NCGA GeoMath Lesson Plan
Name of Lesson
Creating a Cartogram
Time for Instruction
15 – 20 mins. of instruction, 60 mins. to complete cartogram
Essential Question(s)
How can ratio and proportion be related to cartograms and geography?
Common Core Standard(s)
Understand similarity in terms of similarity transformations
Common
Core
Mathematics
CCSS.Math.Content.HSG.SRT.A.2
Given two figures, use the definition of similarity in terms of similarity transformations to
decide if they are similar; explain using similarity transformations the meaning of similarity
for triangles as the equality of all corresponding pairs of angles and the proportionality of all
corresponding pairs of sides
National Geography Objective(s)
2. The acquisition and organization of geospatial data to construct geographic representations
8th Grade
Standard 1
Therefore, the student is able to:
B. Construct maps using data acquired from a variety of sources and in various formats (e.g.,
digital databases, text, tables, images), as exemplified by being able to
 Construct paper maps to illustrate the links between geographic patterns (e.g.,
examine associations among geographic phenomena such as water resources and
population distribution or topography and Civil War troop movements).
 Construct different types of maps to illustrate the distribution of population (e.g.,
cartograms, choropleth maps, isopleth maps, graduated circles maps).
 Construct flow maps to explain the amount, source, and direction of movement (e.g.,
international petroleum trade, migration of refugees, flyways of bird migration,
immigration to North America during the 1800s).
Prerequisite skills/knowledge
Students should be familiar with a scale factor
Anticipatory Activity/Bellringer/Warmup
How would expect a map to change if the mapped size of countries is based on a factor other than land
area?
Vocabulary
Mathematical Terms
Geography Terms
Ratio
Proportion
Scale factor
Similarity
cartogram
key
Instructional Strategies/Sequence
Introduction: Display a world map. Ask students what the basis of the size of each land mass (Ans: land area).
Lesson: Explain the term cartogram. Students should choose a continent and a set of data to make their cartogram.
Then determine their scale factor. Use a sheet of graph paper to draw the cartogram.
Independent Practice
Create a cartogram
Instructional Resources
Cartogram examples: www.worldmapper.org
Nationmaster www.nationmaster.com
World Bank data http://data.worldbank.org/indicator
Population Reference Bureau Data Sheet http://www.prb.org/pdf13/2013-population-data-sheet_eng.pdf pp.7-
18
Formative Assessment
Monitor the cartogram work
Differentiation
Work with a partner to complete the geometric figure for numeric data
Complete a cartogram for a region , such as Southeast Asia or West Africa.
Enrichment
Create a second cartogram using a different set of data (years of education, life expectancy, projected population,
etc.)