Students will launch the investigation by using a giant floor map and source images to notice how continents, map parts, routes, and the equator help people understand movement and historical events, then record an initial evidence-based map sketch and question for the work ahead.

Students will turn early curiosity about maps into a focused investigation plan by examining a puzzling map artifact, generating and refining questions, testing possible claims with source evidence, and creating a peer-reviewed method for how they will analyze routes, geography, and map features in later work. They will document evidence carefully in their notebooks, use daily exit tickets to track what they learned, and prepare a clear plan for success on the blank-map and world-map tasks.

Students will analyze map evidence from routes, medieval worldviews, plague spread, and physical geography; turn notes into annotated visuals and short evidence-based explanations; test interpretations with peers; revise using feedback; and prepare a concise public-facing report segment that supports accurate map-based claims.

Students will present their Geography Discovery Museum exhibit, demonstrate accurate world map knowledge, explain evidence-based conclusions about routes, cartography, and plague spread, and complete a brief reflection on how geography shaped their understanding of historical events.