GIS is in the STEM Standards Framework for Grades K-5

The TDOE has created an introductory K-5 course to help younger students begin developing introductory skills and a foundational knowledge base important to subsequent STEM fields of study.  This course is intentionally designed to help prepare students for entry into the middle school STEM Foundations I course.  It is important to note that this course may be implemented flexibly to meet individual district needs within the K-5 grade band.

The TGA sees opportunity to incorporate GIS when engaging STEM Fields Exploration Standards which are designed to equip students with an understanding of STEM careers and occupations.
  • Analyze career opportunities and occupations that exist in a variety of STEM fields
  • Explore how technology is integrated into different career fields and occupations
  • Use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present spatial or geographic data.
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Upper Elementary GeoInquiries

Esri’s GeoInquiries are short, standards-based inquiry activities for teaching map-based content found in commonly used textbooks. GeoInquiries are composed of three parts: a  PDF teacher guide, an interactive webmap, and an optional student worksheet. One of these collections is dedicated to Elementary School although I would encourage you to examine some of the other collections to see if you find more GeoInquiries you could use. This section specifically curated for Upper Elementary School.

Using GIS in K-5 can be fun!

Esri GeoProjects are pre-built, inquiry-based learning activities designed for K-12 classrooms, focusing on data collection and mapping within the ArcGIS platform. They are designed to be self-contained, requiring no user login to participate, and are often used for engaging students in geographic inquiry. ​