Why is our town here? A site and situation project for grades 6–8
What it is: an inquiry project for grades 6–8 where students use free historical topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey to explain why their town grew where it did. Geographers talk about site (the physical features of the exact spot, like a river crossing or a harbor) and situation (how the place connects to everything around it, like roads, railroads and other towns).
Time: about 45 minutes. Grade: 6th to 8th grade.
Materials: computers with the USGS topoView website (free, no account), printouts of the oldest and newest topographic maps of your area if devices are limited, highlighters and a claim-evidence chart.
- Introduce site and situation with a familiar example, such as a city on a harbor (site) that sits where a railroad meets the sea (situation).
- Students find the oldest topographic map of the town on topoView and the most recent one.
- On the old map, they highlight physical features near the first buildings: water, flat land, hills, crossings.
- They mark connections: roads, rail lines, rivers used for boats, and nearby towns.
- Comparing old and new maps, students list 3 changes, such as new highways or the town spreading in one direction.
- Each student writes a claim ("Our town grew here because ___") with two pieces of map evidence, one for site and one for situation.
Differentiation: students who need support use one printed map and a list of features to find. Students who are ready compare their town with a nearby town that stayed small. English learners can use the words site, situation, evidence and change.
Quick check: ask a student to give one site reason and one situation reason for their town's location.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 31, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades 6–8
- Subject
- Social studies
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.