Heather Huff
Kindergarten
Geography

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this lesson is for kindergartners to become familiar with a map and what it is used for.  Another purpose of this lesson is for the students to become familiar with their school and home surroundings.  With the familiarity of their surroundings they will discover that maps can be created to help them with directions and how to get places.

CONNECTIONS TO THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
No. 1 The students are going to be able to know and understand what a map is and how to use one.  I choose this national geographic standard because the children need to know what a map is used for and how to use them.
No.2 The students are going to become familiar with their home and school surroundings. I choose this national geographic standard because I feel that the children should know their surroundings for safety reasons.

APPLICABLE TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:
Use the term including over, under, near, far, left, right to describe relative locations.
Locate places on the school campus and describe their relative locations.
Identify human characteristics of places, such as, landforms, bodies of water, natural resources, and weather.

OBJECTIVES LIST:
1. To know the terms over, under, right, left, north, south, east, and west.
2. To be familiar with the location of the school and their homes.
3. To be able to use a map and find their way around the school or home.
4. To use a compass and a map together.
5. To identify the bodies of water, landforms, and streets on a map.
6. To use the Internet to create their own maps.

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION:
 Many times children are underestimated, so I have put together a ten-day unit on maps.  This lesson may be challenging to some children but in all it is for the best interest of the children.  The unit is designed to give the children to learn about maps and get entangled in the future.  Maps is a broad subject, but when just learning about them, it is not so broad.  The fist goal is for the children to understand the terms used when discussing maps.  Then we will go into detail about how to use a map on our familiar surroundings.  This way the children are learning about something that they may know a little bit about.

PROCEDURES:
Day 1
1. Sponge Activity: When the students come into class they are to begin writing in their journals.  They are to write and illustrate two things that they did over the weekend.  They we will have a small discussion about what they wrote and drew.
2. Opening: After the discussion bring the children to the carpet area (or where ever you read to them) for the reading of It’s Hard To Read A Map With A Beagle In Your Lap by Diane Siebert.  I will read the book to them, then we will discuss the why the map was being read.  It’s a funny story about how the boy can’t read the map so they get lost.  We then will get out the flip chart and list why we think maps are important.  There will be all kinds of answers and reasons.
3. Independent Practice: Since this is the first day, we must learn some important terms: top, bottom, left, right, over, under, near, and far.  To familiarize the students with these terms we are going to have a scavenger hunt.  The class will need to be divided up into pairs (if there is an even number make on group of 3).  Previously I hid a school map in all different places.  Each group will be given and index card with similar directions; look under the blue box on the right side of the bookshelf.  Another might read; go to the science center and look on top of the table.  The students will each find a map of the school in their particular locations.  After they have all made their discoveries, let them talk with each other about what they did and discovered.
4. Feedback: After the children have talked with each other have them come back to the carpet.  Get out the flip chart again and make a new page.  Title the page brainstorming, what we know about maps.  Ask the students to think about what they learned, have them tell you what to write.  Also tell them that it is okay to write down things that they may have already known about maps.
5. Closure: This lesson is to clarify the understanding of up, down, over, under, and so forth.  To end the lesson tell the children to put their journals on top of the bookshelf and to put their pencils underneath the shelf inside their baskets (your classroom is probably set up different so do something according to meet those needs).
6. Materials: Flip chart, book-It’s Hard to Read a Map With a Beagle In Your Lap by Diane Siebert, index cards with instructions on them, and school maps.

Day 2
1. Sponge Activity: When the students come in have a sheet laid on their desks.  The directions tell them to label their desks with the tabs that are stacked on them (sticky tabs are best).  1. Right side of the desk. 2. Left side of the desk. 3. Top of the desk. 4. Bottom of the desk. This is also being used as reinforcement from yesterday.
2. Opening: Ask your students to get out the maps of the school that they found yesterday on their scavenger hunt.  Tell them with a pencil to put an X on our classroom.  Then tell them to put an X on the library.  Once they have done that, tell them to draw a path from the classroom to the library.  Walk around the room while you are giving the instructions and make sure the children are doing what is told.  Then discuss with the children that they drew a map of how to get to the library from their classroom.
3. Independent Practice: Before they start this practice talk to them briefly about how maps can come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and that they can be found in many different places.  Tell them that two places they can look are in the newspapers and in magazines.  Give your students a large piece of white construction paper, and tell them that they are going to make a collogue of maps.  Give each table several papers and magazines to go through.  Explain to them that they can cut out any kind of map they find!
4. Evaluation: While the students are cutting out maps go around and watch to see if they are seeing the maps or if they are passing some up.  If they are having a hard time determining some maps, help them out.
5. Closure:  After the collogues are dried, hang them up around the room for a reminder.  Bring the students to the flip chart area and tell the children that they have learned some new things about maps and they need to add to their brainstorming page.  Once again let the children lead the discussion with some encouragement from you.
6. Materials:  For this lesson you need to collect newspapers and magazines early.  Other materials are: sticky tabs, directions sheet, large white construction paper, glue, and scissors.

Day 3
1. Sponge Activity: Have the students get out their journals and collogues that they made yesterday.  Have them describe in their journals what they discovered and the different types of maps that they found.
2. Opening: Bring the students to the carpet and add to their list of brainstorming list of what they know about maps.  Then read to them the book Across the Wide Dark Sea by, Jean VanLeeuween.  This will tell the students about how long ago sailors use the stars as maps to guide them across the sea.  After the reading of the book, talk about any bodies of water that they know of near by.  If they do not Mention Lake Ft. Phantom talk to them about it (or a lake, river, or any body of water in your area).
3. Independent Activity: Take your class to the computer lab and have www.mapblast.com booted up.  This is going to take your class a little while to do, just be patient and have fun.  Explain to the students that they are going to create a map using today’s technology like the sailors used the technology of their time.  You will have to take the students through step by step, and have your computer labs aides help you!  Use the overhead to help guide the children through the program.  Print out their creations for the class What Is A Map book.
4. Feedback: Many of the children will me amazed while others will think that it’s not as neat.  While the students are doing the activity get a feel on how the children are responding.
5. Closure:  This activity allows the students to use technology to create a map of a nearby place in the community.  This print out will be used in another lesson.
6. Materials: collogues from yesterday, book-Across the Wide Dark Sea by, Jean VanLeeuwen, computer lab, web site www.mapblast.com, flip chart.

Day 4

1. Sponge Activity: When the students come in have the packages of words already on their desks.  The packages will contain a mixture of words that when put together will make sentences.  The students are to get the words out of the bag and make sentences by themselves.  The words are words that have to do with maps and the facts they have written in their brainstorming.
2. Opening: Bring the students to the carpet and have them sit very still and quite.  Explain to them that they are going to play a game, the ‘follow me’ game.  It is just like the follow the leader game.  The main purpose is to have children follow the actions to reinforce the words that they have been learning and are studying. You can make up directions to follow as you see fit.  I would focus on words that you know that your students are having trouble with.  For example, 1. Put your right hand over your mouth.  2. Put your left hand on your knee.  3. Turn and face north.  4. Put your right hand above your head, etc.
3. Independent Practice: After playing the game send the students back to their desks, and hand out the printout maps that the students created and printed out yesterday.  Put the directions on the board.  1. Color the streets RED.  2. Color the lake area BLUE.  3. Color the path to the lake GREEN.  Explain to the students that they are color coding their maps and that all maps have a key.  Already have drawn the legend on their papers.
4. Feedback: Here your feedback is going to see how well your students follow directions.  After you get their papers back, you will see who understood and who did not.
5. Closure: Bring the children to the flip chart and let them brainstorm some more.  They should have a lot to write about!
6. Materials: flip chart, printed out maps with legend drawn, creativeness on the game-use words that your students need help on, the packages of goofy sentences (1 for each child).

Day 5
1. Sponge Activity: Be sure that all students have finished their maps from yesterday.  If they have not finished, use this time to let them catch up.  For those who have finished let them write in their journals about how they created a map using the computer.
2. Opening:  Bring the students to the carpet and show them a city map.  Talk about all the things that they already know about a map.  Then bring up the point, why do we use maps?  Some may refer back to the book that was read at the beginning of the unit.  Then read to them the book I Went Walking by, Sue Williams.  It tells a story about a little girl who went walking and because she knew her surroundings she did not get lost.  Talk to the children about how it is important for them to know their way around so if they are riding their bicycles they will know their way home.
3. Guided Practice: Get out the flip chart and give one page to each child.  Go around and at the top of each page write their personal addresses for them.  Each child is to describe the surroundings around their homes.  Example, street names, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.
4. Feedback:  Once again you are getting feedback as you go along.  Help the students to remember by asking thought provoking questions!
5. Closure: The main purpose of this lesson is to get the children to focus on their surroundings so that if they are out playing, they would be able to find their way home.
6. Materials: flip chart paper, marker, book-I Went Walking by Sue Williams, city map

Day 6
1. Sponge Activity: Have the students come in and get their journals out.  Tell the students to write down their address and any additional surroundings around their homes that they may have noticed on their way to school.
2. Opening: Have the students set in a circle on the carpet area, while they are all together tell the children they are going to be told a secret and they are going to tell a secret. You the teacher will start the secret to the student next to you. This is an imitation of the game gossip.  The secret is the school’s name.  It will travel all the way around the circle until it comes to the last student and they are to tell the secret out loud.  It probably will be correct the first time around, but then the next secret is the school’s address.  This one they may have difficulty with, and the correct answer may not come out.  That is okay because that is the purpose of the game.  Do it a couple of times with giving directions or surroundings of the school. Explain to the students that the facts did not always get around to the last person, and when you are trying to find your way home or to school you need to know the facts.  That is why you can rely on maps because they tell the facts. Tell your students that it is important to remember their address for today’s lesson.
3. Guided Practice: Once again go to the computer lab and have booted up www.mapblast.com. Just as before help them with entering the information.  This time they are creating maps of their homes.  After they have all entered their data, it will take a while, print out their maps.  After the maps are created bring them all back to the classroom.
4. Feedback: You will discover that this will make the children feel special and unique because they made a map of their own home!
5. Closure: These maps will be used in tomorrow’s activities!
Materials: computer lab and assistants, www.mapblast.com

Day 7
1. Sponge Activity: Have a book on each child’s desk, about maps, let them read as they come in.  After they have looked, and read the books let them write in their journals about what they read in the book.
2. Opening: Have the classroom set up with blocks.  Blue=water, Brown=houses/buildings, Red=streets.  Have the blocks set up where they display the school and its immediate surrounding area.  Label the blocks with street names and the building names.  After they are all done with their journals have them come over to the scene, looking only.  Also have drawn on the board the legend, the color codes.  Explain to them that this is just like what they did last week when they created their map of the lake.  Then tell the children that they can play with the blocks during center time.  You might want to add cars so that they can play on the streets.
3. Independent Practice: Have the students get out their maps that they created yesterday of their homes.  Today the students are going to color code their maps and label the surrounding areas, such as a friend’s house or a grocery store.  They children will need help with this but mainly it is for them to do it on their own!  Also, tell them they can use their flip chart page to help them remember what surrounds their homes.
4. Feedback: Use this map to see how well the children understand the concept of color coding, how well they follow directions, and what they can recall.
5. Closure: Keep this and all things that the children have created for their class book.  Make two copies of everything so they can have one to take home with them.
6. Materials: colors, blocks (red, blue, brown) labeled as in opening, legend on board

Day 8
1. Sponge Activity: If the students have not finished their maps from yesterday, this needs to be done at this time.  If they are finished have them get out the goofy sentences bags and let them create sentences.
2. Opening: Show the students a state map. It’s a simple map that has highways, the capital, lakes, and mountains.  Show them that there are symbols that represent the capital, highways, etc. Show them the compass too.  Some students will say, "that’s not a compass." The most important part is to have flash cards already made with the symbols and the words on them.  Go over them several times with the students.
3. Independent Practice: Have the students go back to their desks and give them a bag of cards at their desk.  On the cards have the symbols that were on the big flash card on index cards. Have a matching card to each one. Let the children play memory with the cards. After the students have a match they are to write on a piece of paper, that already has the symbol on it, the correct word for their match of symbols.
4. Feedback: After the students are done you will be able to see how well they did by the number of correct answers the students got on their papers.
5. Closure: When the students are done with the matching game bring them to the flip chart.  Let the children add to what they know about maps.  There should be many new things to add, help them remember what all they have learned!
6. Materials:  brown paper bags, index cards ½ with symbols on them, flash cards with the symbols and words, worksheet for the matching game.

Day 9
1. Sponge Activity: Have the bags and matching cards from yesterday on their desks and let them play memory quietly as they come in.  They can record in their journals the names of the symbols they match.
2. Opening: Bring the students to the carpet area.  Hold a compass in your hand, but keep it covered.  Like you were holding a bug or keeping something a secret.  This will draw their attention to you.  Explain to them that what you have in your hand is a special instrument that helps people who are lost and can’t find their way around.  Open up your hand and show them the compass.  Some will already know what one is and some will not.  Explain to them that the needle is always pointing in the north direction, then show them how it works.
3. Guided Practice: After you have shown the students how to use a compass, go out to the playground.  Take with you the compass and the school maps.  Once again show the children that the needle is pointing north.  Use the compass to teach the children how to use it with a map.  Do this by; asking them different questions, such as, which direction does the library face?  Which way does our classroom face?  Ask them several questions and let them use the compasses to figure the questions out, you will have to be patient and help them out.  The last thing to do is to ask the students to go back to the classroom and which direction are they going?
4. Feedback: While the students are playing with the compasses you will be able to see who knows what they are doing and who does not.  Let the ones who know what they are doing help the ones who are confused.
5. Closure: After you are back in the classroom have the children to add details and facts to their flip chart.
6. Materials: enough compasses for your class, flip chart, school maps, memory games

Day 10
1. Sponge Activity: When the students come in give them a white piece of construction paper.  On it ask the students to draw or write their favorite thing they did during this unit.
2. Opening: Bring the students to the carpet area.  Start at the beginning of the chart and go through it with the student’s page by page.  When you do this they will recall the things not only that they learned but the things they did while they were learning.  Let the children lead the discussion with you only guiding.
3. Guided Practice: Have the students get out all of their papers and pages that they have collected over the course of this unit.  After they have everything out, ask them to put them in order.  With the first thing that they did being the first thing they learned.  They should be able to do this since we just went over the flip chart.  If some students have trouble remembering have them look at the chart first before you give them an answer.  After they have put everything in order, make a copy of all their pages, for the class book.  When the copies have been made have each child come up to your desk, punch holes in it a brad it together to make their own personal book.
4. Feedback: The end of the lesson is tying everything together in one knot so that the children can take things home with them and keep them.  Hopefully the children have learned more than just about maps; hopefully they learned that it is important to know their surroundings.
5. Closure: The books bring everything to a close, and with one in the classroom with all their things in it, will allow the children to always be able to view their work and what they learned.
6. Materials: brads, hole punch, copy machine, all of the students work, white construction paper, pencils, flip chart

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Vincinty orporation."1997.  http://www.mapblast.com (March 25, 1998)

"McRel." 1996-97. http://www.mcrel.org/connect/plus/maps.html (March 25, 1998)

Siebert, Diane  It’s Hard To Read a Map With a Beagle In
 Your Lap. 1993.

VanLeeuwen, Jean  Across the Wide Dark Sea. 1995.

Williams, Sue  I Went Walking. 1989.

 
EXTENTIONS:

 With this lesson there are other areas of education involved, but you can always add others to the unit.  Math and science are two subject areas that could easily fit into this unit with more activities and more time.  If you are to incorporate these into your lessons are specific and thorough so that they tie directly into the lessons already prepared.

Created 4-22-98