Latitude and Longitude: Finding Cities by Coordinates

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Social Studies · Geography
SP-GEOG-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Latitude and Longitude: Finding Cities by
Coordinates
Social Studies · Geography · Grades 8-9 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the four coordinate rules on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare answers with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will read latitude and longitude coordinates to identify hemispheres, locate cities from a
table, and calculate the degree difference between two places.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: 1) Latitude = how far NORTH or SOUTH of the equator (0° to 90°). 2) Longitude = how far
EAST or WEST of the prime meridian (0° to 180°). 3) Write latitude FIRST, then longitude. 4) The equator is 0°
latitude. The prime meridian is 0° longitude.
☐ Keep the answer key (page after the worksheet) on your desk. You do not need to know geography to run this
lesson.
Say this to start
Good morning! Your teacher left a geography lesson about coordinates. Every place on Earth can be named with two
numbers, a bit like a street address for the whole planet. Today you will read those numbers from a table, figure out
where cities are, and do a little math with degrees. Everything you need is on the worksheet and the board.

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Social Studies · Geography
SP-GEOG-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet face down and
ask students to wait.
Settle in, take out a pencil, wait for
directions.
5–12
Read the four rules on the board aloud. Then read this
example: Sydney is at 34°S, 151°E. The S means south
of the equator. The E means east of the prime meridian.
Listen. Copy the rules in the margin if they
like.
12–25
Tell students to complete Part A (the hemisphere table)
and Part B (questions 1–3). Walk the room. If a student is
stuck, point to the board and ask, “Does the letter say N, S,
E or W?”
Fill in the table and answer the three
multiple-choice questions on their own.
25–38
Tell students to complete Part C (questions 4–9) using the
city table. Partners may compare answers quietly.
Look up cities in the table, name mystery
cities, and subtract degrees.
38–45
Tell students to finish Part D (questions 10–12, true or
false).
Decide if each statement is true or false.
45–50
Have students do question 13, then collect all worksheets
and stack them for the teacher.
Write the answer to question 13 and hand
in the worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students say they have not studied this, tell them the rules on the board and the city table give every
answer. Pair them with a neighbor.
• If a student confuses latitude and longitude, say: “Latitude is like rungs on a ladder going up and down.
Longitude lines run from top to bottom.”
• If students finish early, check that the table in Part A is complete, then use the early finisher list.
• If a student asks why London’s longitude is 0°, tell them the prime meridian passes through London and the
table rounds to the nearest degree.
Early finishers
• Pick two cities from the table and write which one is farther north and which one is farther east.
• Invent a made-up city. Give it coordinates in the Southern and Western Hemispheres and trade with a
neighbor to check.
Support and challenge
• Support: Have students complete only the Part A table and questions 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• Challenge: Ask students to find the two cities in the table that are farthest apart in latitude and show the
subtraction.

SubstitutePlans.com
Social Studies · Geography
SP-GEOG-001 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: