across all three categories.  

RQ2: Significant Problems within the TPT Lessons 

This section describes the five significant problems found within the 50 first-grade geography 

lesson plans used for this study. As the lesson scores on the CAOLLS varied, so do these lesson 

plans. Not all lesson plans have all of the five problems listed below. However, one or more of 

these five problems can be found in each lesson plan for this study. These significant problems 

are as follows: an absence of stated standards, poorly drawn maps, few formative or summative 

assessments, the overuse of literacy activities labeled as social studies, and the neglect of justice 

and equity.  

Absence of Stated Standards  

Standards could be considered the building blocks of a curriculum. They represent the outcomes 

69 

 
for student learning and drive lesson planning. Although there are no national social studies 

standards, each state has developed a set of K-12 social studies standards on which their lessons 

and curricula are based. As discussed in the literature review, individual state standards are often 

influenced by the C3 Framework developed by the NCSS (2013).  

The 50 first-grade geography lessons analyzed largely did not reference any social 

studies standards. Only nine of the fifty lesson plans included a stated social studies standard. 

The authors of these lesson plans state standards written by a school district, state, or country. 

The remaining 41 lesson plans had no clear standard(s) for which they claimed to cover.  

The standards represented in these lessons came from Ohio, California, South Carolina, 

and Saskatchewan, Canada. Of the nine lessons with standards provided, only four gave the 

exact state or country codes attached to the standard, which allows the user/buyer to understand 

the origin of the standard. This standard could then be compared to a state standard more 

applicable to the user/buyer. For example, Lesson 23 states it covers “California Second Grade 

Social Studies Standard: 2.2 Students demonstrate map skills by describing absolute and relative 

location of people, places, and environments”. Lesson 23 claims to align with “Ohio’s New 

Learning Standards for 1st grade” and provides specific Topics, Content Statements, and 

Expectations for Learning. Lesson 20 featured standards in “Dynamic Relationships,” a 

Canadian social studies area citing standards “Saskatchewan DR1.1, DR1.2, DR1.3, DR1.4, and 

DR1.5.” 

 Three lesson plans stated standards but used vague language regarding where the 

standard was created. For example, in Lesson 6, the author writes, “Standards Covered: Describe 

places using absolute location (e.g., home address) or relative location (e.g., left, right, front, 

back, next to, near).” No specific state or country is included. Lesson 28 had similar standards 

70 

 
without clear origins, except the author included codes such as “SSKG3, SSKG4, SSKE4 and 

SSKG2”. Using my knowledge of how standards-related codes are written, I believe these codes 

simply state Social Studies, Kindergarten, Geography, or Economics, and a number. This lesson 

does not include any information about the location from which it was created. A positive 

outlook on this strategy leads us to believe that the author did not realize that each state had its 

own set of specific social studies standards and assumed the ones they were given were 

universal. The negative approach is that they simply made up the standard codes in hopes that no 

one would check.  

Section one of the CAOLSS evaluated standards and references to the NCSS C3 

Framework. There were zero references to the NCSS C3 Framework within these lesson plans. I 

could find no references to the C3 Framework in any of the 50 lesson plans used in this study. 

Although few lessons indicated that the lesson covered any recognized standards, I found 

that all lesson plans in this study covered at least one or more of the influential NCSS C3 

Framework Standards for K-2 Geography; in each lesson, I could find parts that met the NCSS 

C3 Framework K-2 Geography requirements. The most frequently covered standard was D2. 

Geo.2.K-2 Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the 

relationships and interactions that shape them (NCSS, 2013). 

 Lack of Stated Assessment  

The idea of standards is in tangent with the concept of assessment. Each stated outcome or goal 

must have a way to measure its success. In lesson planning, the goal or outcome generally drives 

the lesson. What steps must occur to help students understand the intended concept or idea? 

Teachers can know to what extent a goal or outcome has been met. There must be some type of 

assessment. Thirteen of the fifty lesson plans used in this study had clearly stated formative or 

71 

 
summative assessments. The remaining 37 of the 50 lesson plans had no stated assessment 

piece.  

Only four of the thirteen lesson plans with an assessment also stated standards. Only four of the 

fifty lesson plans had a stated social studies standard and assessment to understand if the student 

met that standard. Only four lesson plans recognized a state (or province) standard and an 

assessment to measure student success. Nine lesson plans had assessments, but no clear 

standards or outcomes were stated at the beginning of the lesson. What exactly was being 

assessed needs to be clarified.  

The most common type of assessment was summative after the unit or series of lessons. 

This first-grade summative assessment often contained multiple choice, true and false, and fill-

in-the-blank questions. Labeling the continents and oceans was also a popular way to assess 

geography understanding in these lesson plans. Even though no specific geography standard 

requires first-grade students to memorize and label the continents and oceans, it was still part of 

an assessment in multiple lesson plans in this study. The assessments in this study often boiled 

down to memorizing geographic locations and vocabulary. 

A few lessons contained assessments that asked students to extend their thinking beyond 

basic memorization. Lesson 40 included a rubric that could be used to evaluate students’ 

understanding based on their level of project completion. Lesson 13 included specific 

instructions to assess the learning during the lesson with statements throughout the lesson such 

as “To check my student’s understanding of aerial view, I have them complete this picture sort 

activity,” “Because the standard being covered wants the students to draw an aerial view of the 

classroom, I have my students complete this mock classroom aerial view activity to make sure 

they understand what an aerial map looks like.” and “This is the activity I created for my 

72 

 
students to show mastery of the social studies standard being covered.” This clear language 

throughout a relatively short lesson explains the purpose of the activities and provides ample 

opportunities to check for student understanding.  

Many lessons did not have structured assessments. Without a structured assessment, 

teachers may assess different students in different places during the lesson, creating a situation 

where students are treated unequally. Without structured formative and summative assessments 

within a lesson, the teacher could treat student learning differently. Each student may be 

accessed in a different place in the lesson. Demonstrating knowledge of some aspects of the 

lesson but not all. Teachers may also not have time to access all students. Structured assessments 

let teachers know who retained the information and who could use additional support. Without a 

structured assessment, teachers may assess different students in different places during the 

lesson, creating a situation where students are treated unequally.  

Maps: Misshapen, Misplaced, and Missing 

The maps featured in the lessons of this study were often created with an artistic or 

stylistic flare. These maps were aesthetically pleasing to look at on the page but frequently 

misrepresented the size and shape of actual places occupied by actual people. It is unknown why 

the stylistic choices in creating the maps for this lesson are made; perhaps it is to make the map 

look more kid friendly. Ultimately, the maps presented in the lesson plans for this study featured 

misshapen spaces, were misplaced, or were just plain missing. 

Thirty of the fifty lessons in this study featured print versions of mapped land for 

students to use as a reference. These maps of states, countries, continents, and the Earth varied 

greatly in accuracy and quality. Twenty-three of the thirty lessons containing maps feature 

apparent errors. These geography lessons intended for first-grade students may introduce the 

73 

 
skills necessary to read or create a map. As with many academic skills, the scaffolding of 

information is essential. Often, lessons in map skills begin with mapping small areas such as a 

classroom or school building and then branch out to neighborhoods and larger areas such as 

cities and states until, eventually, children are shown maps of the continent and world. This 

progression in the presentation of the maps to young children makes sense. Often, the lesson 

plans in this study featured “fake” or “made-up” maps of classrooms and neighborhoods for 

students to practice with. I am not considering these maps in my overall findings on the accuracy 

of maps with the lesson plans. When the lessons begin to present maps of actual places, gross 

misrepresentations often occur. While the scope and scale of a flat map representation of a 

country or continent can never be considered “perfectly accurate” the maps in these lesson plans 

were far from what might be regarded as reasonably accurate. 

The authors of the first-grade geography lessons in this study seemed concerned with 

ensuring that the map fit neatly on the page and that the students could easily cut or trace the 

landform's borders. The lessons may also attempt to simplify the shapes of states, countries, and 

continents to help young children understand. Whatever the motivation for making changes, the 

maps featured in the lesson plans for this study featured states, countries, and continents that 

were misshaped, misplaced and often missing altogether. 

Many lessons featured world maps and introductions to the seven continents. These 

lessons often had children coloring and cutting out the continents, then gluing them to blue paper 

in an attempt to replicate a World map. The borders of the seven continents are drawn with soft, 

rounded edges, significantly changing, and misrepresenting the shape of the land. Using a more 

accurate border would involve intricate cuts, an action with scissors that can be difficult for 

young hands still developing fine motor skills. While the consequences of this action may seem 

74 

 
small, the more significant issue lies in the misrepresentation of states, countries, and continents. 

Ultimately, when these small changes are made, the land of actual people is changed. Consider 

the hundreds of islands off the continent of Asia. Drawing and cutting that area can be tedious 

and difficult. Placing dotted lines around continents can simplify the cutting process for young 

children and include all surrounding land. This strategy can be used, and the lesson map still 

misrepresents the actual space. Unfortunately, the dotted lines often resulted in smaller islands 

and countries with jagged borders being eliminated.  

Michigan, Alaska, and Hawaii. The need to have a map that fits neatly on a standard 

sheet of paper is a common occurrence within the lessons in this study. Maps featuring spaces 

closer to home, such as maps of the United States and North America, were also changed to 

simplify borders. The states of Michigan, Alaska, and Hawaii were often casualties of a map 

simplified for young children.  

My home state of Michigan can be seen pictured with rounded-out borders distorting the 

state's recognizable shape of a mitten. Michigan is a state with two peninsulas, a simple fact not 

represented in some of the maps in this study. In more than one map, the Upper Peninsula of 

Michigan was eliminated completely. Michigan was not the only state on the map to be 

removed.    

The state of Hawaii was also frequently missing in maps of the United States. This 

exclusion might be blamed on its proximity to the contiguous states; however, even on maps that 

included Alaska, the state of Hawaii still needed to be added to the map. Of the thirty lesson 

plans featuring maps, twelve had Hawaii missing from the map. Admittedly, creating an accurate 

flat map of a large area is challenging, but numerous errors overshadow a reasonable attempt at 

trying. Removing a portion of a U.S. state is misleading to children and inaccurately teaches 

75 

 
   
about our country's geography. 

Removing Alaska, Hawaii, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from a map raises 

concerns related to geographic representation and inequality, and injustice toward people from 

those states. Removing the land from a map effectively removes the people of that place. 

Considering the people who occupy these areas, we are continuing to marginalize certain people. 

The states Alaska and Hawaii represent some of the high populations of Indigenous and native 

peoples. Alaska has 229 Federally recognized tribes living in the area (U.S. Department of 

Interior, n.d.). Hawaii is occupied not only by Native Hawaiians but also by people representing 

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Alaska, Hawaii, and the Upper Peninsula of 

Michigan represent remote locations that can be difficult to travel to. The people in these areas 

often receive few resources, such as gas or groceries, because of the difficulty of reaching their 

location. Eliminating Alaska, Hawaii, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan also marginalizes 

people in rural areas, who often do not receive as many resources as people in urban or suburban 

areas,  

The placement of Alaska and Hawaii on maps for young children in this study was rarely 

accurate. Map creators employed one of two strategies: the aforementioned absence or the 

misplacement of the states. Many representations of the United States place the states of Alaska 

and Hawaii below the state of Texas in an area where the country of Mexico lies. Often these 

two states are placed in small boxes below the southern border of the United States. 

Placing the 49th and 50th states of Hawaii and Alaska below (i.e., South of) California 

and Texas allows the fifty United States of America to fit neatly on one page. This inaccurate 

map placement is certainly not a new finding but a continuation of a problem that has existed for 

decades. As mentioned previously, of the 50 geography lessons reviewed for this study, 30 

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contained maps or representations of the physical geography of the United States. Seven of these 

maps placed Alaska and Hawaii in boxes below the southern border of the United States. A 

number more shocking considering that 17 of the 30 maps eliminated Alaska, Hawaii, or both 

from the map of the United States. Placing the state of Alaska South of Texas also creates issues 

around power and influence. The state of Alaska is 663,267 sq. Miles. If you were to place the 

state of Alaska on top of a map of the lower 48 states it would cover most of the states of the 

Midwest with the Aleutian Islands stretching all the way to California. The state of Alaska is 

almost three times as large in square miles as the state of Texas. Placing Alaska, clearly the 

largest state, South of Texas makes it appear small. This placement of Alaska makes the state of 

Texas look as though it is the United States’ largest state (physically). Texas, being presented as 

the physically as the largest state, is represented as powerful and misrepresents its physical size. 

In a country where “bigger is better,” being the physically largest state holds power. Reducing 

the size of Alaska also diminishes the needs of the people of Alaska. Without an understanding 

of the size and scope of the state, it is difficult to understand the needs of its people. Whether 

intentionally or not, placing Alaska South of Texas prioritizes one state over another (Rodríguez 

& Swalwell, 2022). 

Antarctica. On a larger scale, the continent of Antarctica, our Southernmost continent, is 

misshapen, misplaced, and missing throughout the lesson plans in this study. Again, placing a 

small continent situated on the very bottom of the three-dimensional world is difficult to 

represent on a flat map. The only way to truly see the continent of Antarctica is to place the 

South Pole at the center of the map, a view in which most other continents cannot be seen. This 

aerial view of the bottom of the globe shows the shape of Antarctica, a representation used in 

very few maps in this study. This view is more accurate in terms of the size and shape of the 

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continent but misrepresents the land if placed that way on a map of the seven continents.  

 Antarctica’s more prevalent representation in this study’s lesson plans is the misleading “side 

view”. Some lesson plans chose to eliminate the continent altogether.  

The side view of Antarctica is designed to represent the continent of Antarctica as though 

one is looking at one section of the world from an aerial view. Suppose one were to stand back 

and view the world from an aerial perspective, with Europe as the center continent; a small 

amount of Antarctica could be seen at the bottom of the world. The side view of Antarctica 

elongates the continents and makes the land appear much larger than many other continents. 

Antarctica is larger than the continents of Australia and Europe (Boudreau, 2023) but certainly 

smaller than North America and South America. 

More disturbing than the “side view” representation was the frequent elimination of the 

continent of Antarctica altogether. The elimination of the continent of Antarctica occurred in 

both stylistic maps of the world and more realistic representations of the world. Interestingly, I 

found the same world representation without Antarctica in at least three different world map 

representations. The “side view” of Antarctica was overinflated in size but at least represented 

the continent’s existence. The lesson plans that did not have Antarticia on the map ignored one 

of the seven major continents, ultimately teaching inaccurate information. There are obvious 

potential consequences for first-grade students taught from one of the “no Antarctica” lesson 

plans and geography lessons in later grades. 

 Literacy Activities Labeled as Social Studies  

The most common activity in the 50 first-grade-social studies geography lessons for this 

study is the making and reading of short books about topics in geography. The main activity in 

25 of the 50 lessons is the making, reading, or both of small books. The small books, or lapbooks 

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as they are sometimes called, could represent a failed attempt at integrating social studies and 

literacy (Heafner, 2018) or the need for unique lesson ideas in social studies. Over and over 

again, these social studies lessons have students assembling pre-printed books about geography 

topics with titles such as “A Book about Maps,” “All Kind of Landforms,” “My Continents 

Book,” and the most frequently used “Me on the Map.” While some informational reading can 

be used for social studies lessons, creating books is a literacy activity. These books represent a 

case in which a literacy activity has a social studies theme (Heafner, 2018). The primary student 

activity with each of these books is reading. Reading is a developing skill at the first-grade level, 

so reading the words in these small books might be challenging. The previously mentioned titles 

contain words such as “continent,” “information,” symbols,” and “cardinal directions” all 

multisyllabic words. These lapbooks are often just vocabulary words with definitions put 

together in book form.  

The most commonly used small book or activity is the “Me on the Map” project. This 

project can be completed in various creative ways, including in book form, concentric circles, or 

foldable paper. The purpose of this activity is to show children their place on the planet using 

geographic terms. This activity is based on a children’s book called Me on the Map (Sweeney, 

1998). The story follows a little girl in her bedroom and expands outward to her room, her 

house, her neighborhood, city, state, county, and continent until it reaches the planet. A “Me on 

the Map” project recreates this journey for each student. The activities can be called “My Place 

in the World,” “Where We Live,” or “Where in the World Am I.” However, the basic concept 

remains the same. A “Me on the Map” project was the focus of 25 of the 50 lessons evaluated. 

This data is not the same as 25 of 50 activities that featured the creation of a book, although 

there is some overlap.  

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The problem with this project lies in where the student’s journey begins. In the book, the 

main character has a large bedroom inside a large single-family home on a tree-lined street. 

When the project begins inside the child’s bedroom, one type of living situation is prioritized. 

The large single-family home with individual bedrooms is normalized, othering children with 

different living situations. The book and related projects do not mention additional living 

situations such as apartments, condos, multi-family homes, shelters, houseboats, or cars. This 

book ignores the realities of some students’ living situations. In most of the lessons in this study, 

these projects started in the students’ “room” and had no alternative options.  

There were a few exceptions that honored the unique lives of children. In one project, the 

“Me on a Map” activity started at the school. A school building is shared by all children. That 

building is on a common street, in a neighborhood, city, state, country, continent, and planet. 

The outcome of the lesson remains the same regardless of where students start. Students still 

learn geographic terms such as street, city, state, country, continent, and planet. While also 

learning about their size and relationship with each other. 

Another lesson started with the children in “My Special Place,” and the students could 

decide where to start the journey. These simple changes opened the lesson to all students and 

normalized various living arrangements. No student is left feeling inadequate when the project 

begins in a shared space. 

The CAOLSS on Justice & Equity 

Seven questions on the CAOLSS evaluated areas of justice and equity. Table 2 below 

shows each question in the Justice & Equity category and the total scores. As mentioned at the 

beginning of this section, not all 50 lesson plans in this study have all five significant problems, 

but each lesson had at least one. The most common significant problem was related to issues of 

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justice and equity. Although I did not provide a table for the other categories on the CAOLLS 

checklist, I felt it was important to share these scores. Unlike other categories on the CAOLLS 

checklist, lesson plans could be given an N/A (not applicable) if the question did not apply to the 

lesson. For example, if there was no Compass Rose used in the lesson, any question related to 

the Compass Rose received an N/A. The areas of the Justice & Equity were used to evaluate all 

lesson plans. There were no N/A scores given.  

Table 2 

Total Results of Section VI Justice 

Question                                               
_________________________________________________________________________ 

 No/0                1                      2                Yes/3         

Does the content reflect my                            10                  3                      6                        31 

students’ cultures or contexts? 

Does the content give my students                   19                  8                      9                        14 
windows into new cultures or contexts? 

Does the lesson help my students                     44                  2                      1                          3 
question dominant ideas about what is 
normal or good? 

Does the lesson emphasize that cultures          31                  6                      2                        12 
and communities are diverse? 

Are the representations of place broad           37                  3                      2                          8 
(beyond stereotypes)? 

Does the lesson encourage children to             50                  0                      0                          0 
learn skills to effect change in the world? 

Does the activity, resource, or idea harm         23                  3                   10                         15 
Students-especially those with marginalized 
Identities and/or backgrounds?* 

*(Gallagher et. al., 2019) 

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Overall, the content of the lessons reflects the culture or context of students in the United 

States. In evaluating these lessons, I assumed they would be used in a classroom in the United 

States. Most of these lessons placed the United States at the center of the lesson. There is also 

some attempt to give students a “window into new cultures or contexts.” Often, these attempts 

were minimal, but an attempt was made.  

The actual glaring areas of concern are the questions that touched on ideas about “broad 

representation beyond stereotypes, “questioning a dominant narrative,” “emphasizing that 

cultures and communities are diverse,” and “encouraging children to learn a skill to effect 

change in the world.” In these areas, the 0/No outnumber the more positive responses of 

1,2,3/Yes, overwhelmingly. These big social studies ideas are not being addressed in any 

recognizable way in the lesson plans for this study. 

The “Me on the Map” project beginning in a bedroom, or a single-family home was an 

automatic 0/yes or 1 on the reversed scored question “Does the activity, resource, or idea harm 

students-especially those with marginalized identities or backgrounds.” The desired answer to 

this question would be 3/No. This means that the lesson did not have the potential to harm 

students, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds. A score of 1 was given if the 

activity featured blank circles for students to draw and write on. Pre-printed activities with the 

words “My Room,” “My House,” or “My Home” were scored 0/Yes.  

 In summary, the findings in this section show that little attention was given to issues of 

justice and equity in the lesson plans used in this study. Areas where students can question 

dominant ideas of good and bad, move beyond stereotypical representations of place, and learn 

to make change in the world, were in seriously short supply. A highlight in the justice and equity 

areas may be the attempt, by many lessons, to introduce students to new cultures and contexts. 

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Summary of the Findings 

DISCUSSION 

In this study, I examined 50 lesson plans available for purchase on the lesson-sharing 

website Teacher Pay Teachers. These lessons were chosen using the internal search feature and 

narrowing my search by type, grade, subject, and discipline. I purchased the first 50 lessons 

available when searching lesson plan-first grade-social studies-geography. The large number of 

lesson plans available for purchase on Tpt.com makes it necessary to narrow a search or risk 

wasting valuable time searching through countless lesson plans. Each lesson plan was evaluated 

using the CAOLSS created based on the Pinning with Pause checklist (Gallagher et al., 2019). 

The lesson plans were scored and placed into one of three groups: the Focused Top, the Busy 

Work Mediocre Middle, and the Uninvolved Student bottom. 

The findings from this study informed my two research questions: (1) How do the first 50 

lesson plans that appear when searching lesson plan-first-grade-social studies-geography using 

the TPT search tool measure along criteria including geography content, assessment, alignment 

with standards, and justice and equity? (2) What are the significant problems within these TPT 

lessons?  

Through this study, I found that elementary geography lesson plans available for 

purchase on TPT contain little resemblance to the lesson plans one might have learned to create 

in school as a pre-service teacher. Even when searching specifically for lesson plans, most of the 

lessons purchased for this study were, at best, classroom activities. While intending to help 

teachers, these activities available on TPT are overwhelmingly not aligned with stated social 

studies standards with clear outcomes and assessments. Additionally, these activities often 

misrepresented people and places, choosing stereotypes and cute illustrations over accuracy. 

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Most of the lessons were rated low on the justice and equity questions, raising concerns for all 

students and particularly students from marginalized backgrounds. 

Situating the Findings in the Scholarship 

The findings for this study contribute to and contradict previous research in TPT and 

curriculum integration of social studies and language arts curriculum. This study’s findings 

support the work of those who warn against the use of TPT lesson plans without a thorough 

review of the lesson or activity. Like in previous studies little alignment was present between 

curriculum standards and the lessons available on TPT. Previous studies found little alignment 

between the CCSS the lesson was intended to cover. This study found few claims or attempts to 

align with or even recognize current standards.  

This research supports and contradicts research on the curriculum integration of social 

studies and language arts. 25 of the 50 lesson plans featured an attempt at combining these 

subjects. Most of these attempts were unsuccessful despite one previous study finding 

improvement in this area. 

Saving Teacher Time/The Fallacy of TPT 

This study continues the work of scholars who have warned against using the online 

lesson marketplace, TPT (Aguilar et al., 2022; Bauml, 2015; Brown et al., 2020; Sawyer & 

Myers, 2018; Schroeder & Curcio, 2022; Shelton et al., 2021; Swalwell et al., 2023). Despite 

repeated warnings about the lessons on TPT, teachers are either unaware of them or 

unconcerned. TPT boasts that “85% of educators” use the site with “7M+” teacher-created 

resources and “1B+ resources downloaded.” The obvious next step may be to find ways to help 

teachers navigate the site. This research supports the careful examination of materials and tools 

to help teachers make wise decisions about the content available on TPT (Archambault et al., 

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2021; Bauml, 2015; Carpenter & Shelton, 2024; Gallagher et al., 2019; Shelton & Archambault, 

2019, 2022). 

This study adds to the growing scholarship that notes a lack of standards alignment and 

poor-quality lessons. The lack of social studies standards present in these lessons speaks to the 

research of Shelton et al., 2021, who stated, “A key concern is that TPT frames curriculum as a 

good to be bought and sold by individual entrepreneurs, not provided by the state or created 

collectively by practitioners” (p. 272). Others recognize the lack of Common Core State 

Standards alignment in lessons in math and literacy (Aguilar et al., 2022). Although there are no 

common core state standards for social studies, the lack of TPT lesson alignment in other CCSS 

areas such as math and literacy speak to the findings in this study. This study shows that the 

presence and alignment of state standards do not appear to be a big concern for the buyers and 

sellers on TPT.com. Despite only evaluating a relatively small number of lesson plans in one 

focused area, there is strong evidence of teacher interest overall. The 50 lessons reviewed for this 

study were purchased and positively reviewed by 9,964 people. 

Harris et al., 2022 also created a tool to evaluate online lesson plans, inspired by 

Gallagher et al.’s 2019 “Pinning with Pause Checklist.” Their research evaluated 11th-grade 

history content on TPT and found that “70% of U.S. history activities were of moderate or low 

overall quality, including posing potential harm to students” (p. 15). This study reflected similar 

results but at an elementary level. “Curating and Creating with Care” and my CAOLSS each 

specifically addressed the growing concern over “posing potential harm to students” (Gallagher, 

2019). This research study, combined with L.M. Harris et al., provides empirical evidence of 

low-quality social studies at the elementary and secondary levels. 

The finding of this study went deeper examining the type of activities the students were 

85 

 
asked to do, finding a large percentage of language arts-based activities with social studies as the 

subject. The overlap between social studies and language arts standard exists at all grade levels. 

The current problem at the elementary level may impact future social studies instruction. 

Students need some separation between the two subjects so that disenchanted or struggling 

readers don’t make the same assumptions about social studies. 

This study fills a gap in research on early elementary social studies available for purchase 

on TPT.com. This lack of research is interesting, considering that Aguilar et al. (2022) found that 

“TPT predominantly serves elementary school grades” (p. 1) and “The most widely available 

materials on the site are aimed at early elementary grades and are in the ‘printable’ format (p. 

2).” The availability of lessons and materials in printable format was a key finding in this study. 

One of the key characteristics of The Mediocre Middle, the largest group of lesson plans in this 

study, was the abundance of worksheets and activities. Further adding to Aguilar et al. findings 

from their study, “Close to 70% of material is characterized as being a ‘printable,’ or an 

‘activity’” (p. 1). These two studies combine to illustrate the value of hands-on materials to 

buyers and sellers on TPT. 

The research is specific to early elementary social studies instruction in geography—a 

topic not widely researched as it relates to standards alignment and quality. In 2019, Aguiar et al. 

found that “While sellers have the option to tag their materials with the learning standards they 

address, only approximately 15% of materials were tagged with a learning standard (p. 2).” The 

research for this study suggests that not much improvement has occurred in the area of social 

studies geography in the last five years. 

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Standards and Developmental Readiness 

 The lessons I analyzed did not reflect what scholars recommend regarding either the use 

of standards or children’s developmental readiness for geography concepts. The lessons in this 

study seem to assume children have moved past topological concepts, which require recognizing 

space features in relation to a fixed object and being ready for projective construction and 

Euclidean concepts (Downs & Liben, 1991). Children using projective construction can 

determine what perspective a map is portraying, for example, linear vs. aerial view. Deciding 

about perspective is a task Piaget and Inhelder (1956), Blaut (1997), Downs and Liben (1991), 

and Sobel (1998) all thought best was suited for children older than first grade.  

The use of Euclidean concepts was another activity featured frequently throughout the 

lessons in this study. Euclidean concepts require students “to establish and use arbitrary but fixed 

reference systems (such as cartesian or polar coordinates) for specific location, direction, size 

and distance” (Down & Liben, 1991, p. 310). The first-grade geography lesson plans in this 

study contained many worksheets where students are required to navigate areas as large as the 

world and as small as a classroom using lines of latitude and coordinate grid systems.  

This study showed that recommendations from official geography organizations (NCGE, 

NGS) and the C3 Framework were largely ignored. The C3 Framework clearly outlines twelve 

standards that students should be able to do by the end of 2nd grade (NCSS, 2013). Those twelve 

guiding standards are written in the literature review chapter. Euclidean concepts are not in the 

K-2 standards. Nowhere in these recommendations for first-grade students is the memorization 

and placement of continents and oceans. In alignment with the C3 Framework, the eighteen 

standards written in Geography for Life (NCGE, 2012) do not require students to memorize 

continents, countries, or ocean names at the first-grade level. The lessons in this study assume 

87 

 
greater development in the teaching and learning of geography concepts. 

Social Studies Disguised as Literacy 

In contrast to Huck’s research, this study did not find any evidence of improvements in social 

studies and literacy integration (Huck, 2019), with the caveat that my research cannot speak to 

all areas of social studies, only integrating geography and literacy. I found that half of the 

lessons reviewed for this study attempted to integrate geography with literacy. These lessons 

featured books that were created for students to read on their own about geography and map 

skills. In first grade, most students are emerging readers and are still working to sound out words 

like symbols and oceans, which are included in many of the lessons I analyzed. These lessons, 

thus, are more about sounding out words than understanding social studies concepts.  

This research highlights the prevalence of stealthy and fractured curriculum integration 

(Brugar & Whitlock, 2020; Hinde, 2015). This research shows that despite evidence of 

successful social studies and literacy integration suggestions (Britt & LaFontaine, 2009; Fertig & 

Silverman, 2007; Gandy, 2006, 2007, 2020; Swift & Brown, 2022), teachers still need more 

practice. Brugar and Whitlock noted that skilled teachers were more successful with intentional 

social studies and literacy integration. These skills assumingly come from good training and 

practice. Hinde (2015) noted, “when teachers have the knowledge of the content and areas being 

integrated and possess the ability to translate that knowledge in ways for their students 

understanding, integration is particularly effective.” (p. 25). The teachers responsible for creating 

and posting the lesson plans for this study are still lacking some of these skills and knowledge.   

Misrepresentation of Land 

This study highlights how often map projections misrepresenting place can be found in 

first-grade geography lesson plans. Although only specific to one group of first-grade geography 

88 

 
lessons, this research study beautifully illustrates Rodríguez and Swalwell's point, “Maps always 

construct a narrative, so we need to be mindful of power and perspective” (p. 22).” A 

demonstration of how “power and perspective” relate to the creation of maps used in elementary 

classrooms can be seen in these findings. The findings of this study show how often these issues 

can occur even in a small group of lesson plans. Map distortions of states, countries, and 

continents run rampant. I discussed previously the justice and equity implications of removing 

states and counties. Placing Alaska and Hawaii below Texas also removes Mexico from the map. 

Removing the county of Mexico removes family origins for many of our current student 

population in the United States.  

This study illustrates the need for more books to recognize problematic geography 

content, specifically at the elementary level. Many of the lessons evaluated for this study contain 

problematic content that would need reworking. Rodríguez and Swalwell (2022) bring attention 

to the justice and equity issues in elementary social studies teaching and take readers through the 

process of rethinking and rewriting these lessons. They discuss The Four Problematics (p. 47), 

which are “Normalization,” “Idealization” and “Problematic Dramatization/Gamification” (p. 

47). The CAOLSS evaluation tool used for this study included questions inspired by meant to 

encompass ideas behind the Four Problematics.  

 This study found repeated use of the Me on the Map project also known as My Place in 

this World. Regardless of what it’s called, the illustration of the expanded communities model is 

the same. This lesson showed up in 50% of the lessons in this study. Three of the Four 

Problematics of Elementary Social Studies (Rodríguez & Swallwell, 2024, p. 47) are embedded 

in this project alone. Normalization and Idealization can be found in the assumption that all 

students live in a home in a nice tree-lined neighborhood. Idealization when the project fails to 

89 

 
address those experiencing homelessness or those struggling to find stable housing. The Me on 

the Map book and project eliminate any problems related to housing, communities, or cities. 

Problematic Dramatization/Gamification occurs as emphasis is placed on the craft portion of the 

project. More time is spent coloring, cutting, drawing, and gluing than discussing the 

interconnectedness of the home, street, city, state, country, continent, and world the student lives 

in. The expanded communities model (Bisland, 2009; Halvorsen, 2009, 2013; Stallones, 2013) is 

prevalent across my analyzed lessons.  

Implications for Policy and Practice 

The research from this study could be used to make positive changes to educational 

policy and practice. Diliberti et al. noted the missing infrastructure in elementary social studies. 

This infrastructure should provide research-based clearly articulated standards with classroom 

materials and resources that match these goals. Elementary social studies teachers are left to 

become cobblers “teachers (who) used self-created materials for most of their social 

studies instructional time” (Diliberti et al. 2023 p. 25). The internet would be the most logical 

place to search for instructional materials and TPT offers a large selection of lesson plans. 

TPT should shoulder the responsibility for improving the quality of lesson plans 

available on their site. At present time there is no official vetting process for lessons and 

activities that are posted on their site. The seller must register with the site, so as to share a 

portion of their profits, but no review of the material they upload is made by TPT. TPT relies on 

user reports for policing inaccurate or inappropriate information. TPT could appoint an advisory 

board to decide a bare minimum set of requirements. These requirements should include 

alignment to some recognized standard or guideline. TPT currently assigns all math and 

language arts activities with a CCSS. The practice does not currently include social studies and 

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science. Social studies and the language arts share many CCSS, particularly those in critical 

thinking skills and informational writing. 

This TPT advisory board could also ensure lesson plans are updated by their sellers. 

Although not included in the Findings chapter of this dissertation many of the lesson plans 

purchased for this study had not been updated by their seller since 2016. Lesson Plan 12 dated 

back to 2013. The annual or biannual updating of lessons could help eliminate some of the 

outdated lesson plans and activities on the site. It is unlikely that TPT will eliminate outdated 

lessons on their site. They wouldn’t want to jeopardize their claim of “7+M teacher-created 

lessons”. The newly appointed TPT board could start by ensuring that those uploading lessons to 

their site were actually teachers. 

There are research implications for practice as well. The COALSS evaluation tool would 

be helpful in evaluating lesson plans on the site. The process of completing the checklist doesn’t 

take long and provides teachers with a better understanding of what they are purchasing. Lesson 

plans that score poorly in categories on the COALSS are not a total loss if the teacher knows of 

the problem and has the skills to fix or eliminate it. A lesson plan containing a map of the United 

States without Alaska or Hawaii becomes a lesson in what is missing and what it means to be 

taken off the map.  

I would also encourage teachers using TPT to leave negative review and report 

problematic lessons and activities. The 50 lesson plans in this study all receive four- or five-star 

reviews. No lesson plan received a review of fewer than 4 stars. Reviewers are also able to leave 

comments. Use this section to point out issues. For example, one might add to their review, this 

world map is missing Antarctica. TPT is making a profit and has no incentive to police their 

work. Teachers need to work together to protect the interests of other teachers. 

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Limitations 

There are two main limitations to this study. The accuracy and reliability of the search feature on 

TPT and the amount of teacher fidelity to the lesson plan. The search function (TPT) ultimately 

decided which lesson I could review. There were approximately 1,400 lesson plans available for 

purchase after searching “lesson plans-first grade-social studies-geography.” These lesson plans 

were displayed across roughly twenty online pages. This study only reviewed the first 50 lesson 

plans that met the criteria. The results of this study may not represent the lessons that appeared 

after I reached the limit. However, I selected the first 50 lesson plans with the assumption that 

these are far more likely to be used than the other lesson plans, and they reflect lessons that are 

more likely being downloaded and used. I should see the same search results as any first-grade 

teacher seeking geography lessons. 

My findings also only reflect what is written on the page. I cannot know the intention of 

the author. The results of this study do not reflect how teachers (or those who purchase the 

lessons) may do with the lessons. It is unknown how teachers alter or change these lesson plans 

when they are implemented. Perhaps the creators of the lesson plans assume that purchasers 

(teachers) will make the necessary adjustments to the lesson plan for their students’ needs. 

Skilled teachers may know which standards they are trying to cover. They may also know how 

to assess the lesson. As a researcher, I do not know how the lesson plans were used by teachers 

Areas for Future Research 

The are two main areas for future research. These areas are continued research in 

curriculum integration and research on how teachers are using TPT lesson plans in their 

classrooms. Continued research to help teachers properly integrate social studies and language 

arts, such as the work of Hann and Hagelman (2021), which specifically lists children’s literature 

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that can assist in teaching the five themes of geography. It will be important to continue to 

update the lists as new children’s books are published every day. Previously recommended 

books may become out-of-date based on societal shifts in attitudes or changes in geographical 

borders.  

Additional research could also explore how teachers implement TPT-purchased lesson 

plans in their classrooms. Are they altering the lesson? How faithful to the written word on the 

page are they? Are the lesson plans purchased supplemental to a larger social studies curriculum, 

or are teachers using the lesson plans on Teacher Pay Teachers as their curriculum?  

Concluding Thoughts 

TPT influences the teaching and learning in classrooms thought out the United States and 

beyond. Despite numerous studies by academic researchers in many subject areas about the poor 

quality of the lesson plans and activities available on the site, demand still exists for the product. 

In fact, there is so many products a teacher can get lost looking for lesson plans on the site. Why 

do we need 1,400 lessons in first-grade-geography? Why do we need “7+ M Uploaded 

Resources”? It’s too much. The findings from this study demonstrate that the search function 

isn’t much help as many lesson plans were omitted from this study because they were off topic. 

The first 50 lesson plans that were on topic certainly weren’t ranked from best to worst. If the 

intention of the teacher is to save time by using a social studies online lesson plan or activity, 

TPT is not the answer.  

I believe teachers are constantly trying to improve their craft and make learning active 

and exciting for their students. As discussed in the introduction teachers struggle finding useful 

and active social studies materials. If a school district isn’t providing social studies materials that 

are working for students where else is a teacher to go. Many of the current social studies 

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materials can be improved upon. This study demonstrated there are a lot of materials out there. 

Trained and talented teachers can create worthwhile social studies materials for early elementary 

students. Cobbler Teachers and DIYers deserve a better placeform in which to share their ideas. 

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REFERENCES 

Aguilar, S. J., Silver, D., & Polikoff, M. S. (2022). Analyzing 500,000  

TeachersPayTeachers.com lesson descriptions shows focus on K-5 and lack of common  
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96 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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99 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX A: 

COALSS 

Checklist of Online Assessment Lessons in Social Studies 

Teacher Pay Teachers First-grade Geography Lesson Plans 

Lesson #: _________________________________________________________ 

Lesson Title: ______________________________________________________ 

What does the author categorize the document as? ______________________ 

I. Standards   

0
/ 
N
o 

1 

2 

3/ 
Yes 

N/A 

Does the document claim to support a local or state 
elementary geography standard?  

If so, which one(s): 
__________________________________________________________
____________ 

Does the document claim to support a C3 elementary 
geography standard?  

If so, which one(s): _____________________________________ 

Does the document cover any C3 K-2 elementary geography 
standards? 
If so, which one(s): 

Does the document claim to support a standard NOT related 
to geography?  

100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If so, which one(s):  

Geographic Representations  
 D2. Geo.1.K-2  Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places. 
 D2. Geo.2.K-2   Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the 

relationships and interactions that shape them. 

 D2. Geo.3.K-2   Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and 
environmental characteristics of places  

Human-Environment Interaction 
 D2. Geo.4.K-2   Explain how weather, climate, and other environmental characteristics affect people’s 
lives in a place or region. 
 D2. Geo.5.K-2 

 Describe how human activities affect the cultural and environmental characteristics of 
places or regions.  
 Identify some cultural and environmental characteristics of specific places.  

 D2. Geo.6.K-2 

Human Population: Spatial Patterns and Movements 
 D2. Geo.7.K-2   Explain why and how people, goods, and ideas move from place to place. 
 D2. Geo.8.K-2   Compare how people in different types of communities use local and distant  

environments to meet their daily needs. 

 D2. Geo.9.K-2   Describe the connections between the physical environment of a place and the economic  

activities found there. 

Global Interconnections 
D2. Geo.10.K-2   Describe changes in the physical and cultural characteristics of various world regions 
D2. Geo.11.K-2. Explain how the consumption of products connects people to distant places.  
D2. Geo.12.K-2. Identify ways that a catastrophic disaster may affect people living in a place. 

II. General Instruction 

0/ 
No 

1 

2 

3/ 
Yes 

N/A 

Does the lesson rely exclusively on vocabulary cards?* 

Are children asked to write independently? 

Are children asked to create/produce something? 

Does the lesson ask the children to do anything beyond 
remember level?  

101 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
III. Assessment 

Does the lesson have formative assessment checks? 

Does the lesson have a summative assessment? 

Does the summative assessment ask the children to do 
an authentic task?** 

IV. Geography Content/Processes 

0/ 
No 

1 

2 

3/ 
Yes 

N/A 

0/ 
No 

1 

2 

3/ 
Yes 

N/A 

Does the lesson feature the Compass Rose (NESW) without 
any scaffolding?* 

Are any maps presented in the lesson accurate?  

Are the maps digitally altered to fit the page?* 

Does the lesson include map types beyond “flat maps”? 

Does the lesson include instruction on absolute vs. relative 
location when relevant? 

Does the lesson address aerial view (bird’s eye view)? 

Does the lesson cover the continents and oceans? 

Does the lesson make the ideas concrete for children? 

V. Illustrations 

What are the illustrations of (if there are illustrations)? 
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________ 

0/ 
No 

1 

2 

3/ 
 yes 

N/A 

102 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0/ 
No 

1 

2 

3/ 
 yes 

Are the representations of children/people 
culturally authentic or nuanced? 

Are the children/people representative of an 
identifiable cultural background beyond white? 

VI. Justice and Equity 

Does the content reflect my students’ cultures or 
contexts? 

Does the content give my students windows into 
new cultures or contexts? 

Does the lesson help my students question 
dominant ideas about what is normal or good? 

Does the lesson emphasize that cultures and 
communities are diverse? 

Are the representations of place broad (beyond 
stereotypes)? 

Does the lesson encourage children to learn skills 
to effect change in the world? 

Does the activity, resource, or idea harm 
students—especially those with marginalized 
identities and/or backgrounds? * 

VII. Qualities of Powerful and Authentic Social Studies (Descriptors-not scored) 

Meaningful builds curriculum networks of knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes that are structured around 
enduring understandings, essential questions, important ideas, and goals 

Challenging The curriculum should promote critical, creative, and ethical thinking on problems faced by citizens 
and leaders. 

Integrative subjects that comprise social studies—i.e., history, economics, geography, civics, sociology, 
anthropology, archaeology and psychology—are rich, interrelated disciplines, each critical to the background of 
thoughtful citizens. 

103 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Value-based the social studies program should consider the ethical dimensions of topics and address 
controversial issues while providing an area for reflective development of concern for the common good and the 
application of democratic values. 

Active  Active learning is not just “hands-on,” it is “minds-on. 

Does the lesson claim to integrate subjects beyond social studies? 

Holistic Evaluation of the Lesson:  

Other Notes: 

Key 

0/no 

No evidence 

1 

2 

3/yes 

N/A 

Little evidence, inappropriate/failed attempt to include 

Some evidence, an attempt to thoughtfully included, may be difficult to 
spot  

Evident in lesson 

Not applicable 

*reverse scored 
** NA if no assessment is included 

104 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX B: 

LESSON PLANS RETRIEVED FROM TPT 

123kteach, (2019) Continents and Oceans Mini Booklet & Worksheets, 1st-4th grade,  

Geography [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

4 Little Baers, (2016) Maps and Globes Cut and Paste Sorting Worksheet-Social Studies 

[lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Acast005, (2016) Communities: Urban, rural and suburban!! [lesson plan].  

Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Acme Learning Solutions, (2019) Continents Study Bundle 223 Countries- Worksheets, maps,  

and Flags of the World [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from  
teacherspayteachers.com 

An Apple for My Class, (2016) Where I Live Social Studies Unit with Lesson Plans- K, 1st &  

2nd Grades [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Carroll, Cara, (2018) Simply Social Studies First Grade- Unit 5- On the Map [lesson plan].  

Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Class of Kinders, (2016) Mapping My Classroom Pop-Up Style Kindergarten & First Grade  
Social Studies [lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Classroom Complete Press, (2016) Mapping Skills with Google Earth: How to Read a Map Gr.  

PK-2 [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Dizzy Ozzy, (2020) Social Studies: Families and Mapping|Dynamic Relationships [lesson 

plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Firm Foundations in Education, (2022) Continents Book-Map Activities-Color, Cut, and Paste-7  

Continents 5 Oceans [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from  
teacherspayteachers.com 

Gallik, Jacquelyn, (2016) Comprehensive Social Studies Unit for 1st Grade: Covers All  
Standards [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Garden Pea Designs, (2018) Types of Maps [lesson plan]. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

Gardner, Sarah, (2024) Landforms|Social Studies Lessson|Powerpoint & Google Slides  

[lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Gifted with Goldens, (2021) Multiple Perspectives Week Long Unit with book: This is How We  

Do It [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

105 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hall, Elizabeth-Kickin’ it in Kindergarten, (2016) Landform Unit for Litter Learners  

[lesson plan]. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Humble Heart, (2022) 3 Kinds of Communities: Urban, Suburban, Rural- Complete Project &  

Rubric [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Katelyn’ Learning Studio, (2017) Map Skills Worksheets First Grad Mapping Activity  
[lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Jones, Karen, (2020) Little 1st Grade SOCIAL STUDIES Thinkers {Unit 5: Geography} 
[lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Just a Primary Girl, (2019) Map Unit [lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

Kid World Citizen, (2017) Geography for Kids Bundle: Three Essential Hands-on Activities  

[lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Kid World Citizen, (2017) My Place in the World Project: “Me on the Map” Geography for  
Kids [lesson plan]. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Kids and Coffee, (2016) 7 Continents Mini Book {Black and White} [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Krafty Kim, (2016) Me on the Map Student Book (All 50 states included) [lesson plan].  

Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Lukis, Ben (2023) Continent Coloring Pates-Maps of all Continents to Color- World Geography  

[lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Lukis, Ben (2023) Build A Treasure Island Design & Craft Pirate & Mapping Geography  

Resource [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Lynch, Erin Eberhard, (2016) Me on the Map mini book [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024,  

from teacherspayteachers.com 

Miz Riz Elementary Resources, (2017) Let’s Make a Map! {Map-Making Activity for Primary  
Geography Unit [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Mrs. Faulkner, (2016) Me on the Map Flip Book [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

Moore, Victoria, (2018) Mapping Skills Unit | Maps and Globes| Continents and Oceans  
[lesson plan]. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

106 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ortiz, Ruby Jane, (2018) Map Skills Worksheets, Map Activities, Lapbook Template, and  

Posters [lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Penn, Tracie, 2016) Where We Live- a map and globe thematic unit [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Primary Panic, (2023) Map Skills Bundle (Lesson and Worksheets)-Keys/Legends, Compass  

Roses, Titles [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Rombach, Lisa, (2023) Oceans & Continents Social Studies Smart Board Lesson Primary  
Grades [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Silloh Curriculum, (2022) Continents and Major Oceans for 1st Grade [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Shine Design, (2018) Continents and Ocean Anchor Charts [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

March 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Skelton, Gretchen, (2020) New Carolina Social Studies 1st Grade Unit 2: All About Maps  

[lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Sparking a Love for Learning, (2016) Where in the World Am I?-Kindergarten Social Studies  

Unit [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Statzel, Christine (2016) Me on the Map: A Literature & Social Studies Mini-Unit   

[lesson plan]. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Surviving the Little People Kelli Pepper, (2017) [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 11, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

Sweet on Teaching, (2016) Intro to Landforms PowerPoint [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

August 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Teacher Treasures and Troves, (2016) Communities [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

Teacher Treasures and Troves, (2016) Continents and Oceans [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

Teacher Treasures and Troves, (2016) Maps and Globes [lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 

2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Blue Brain Teacher, (2018) “Where in the World?” A free mini-geography unit for first  

grade [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Harstad Collection, (2019) Geography Bundle Map Skills, Labeling, Questions for Atlas &  

107 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Internet (K-12) [lesson plan]. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Principal’s Wife, (2017) Geography Bundle [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from  

teacherspayteachers.com 

The Principal’s Wife, (2018) Physical and Human Characteristics [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

March 6, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Principal’s Wife, (2022) Absolute and Relative Location [lesson plan]. Retrieved  

February 2, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

The Tahoe Teacher, (2023) Map Skills Unit|Reading Maps Activities for Primary Grades 

 [lesson plan]. Retrieved April 8, 2024, from teacherspayteachers.com 

What I Have Learned, (2013) Map Skills, Location, Urban, Suburban & Rural Grid Maps,  

North America, Compare [lesson plan]. Retrieved March 6, 2024, from  
teacherspayteachers.com 

108