Mapping Your World

Jennifer Krings, Ridgeway Community School, Houston, MN
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Summary

This beginning of the year activity introduces the students to mapping skills and the classroom. Students will create a map of the classroom and investigate and determine qualities that make a clear, concise map. As a large group, the students will create a database of qualities they will use in the rest of the unit creating and using a variety of maps.

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Learning Goals

This activity is designed to have students discover what the purpose of mapping is, and analyze and determine qualities that make a good map. Students will need to observe, compare, organize, and communicate their findings. Some of the key concepts that are involved with this investigation are, measurement (large and small scale), scaling (maps of different scales are good for different things), and recognizing that maps can represent landforms and man-made structures.

Context for Use

This activity is designed for fifth grade students, and can be done with varying class sizes. It can also be changed to be used outside, perhaps as an introduction to topographic maps with older students. A minimum of two class periods are needed, one to do the activity, and one to discuss the findings.

In order to create the map, students should be given a variety of tools to measure with, rope, rulers, compasses (optional), markers, paper, and pencils. Giving the students tape measures is way too obvious and not very creative, so this should be avoided. After the mapping portion of this investigation, maps of varying scale and type are needed for discussion.

This investigation is used as a starting point for a unit on mapping, and is the first activity. The students should only need to know the basic qualities of a map, and will develop a deeper understanding as the unit progresses.

Description and Teaching Materials

This activity is used as an introduction to mapping. Depending on the number of students and levels of the activity, they may work in groups or individually. Students should be introduced to the activity simply by telling them it is their job to create a map of the classroom (or whatever you would be using in your lesson). Show the students the tools they will be working with and let them have at it. The most interesting part of this activity is seeing what the students think are important items/features to include on their maps.

After the students have finished making their maps, they must share the map with the rest of the students. They must discuss what they included and why they included what they did. The groups should each share one feature or item at a time since hopefully, they included many of the same things since they are all mapping the same area. This would then insure each group being able to share an original idea.

Once all of the groups have shared their maps, discuss as a large group, what was similar or different between the maps. What features seem important, why would you want to include one thing or another? (These discussions should include things such as scale, keys, titles, identifying features, etc.) During the classroom discussion students should be encouraged to write notes on the backs of their maps or in their journals. These may include things that are important that they didn't have on their maps. After the students have discussed what they deemed important in their maps, bring out other maps for the students to observe. What do they notice? What are the maps showing? Are their maps similar or different than these maps? Road maps, topographic maps, maps of zoos or parks, etc. should be used for this portion of the activity.

Near the end of the discussion a list should be generated illustrating important features of maps. This should be brought out during the rest of the unit when looking more in depth at the different types of maps.

Teaching Notes and Tips

In my experience when students are given such an open ended investigation/activity, they tend to either under or over achieve. The teacher may have to help guide the creativity and detail orientation of the students. As a first year teacher, I hope that this experience will drive my curriculum to be more investigation and inquiry based.

Assessment

During the mapping portion of the investigation, an informal assessment of the group cohesiveness and cooperation should be taken. Students will have to turn their maps in at the end of the activity. What features did their maps have originally? Did they take notes on the back (or in their journals) as to what they should/could have added? Also, during the discussion, notes should be taken as to whether or not students participated, and if they were able to back up a reason that they thought a feature/item was important.

Standards

5 I. A. 2. The student will recognize that clear communication of methods, findings and critical review is an essential part of doing science.

References and Resources