Students research and compare two U.S. landforms, write linked geography and human-impact explanations, and build a map the READER explores by dragging to each destination.
Pacing
3 classes · 120 min
Grade
Grade 7
Coding
Beginner
Students codePlayer ActionsDragOn Page StartSequence
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
How do landforms shape human life — and how do humans reshape landforms?
Students will be able to
Research and summarize information about two U.S. landforms
Explain how landforms form and how they affect people
Write structured nonfiction paragraphs using academic vocabulary
Design and code an interactive U.S. map using Elementari
Key vocabulary
wetlandpeatrestorationContinental Divide
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
Both landforms are accurately located and explained, and each human use, challenge, and adaptation connects to physical geography. Dragging to each icon opens the matching pages, return navigation works, the fun-fact reveal is accurate, and locked navigation preserves exploration.
The student journey
From reading to an interactive project
Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.
1
📖
Read
The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.
📖The Swamp America Paid to Un-Drain
A century ago, Florida declared war on a landform. Politicians of the era promised to drain what they called a worthless, disease-ridden swamp — the Everglades — and canal by canal, they did. Water that had crept slowly south for thousands …
Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.
Student mission
Build an interactive landform map that shows how two American giants shape human lives.
2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
___ and ___: Two American ___.
Key Words from the PassagewetlandpeatrestorationContinental Divide
Glossary a kid-friendly definition for every key term
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 11
Choose Your Landforms 📋
Pick two U.S. landforms to research using the Landform Research List . Complete your Landform Pre-Writing Organizer for each landform. See the Example Project .
Key words — tap to learnobject block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 11 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Choose Your Landforms 📋
2Create Your Title (Page 1) 🖼️
3Interactive Map 1/2 (Page 2) 🗺️
4Landform #1: Geography 🌎 (Page 3)
5Landform #1: Impact 👣 (Page 4)
6Interactive Map 2/2 (Page 2) 🗺️
7Fun Fact Animation (Page 2) 🗺️
8Landform #2: Geography 🌎 (Page 5)
9Landform #2: Impact 👣 (Page 6)
10Lock Your Navigation 🔒
11Final Testing & Creativity 🎨
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.
Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
One device per student or pair
Internet connection
Student Kit or printed organizer
Assessment
Peer Review Checklist
U.S. Landforms List
Pre-writing Organizer
A device per student or pair
Prep before class
1Preview the designated builder story.
2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background
What you need to know
Key terms
wetland
land covered or soaked by water for long periods
peat
soil made of packed, partly decayed plants, which can burn when drained
restoration
repairing a damaged natural system toward its original working state
Continental Divide
the ridge of high ground deciding whether rivers flow east or west
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The geography and human-impact paragraphs read as unrelated fact lists. →Require each human use or challenge to connect explicitly to a physical feature or process.
✕
The map icon opens the wrong landform or a detail page cannot return. →Color-code each icon, destination page, and return route before editing navigation blocks.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA5CSTA4ISTE11AASL3NGSS15 frameworks · 24 standards · DOK 2–3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
5 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.2
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.7
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related questions when appropriate.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.8
Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, assess source credibility and accuracy, quote or paraphrase while avoiding plagiarism, and follow a standard citation format.
Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
4 standards
2-AP-17
Systematically test and refine programs using a range of student-created inputs.
2-AP-13
Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
Also addressed2-AP-15 · 2-AP-19
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
11 standards
ISTE 1.4.a
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.3.a · ISTE 1.3.b · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c · ISTE 1.3.d
AASL
AASL National School Library Standards
3 standards
AASL I.A.1
Learners display curiosity and initiative by formulating questions about a personal interest or a curricular topic.
Also addressedAASL I.B.1 · AASL I.B.3
NGSS
Next Generation Science Standards
1 standard
NGSS MS-ESS2-2
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Choose the writing support
These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.
High Support
More writing scaffolds
Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
Supplied words and ideas help students get started
Students still have space to write their responses
Guided Support
A starting point for writing
Task prompts and selected sentence starters
Writing cues and word banks where supplied
Space to develop each response
Independent
Less scaffolding
The same project and required writing tasks
Open response space without the support frames
Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.
How long does this lesson take?
About 210, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
