This set of teaching materials is geared toward students and teachers in grades 5-12 and focuses on the use of a geographic information system (GIS) to explore the world. The package consists of a booklet of instructional activities and background information about geographic information systems, a companion poster, and a software demonstration that provides a tutorial on GIS and spatial analysis. Activity goals include examining the concept of GIS and the basic components of this increasingly computerized geographic tool, and exploring an application using this technology that focuses on population distribution in the United States and some of the factors associated with these geographic patterns. (DDR)