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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We would like you to take advantage of the following resources:

National Geographic MapMaker is a mapping tool for teachers and students in K-12 schools created by Esri and the National Geographic Society. It is easy-to-use and includes maps and data curated for social studies and earth science curricula.

Using GIS in K-5 can be fun!

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.