Students investigate how Orange County’s coastlines, hills, valleys, trails, and other water features shape how people live, travel, play, and care for local places. Through mapmaking, field study with a county parks ranger, photo journaling, and oral map talks, they build and revise county map posters and atlas pages using labels, symbols, legends, and direction words. The work helps students read information from maps, photos, and text, explain relationships between landforms, natural resources, and human activity, and share their understanding with families and staff in a gallery walk.

Students identify major Orange County landforms and water features, including coastlines, hills, valleys, and trails, and use maps, photos, and simple models to explain how these features shape travel, recreation, and daily life. Students apply map-making skills by creating and revising representations with labels, symbols, legends, and direction words, and by using illustrations and text together to build understanding. Students investigate natural resources and human impacts on local land and water, including how parks and trails are used and cared for. Students communicate their learning through photo journals, peer discussions, oral map talks, and a public gallery walk while using feedback to improve their work.

Students create a small Orange County map poster that includes labels, symbols, a legend, and direction words to show coastlines, hills, valleys, and trails, and they revise it throughout the project using teacher, peer, and ranger feedback. They also contribute to a ranger-inspired class atlas page set, with one page for each major landform that includes a simple map, a drawing, and a short oral talk prompt about how the feature affects travel or recreation. Along the way, students produce photo journal entries from the field study, draft posters for a mid-project gallery walk, and practice oral map talks with a peer using a checklist. By the end, they present their finished posters, atlas pages, photos, and oral map talks in a gallery walk for families and staff.

Start with a Geo-Quest kickoff where students rotate through local photos, a large Orange County map, and hands-on landform stations with sand, water, and trail models to predict where people hike, drive, and play. Invite a county parks ranger to share a short story about a nearby hill, trail, or coastal area, then have students mark on the map where landforms affect travel, recreation, and conservation. In partners, students discuss how coastlines, valleys, hills, and trails might shape daily life, then record one wonder question to investigate during the project. Close with a whole-class map challenge using symbols, labels, and direction words to find key places they will study.

Host a Landforms and Life Gallery Walk where students display their county map posters and the class atlas pages for families, staff, and the parks ranger. Each student gives a short oral map talk, pointing to coastlines, hills, valleys, trails, and water features while explaining one way geography changes travel or recreation in Orange County. Include photos and photo-journal reflections from the field study so visitors can see how the ranger visit shaped student thinking about conservation and daily life. Add a simple visitor feedback station with sticky notes or checklist cards so students receive authentic responses to their maps, explanations, and revisions.