5 elements of a map

WHAT are the 5 key things that every map has which helps you
understand the information on that map?
Title
What: The name of the map
Explains what the map is about

 Why:You need to know what you’re reading

about, describes the features of the map
Legend/Key
 What: Describing what the symbols are on a
map

 Why: Helps you find information you need

 Helps avoid confusion about what is on the
map
 Helps find facts quickly
Scale
 What: Something that shows the measurements
that are specific to that map

 Why: Helps us understand how far places are

 How much or little of a certain measurement is
on the map
Compass
 What: The tool to help us know where to go:
North, East, South, West
Helpsus pinpoint a certain location, shows
what was in a location

 Why: If you don’t know where you’re going, the

compass on the map helps you
Points of Reference
 What: Extra symbols that help us interpret
the map, orients us on the map
 Examples: longitude, latitude, Equator,
political lines, boundaries, borders

 Why: exact locations of certain places on a

map
 Make a map of your room!
Give it a title
Create a legend/key in one corner of your map. Use the following symbols for objects in
your room IF YOU HAVE THEM:
 Sun= a window
 Rectangle= bed
 Star= closet and dresser (where you store clothes)
 Circle with quadrants for a TV or game system
 Create any additional symbols you need for other objects in your room
Now place those symbols on the map of your room
Create a scale at the bottom of your room map. Make it look like a scale from a map in
the atlas.
Put a compass on your map. Where is North, South, East, West? If you are not sure, you
can make it up.
If you want to put any other points of reference on your map, you can put the door or
the boundary between your side and your siblings side or any other information.