Cheryl Price
Grade:  Second Grade
Course:  Geography/Social Studies

PURPOSE:  To familiarize the students with different types of maps, teach them the skills needed to utilize those maps, and to become more proficient in map-reading.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:  GRADES K-4
No.  1-  How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective.
No.  2-  How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places and environments in a spatial context.
No.  3-  How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earth’s surface.
No.  4-  The physical and human characteristics of places.

OBJECTIVES:
The students will demonstrate their ability:
1. To view a location from different perspectives.
2. To tell the difference between different kinds of maps.
3. To locate and interpret a legend or key on a map.
4. To use basic direction terms to find places on a map.
5. To use north, south, east and west to locate things on a map.
6. To combine all of these and follow directions from a map effectively.
7. To use the Internet to find geography related information.

OVERVIEW OF MAP EXPLORATION:
     This series of lessons is built up to take the children through a step-by-step process that will enable them to decipher between different types of maps and read them successfully.  They will begin with simple perspective, realizing that types of maps depend on where the mapmaker is looking from.  They will then proceed with lessons on parts of a map, such as symbols, direction and colors.  They will learn how all of these things work together to help a person follow a map and reach their intended conclusion.  This project includes examples of some activity sheets and descriptions of others.  It includes sample questions for classroom discussion.  The activities range from decoding to fill-in-the-blank to read-and-search.  There is a web-site activity related to maps included in order to familiarize them with the computer.  At the end, there is a scavenger hunt in order for the students to utilize all of the fundamental skills to reach a goal in the end (it is a sort of reward, final game, closure kind of activity.  They will see how all of these skills are important in reading a map.

PROCEDURES:
DAY #1:  MAP INTRODUCTION
SPONGE:  (10 minutes)  Pass out “All About Maps:  Decode This” when the students come in.  This is a decoder activity that is designed to introduce terms that will be used throughout the unit.  The instructions are as follows:  Use the code provided to find out the hidden words.  Write the answers in the blank on the side.  This will get their attention, get their brains cranking, and allow the teacher to have time to take care of preliminary administrative duties.  The students may not finish this activity on this one day, so it may be continued as a sponge activity for Day 2
OPENING:  (15 minutes)  Read the book My Map Book.  There aren’t any words as such to be read, but it gives the students ideas and introduces the different kinds of maps to them.  Talk about the different kinds of maps in the book.  Name the kinds of maps shown.  What do they show?  How can you tell?  What are they used for?  Make some class discussion while you explore through the book.  This will help the students as they do a guided activity (explained later).

GUIDED PRACTICE: (combined with opening )  The students should have a copy of an activity sheet similar to Activity Sheet 1.  This is to be done while you are reading the book.  This will help to point out important features in the book that will be helpful throughout the lesson.  Point out different shapes and sizes and types of maps in this book.  The students should be writing the answers on the sheet as they look and discuss.  Before you turn the page to look at a different map, that would be a good time to hide the picture and fill in the blanks on the worksheet.  Have them recall important parts of the map from memory.  If that proves to be difficult, go ahead and peek.  This will also help to keep their interest in the book.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:  (30 minutes)  Give each student a piece of manila paper and put a carton of crayons on each table.  Right now, the story and the activity is fresh in their minds.  They have an idea of how simple making maps can be.  While they are still on the floor, give them instructions for their seat work.  They are to draw a map of the classroom (or the teacher can choose to let them create their own map).  They can include anything they want: desks, chairs, chalkboards, chalk, students, teacher…  The map needs to be colored and creative.  Tell them that they can use symbols, colors, and use “My map Book” for ideas on what to include.  This activity will get their imaginations going and help them to see the variety of maps that can be made.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:  The map that the students make of their choice.  The grading system can be rather lenient.  Possibly, it can turn into a simple participation grade.  As long as some effort has been put into it and all of the requirements made by the teacher are met, the child can get an A.
CLOSURE:  (5 minutes)  Share the maps with the class.  When and if the students present their maps, have them explain their symbols and colors.  It should be a sort of Show-and-Tell process where they tell us all of the important things about their creation.  Discuss differences and similarities.  Have the students turn in their finished product.

MATERIALS:  “Decode This…” worksheet, “My Map Book,”  a sheet similar to Activity Sheet 1, manila paper, crayons, other drawing tools if available.

DAY 2:  PERSPECTIVE AND DIRECTION
SPONGE:  (5-10 minutes)  The students may continue the decoder activity from Day 1.  For Fast Finishers, the teacher can solicit their help in setting up for class.  There are maps to be laid out, such as the floor map, and possibly other set-up things to do to get the classroom ready for the class.  Another thing they can do is form a small group and brainstorm, on paper, possible definitions and purposes for the unfamiliar words from the decoder activity.  This will continue the brain-flow, focusing them on the subject.
OPENING:  (10 minutes)  Class Discussion is in order at the beginning of the period.  This discussion should be focused on perspective, which will lead into a discussion and exploration on direction.  Some sample questions would be:
                              *When you stand on the ground, what do you see?
                            *Pretend you are on a playground.  What can you see?
                                     *Can you see the children playing?
                                      *Can you see the merry-go-round?
                             *When you go up on an airplane, what do you see?
                                       *Can you see the sides of buildings?
                                           *Do you still see the blue sky?
                              *Can you see the small dog running across the street?
                            *Can you see the people walking on the ground below?
                                   *Do things look bigger or smaller?
                         *If you went up in space in a rocket, what would you see?
                                              *Would you see the blue sky?
                       *Could you see downtown (_____)? (enter the name of your town)
                                                *Can you see the oceans?
                                               *What colors do you see?

This is simply an exercise to get the juices flowing and to get the students used to the perspective they will be using the most.  Explain that as they study, they will be looking mainly at road maps from a bird’s perspective.  But that is not all we need to know about how to read a map.  We need to give directions
GUIDED PRACTICE:  (20-25 minutes)  Before class, make a floor size map of a neighborhood.  Refer to Map #1 for a template of an appropriate map for this activity.  The students can sit around the outside of the map.  Identify the different places and street names on the map.  Ask them questions relating to finding a reasonable route from point A to point B.  Have them follow that route with their finger to show how they would travel.  Sometimes the routes can be by car, sometimes by foot, sometimes by bicycle, etc.  The different methods of transportation will change the routes considerably.  For instance, by car, you can only travel on roads.  Different routes to ask for:  how do you get from…
*the school to the church?
*Sam’s house to the Lake?
*the supermarket to the railroad track?
*the library to Joe’s house?
You can add more places to your map (that are not illustrated on the template given) and come up with more routes for them to trace with their finger.

Transition:  Choose one student to follow your oral directions around the classroom.  Maybe the teacher can direct them to go “over there” or “turn here.”  Be very vague and show how it is difficult to give directions without using “direction words.  “How would we tell someone how to find their way from _____ to ______?  They need a DIRECTION to go in.  What if we told them to “go right around the table” or “go left at the chalkboard?” That helps the student travel easier.  It is the same way with maps.”
Introduce FLASH CARDS.  Before class, the teacher should have made some flash cards, similar to the flash card templates provided.  (Refer to “Flash Card Ideas”)  Do just a few of these as practice using the words near, far, next to, between, right, left, above, below, etc.  These are used for the purpose of telling the place of an object in relation to another object.  Compare these words:
Right = East
Left = West
Above = North
Below = South

On the chalkboard, draw a circle at the north side of the board (at the top), a square on the east side, a triangle on the west side, and a rectangle on the south side.  Introduce the idea
of a compass and draw a simple one on the board in the center and label it N, S, E, W.
Ask relational questions such as:
*The circle is in the (north).
*The square is (east) of the triangle.
*Is the rectangle north of the square?

The teacher can make up more of their own questions, helping to familiarize the students with the 4 new terms north, south, east, and west.  Explain how this relates to maps.  Look at the floor map and describe various instances using the new terms.  “The lake is east of the library” and other such sentences.  From here there can be more use of the flash cards, and the blanks can be filled in with the same terms and also the 4 new terms they have been practicing using.  This is a sort of drill used over and over to reiterate these new terms.  The flash cards and the drill from the chalkboard can be interchanged many times, back and forth, until the teacher is sure that the students can use any direction terms proficiently.  Another approach using these materials and basic concepts is to let the students formulate their own statements according to the chalkboard and the floor map.  Let them get familiar with saying the sentence and with discovering the relationships for themselves.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:  (15 minutes)  Pass out “Follow the Directions” worksheet.  They will already have a good grasp on these concepts, but this will help them as they draw it themselves.  It is a fun activity that can be graded.  If there is not enough time, the students may take it home as a fun homework activity and turn it in the next day.  If they would like to, they can color it and decorate, as long as the pictures mentioned are in their correct place according to the directions.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:  The “Follow the Directions” worksheet should be graded on a point system.  Whether it is based on 100% or just a simple # out of 8 possible points.  Each direction should have been followed accurately in order to get the point for the direction.  A few bonus points could be considered for creativity and other things that enhance the picture.  (That would depend on how much extra time the student had after they finished their work.)

CLOSURE:  (5 minutes)  Go back to the floor map.  Ask questions like “The bridge is _______ of the school.”

MATERIALS:  Floor Map, Flash Cards (10-15), “Follow the Directions” worksheet.

DAY #3:  LEGENDS
SPONGE ACTIVITY:  (5-10 minutes)  Pass out “Unlock the Secret” activity sheet when the students come in.  This is an activity that will get the students thinking in symbolic terms.  As the teacher, you can assess the prior knowledge of the students.  This activity is designed to see if they can interpret different symbols.  When the teacher adapts it, it can be changed into a matching activity, where the student draws lines to connect the answers, or they can simply write the letter answer in a blank provided next to the number and symbol.  This will be a good lead-in to the guided activity for the day.
OPENING:  (10 minutes)  Have a class discussion about the sponge activity for the day.  Go over the answers.  Talk about why they matched certain objects together.  Talk about how we use these pictures in maps to help us see places and things better. The teacher may also draw a few other easy symbols on the board and let the students guess at what they stand for.

GUIDED ACTIVITY:  (10-15 minutes)  Bring an atlas to class.  Look at different types of maps and look at the different legends.  Describe the symbols used.  Make sure they see a highway, river, airport, railroad, street, lake, etc.  These will be used to do the independent activity later.  Drill them on what different symbols mean from different legends.  This also introduces them to very complex maps that adults use.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE: (25-30 minutes)  Manila paper is appropriate for this activity also.  Each student will have a sheet of manila paper and access to many crayons.  They should be instructed to create their own town.  It can be small.  They need to name their town.  For instance “(Price)”town or “_____”ville.  Make it original!  They need to be required to have certain symbols in their legend and on their map.  They need to name their streets and put some other features on their map.  Create your own criteria and requirements for your own classroom.  Rulers can be provided, and possibly some stencils to help them draw different symbols.  Any materials that the teacher can rummage together to help the drawing processes for the students would be a nice addition.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:  “Unlock the Secret” can be a grade based on a point system as well.  It is kind of a “gimme” or “quickie” grade, but a necessary one.  The maps can also be graded on the basis of following instructions, including requirements set by the teacher, and creativity and thought put into it.

MATERIALS:  “ Unlock the Secret” worksheet, atlas, manila paper, crayons.

DAY #4:  WEB-SITE INTERACTION
OPENING:  (5 minutes)  Review Day 3 information just to help keep it fresh in the students’ minds for Day 5.  Discuss computers and what hey know and do not know.  Talk about past computer experience, even past Internet experience.

GUIDED PRACTICE:  (10 minutes)  This is web-site day.  The class should meet on the floor in front of the teacher’s computer.  The teacher will show them the site “Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map.”  Show the students how to scroll.  Show them how to click on the highlighted words.  The words are usually highlighted in purple or blue.  Show them how to click on BACK to return to the previous screen.  Show them any other things they need to know about maneuvering in the site.  Then allow them all to go to their own computer to explore for themselves.  They will need the worksheet that accompanies the site, but that will be explained in the independent  practice.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:  (40 minutes)  Hand out the worksheet that accompanies the site.  Each child can go to his own computer.  The worksheet will guide them through the study.  It will prove that the student has read through the site by the answering of the questions.  This will be turned in after it is finished.  The questions lead them through the site and highlight the main points of the site.  It will be a learning experience as well as an experimental activity.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:  The “Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map” worksheet is definitely a grade, considering it will take most of the class.  This will evaluate the students’ ability to read and glean information from a web site.  It will also show their ability to maneuver through a site.  This is proven by their ability to complete the worksheet and find all of the answers.  Since there are a variety of answers for each question, some leniency should be shown in the grading system.  Perhaps partial credit is in order for some questions, making it a complete judgment call by the teacher.

CLOSURE:  (5 minutes)  Let’s talk about what you just experienced.  What kinds of maps did you see.  What new things did you discover?  Do you think a cartographer has a hard job?  Why?

MATERIALS:  “Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map” worksheet, computer lab with Internet access.

DAY #5:  WRAP-UP AND SCAVENGER HUNT
GUIDED PRACTICE:  (15 minutes)  Have a north, south, east, and west sign at appropriate places in the room.  Tell the students to face North.  Walk three paces.  Face the South.  Walk one pace…  Continue this drill, having the students follow the oral instructions of the teacher.  This activity will refresh their memory on how to follow directions and which direction is which.  This preparation is necessary for the Independent practice described later.  Their minds must be refreshed and the confidence level must be relatively secure so that they can have fun and accomplish their final map task…

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:  (40 minutes)  SCAVENGER HUNT--  This activity will take a lot of teacher planning.  The example that is included in this project is based on the playground of an imaginary school.  As the teacher, you can make a map of anything: the halls of the school, the office area, the classroom, etc.  Each student needs a copy of the map.  The class can be divided into 3-6 groups, each given a color or a number.  Choose 5 stations on the map to put the clues.  All of the clues at each station need to have the group color or number on it.  Each clue should lead the group to the next clue.  It would be best to send each of the groups on a different route to collect all five clues so as to break up the mob.  Each group should receive their first clue to begin with.  The clue card should contain a series of directions leading the group to another clue.  The clue cards should contain a variety of words like north, south, paces, next to, etc.…  When a group arrives at their next destination, they are only allowed to pick up the clue with their color or number on it.  Then they will proceed to the next destination by following the next set of clues.  At the very last station, there should be a sort of reward waiting for them, representing the end of the game.  Refer to the “Scavenger Hunt” page to see an example of one model route and example clues that the children might follow on an imaginary playground.  If the teacher so chooses, there can be little prizes of encouragement along the way at each of their destinations, such as tokens, candy, or other little prizes.  You can even make it event appropriate.  For instance, If the game is being played around Easter, at each destination there could be clues in an Easter egg, with the color of the egg representing the color of the team.  The students can open the egg to find their next set of clues.  There might be a jelly bean for each group member in the egg to munch on as they travel to their next destination.  For Valentine’s Day, the clues might be written on pink and red heart-shaped paper, and a piece of chocolate might be waiting for them at each stop.  The ideas go on and on…  Refer to the “Scavenger Hunt Map” for a  template of a map and location of the sites.  Adapt this activity and make it appropriate and interesting to your own classroom.  As a teacher, know what they like and let them run!
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:  The Scavenger Hunt is a mixture of participation, cooperative group-work, and success in finding all of the clues (meaning they followed the directions correctly).  The teacher may make up her own rubric giving each of these three areas appropriate weight in the grade as they feel is important to the learning of their class.  This will vary between classrooms.  This serves like their final exam.  It combines all of the skills that they have learned about in the previous week and helps them to utilize them to reach an important goal.  The success of this activity is very important.

CLOSURE:  (5 minutes)  CELEBRATE!!!  Congratulations on completing your task!!!  You have succeeded and have now graduated to the position of Cartographer Apprentice!

MATERIALS:  N,S,E,W signs, scavenger hunt maps for each group, all scavenger hunt tools (clues, prizes, etc.).

EXTENSIONS:
MATH:  The teacher could further expand this map unit to include a lesson on scales and measuring distances.  This would be a higher level of thinking and may not be appropriate for 2nd grade, but it is a good idea for adaptations for other grades.
SOCIAL STUDIES:  This map unit is a social studies introduction.  Many conclusions can be drawn from maps, so the ability to read them is very important.  The teacher may extend this to include historical maps and population maps and war maps to be included in lessons in which they are appropriate.
READING & LANGUAGE:  A map of the neighborhood, or any other map, would be an excellent prompt to have children respond to in order to write a story about an imaginary town or neighborhood.  They can also respond my telling about their neighborhood, by describing it and telling about the activities.
ART:  The actual creating and drawing of maps is an art activity.  Any drawings of any kind referring to maps and legends.  There are many drawing and art opportunities in this unit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berger, Melvin, and Gilda Berger.  The Whole World in Your Hands.  Nashville: Ideals Children’s Books, 1993.
Fanelli, Sara.  My Map Book.  London:  Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.
Haselden, Patricia B.  Second Grade Social Studies Program.  Curriculum Bulletin No. 83CBM18.  Houston:  Houston Independent School District, 1963.
Jog, Kenneth.  Skills for Understanding Maps and Globes.  Ed.  Alan Melchior.  Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1976.
Jones, Tina.  “Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map.”  June 1994.
 http://loki.ur.utk.edu/ut2kids/maps/map.html.  March 1997.
MapBlast.  http://www.mapblast.com/.  March 1997
MapQuest.  http://www.mapquest.com/.  March 1997.
Ski Maps.  1995.  http:// www.skimaps.com/Archive/.  March 1997
Teacher’s Network (Lesson Plans).  http://www.teachnet.org.  March 1997.
United States.  Dept.  of Interior.  What Do Maps Show?  The U.S. Geological Survey.
United States.  Dept.  of Interior.  Map Adventures.  The U.S. Geological Survey.
What Do Maps Show?  November 7, 1996.  http://info.er.usgs.gov/education/teacher/what-do-maps-show/index.html.  March 1997.

1.  YOUR BEDROOM:

2.  YOUR FAMILY:

3.  YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD:

4.  YOUR PET:

5.  YOUR DAY:

1.  S C A L E    _____________
2.  C O M P A S S   _____________
3.  L E G E N D    _____________
4.  M A P      _____________
5.  G L O B E    _____________
6.  T O W N     _____________
7.  N O R T H    _____________
8.  A T L A S  _____________
9.  H I G H W A Y   _____________
10.  H O U S E    _____________
11.  S C H O O L   _____________
12.  C A P I T O L  _____________
13.  A I R P O R T  _____________
14.  R I V E R S   _____________
15.  W E S T     _____________
16.  M O U N T A I N  _____________
17.  E A S T    _____________
18.  R A I L R O A D  _____________
19.  S O U T H   _____________
20.  C A R T O G R A P H E R        _____________
 

DECODE KEY

 A B C D E F G H I J K

 ABCDEFGHIJ
-----------------------------
 L M N O P Q R S T U V

LMNOPQRSTUV
----------------------------
W X Y Z

WXYZ
 

This is a simple Wingdings font, which is a great code to use in decoding activities.  This code sheet can be put on a 4x5 ½ page and laminated, one for each table.  Or, all the students can have their own copy.  It is up to the teacher.  The words to decode are important geography vocabulary terms that they will experience.

1.  Draw a chimney on the LEFT side of the roof.
2.  Draw another window BESIDE the first window.
3.  Draw a tree on the RIGHT side of the house.
4.  Draw a dog FAR from the house.
5.  Draw a flower BETWEEN the house and the tree.
6.  Draw smoke ABOVE the chimney.
7.  Draw a bird NEAR the roof.
8.  Write your name BELOW the house.
 

1		A.  HOUSE
2		B.  CHURCH
3		C.  LIBRARY
4		D.  RAILROAD
5		E.  SCHOOL
6		F.  CAPITOL
7		G.  RIVER
8		H.  AIRPORT

TV                                        O                                        Child	man looking any direction
The Child is ________ of the TV (in front of, beside, to the right of)	The Man is looking ________  (west , left, etc.)

These are simple sketches of what your flash cards should represent.  They are very basic pictures, easy enough to be able to tell a direction.  There are a variety of answers to be used.  Let the students come up with as many answers as they can.  Let them stretch their minds.  Make many of these kinds of flash cards, all having different pictures and different ways of asking questions about their placement in regards to one another.  This sheet should simply give the teacher an idea of how they should be set up.  The cards should be at least 8x10 and no more than 11x17.  They can be colored and laminated for neatness and further use.

SCAVENGER HUNT
This is a basic sketch of a playground.  X marks the spot where the students will begin.  Group RED (one) will be given a map like this to follow.  Their first clue will be red and will say this:
*Face east.  Walk forward 30 paces.  Face south.  Walk 15 paces forward.  Look on the north side of  the track beside the bench (not labeled).
There, the RED group will find their next clue.  They may find it enclosed in something or accompanied with a piece of candy as motivation to continue.  They may only pick up the RED clue, since other groups will be traveling to the same location at different times to pick up their own clue.
*Make sure that the groups go in different directions, on different paths.  Otherwise there will be chaos.
The teacher may also use other terms rather than “paces” since those will differ from child to child.  The clue may instruct them to walk north until they come to an area between two locations.  Use any form of instruction that will work best according to your scavenger hunt site.  All of these things will change from school to school and class to class.  Remember to adapt this activity, if possible, to the events happening at that time.  Use Easter eggs, valentines, color paths to follow (occasional arrows showing them they are going in the right direction).  Anything that will make this more fun and interesting to the students is highly recommended.
 
 

Created 4-27-97