1st Grade Mapping Unit

Over Arching Essential Understanding (Big Ideas/Goals):

1. Maps are tools that people use to identify locations.

2. There are many different kinds of maps.

3. Maps contain symbols that represent real places.

Essential Questions (Objectives):

 What is a map used for?
 Why are there different colors on a map?
 Why are maps flat if the earth is round?
 Why do we use symbols on maps?
 How do we know how far away something is using a map?
 What are some different types of maps?
 How are maps made?
 Can we make up our own map symbols?
 How do we tell others what our map symbols mean?

Standards:

Learning Activities:
Map Activities
1. Children's maps:
Have students construct maps of environments they are familiar with such as classroom, home, bedroom,
playground etc. Show students how to use symbols to represent items and then put them on a map key or
a map legend.
Materials: Paper for each child or group, pencils, crayons.
Time: 30 min
2. Bird's Eye Views:
Have children put objects on their desks then draw what those items would look like when viewed from
above.
Materials: Objects from the classroom (let students choose own) paper, pencil, crayons.
Time: 20-30 min
3. Highway maps:
Use old road maps and have students locate items that are found on the legend.
Materials: Old highway maps
Time: 15 min
4. Label the classroom:
Label the classroom with the cardinal directions and play Simon Says using the terms.
Materials: Labels for north, south, east, west placed appropriately in the classroom
Time: 15-30 min
5. Orienting Maps:
Have students orient their maps to the directions of the labels in the classroom. Have students turn their
desks to face North. Then have students point to places on the map that are in the direction specified by
teacher or other students.
Materials: maps for each child or group, labels for north, south, east, west placed appropriately in the
classroom.
Time: 15-20 min
6. Mapping origins of toys:
When students bring toys to school for show and tell the teacher can place dots on the globe to show
where the toy was made. Students will learn to recognize the names of foreign places and that not all
things are made close to home.
Materials: Globe and sticker dots
Time: 5 min
7. Treasure Maps:
Give children maps and directions to lead them to a treasure somewhere in the classroom or school
(depending on ability and age). Students can also make their own treasure maps.
Materials: treasure maps and directions to someplace in the school or classroom, treasure, if children
make their own maps provide paper, pencils and crayons
Time: 30-45 min
8. Literature:
Have students draw a map of the route a character takes in a book. (Little Red Riding Hood's trip to
Grandmothers, Hansel and Gretel's journey through the woods, etc.)
Materials: Story book, paper, pencil, crayons
Time: 30-45 min
9. Bulletin Board:
Use the bulletin board to map the classroom. Later map the school. For older students you could continue
on to neighborhood, city, state etc. Talk about how the areas change as the maps include more things and
larger areas of the environment.
Materials: bulletin board, map of classroom, school, etc. this can be one that the students have created
previously.
Time: 10-15 min
10. Pen Pal:
Find a class in the school, or another school nearby or in a distant city to be pen pals with. Help students
locate where the other class is located (using map of school, city, state etc.) Either write a letter as a
whole class, or allow students to write individual letters to individual students.
Materials: Paper, pencils, or for younger students, chart paper to make one letter, a pen pal class, map of
appropriate area to locate other class
Time: 15-20 min (depending on the length of letter, how many times you write to pen pal class and if
students write their own letter.)
11. Cookie Map:
Use a cookie (for young children just a square) and have them frost the cookie and add candies, sprinkles
etc. to represent the objects in the classroom. ( M&M's =students' desks etc.) Students can also create a
legend.
Materials: Cookies, (square to represent classroom), frosting, candy and/or sprinkles to represent objects
in classroom.
Time: 15-20 min
12. Finding Maps:
Have students look through newspapers, magazines, and travel brochures to find maps. Have them
identify what it is a map for and why it would be found in that particular place. They could also cut them
out and make a bulletin board with their findings.
Materials: newspapers, magazines, and travel brochures, scissors, paper, pencils
Time: 15-25 minutes, depending on how many maps can be found in the resources.
13. School Tour:
Retrieve a copy of the school map. Have the students locate places that they know. After they have
studied the map, use the map as a reference and find different places on the map. Finding places that they
are not familiar with would be an excellent addition as they will have to use the map to find it.
Materials: A map of the school
Time: Up to an hour. Discovery maybe 15-30 minutes, touring the school could be done at a different
time and may take 10-20 minutes.
14. Where have you been?:
Obtain a state, country, and world map. Have the students tell places that they have been. Place a paper
with their name on it on the place that they have been.
Materials: Maps of the state, country, and world, paper, markers.
Time: 15 minutes. This could be done a little bit a day as with each paper placed there is a story attached.
15. Real Pictures vs. Map:
Show students pictures of different places. Good ones include bridges, buildings, rivers, or other
prominent places. Then show the students a map of the same place. This activity lets the students see a
"real" picture along with the map. They can also see how different pictures are used to represent things in
the real world.
Materials: Pictures of "real" places and their corresponding maps.
Time: 10-20 minutes depending on how many pictures and maps are analyzed.
16. Hide and Seek:
Students make a map of the classroom. They then hide an item somewhere in the classroom and give
clues to where it is. Using a map, the students can find the object.
Materials: Paper, writing utensils, item to hide
Time: 1 hour. It will take the students time to make the map and time to play the game.
17. Hokey-Pokey:
To practice remembering right, left, forward, and backward, the game Hokey-Pokey could be played.
North, South, East, and West could also be used.
Materials: None
Time: 10-15 minutes depending on the variation.
18. Right and Left:
Teach the students ways that they can remember which hand is right and which hand is left. Put a sticker
on their right hand, as a visual way to remember. This could be extended to teaching of East and West.
Stickers with and "E" or "W" could be placed on the hands. Be sure that students know that this only
works if they are facing North.
Materials: Stickers
Time: 10 minutes.
19. Land and Water:
Have students discover the color of water and land (grass, dirt, etc.) Have them discover what the colors
on the map represent.
Materials: Map with land and water.
Time: 10 minutes.
20. Globe or Map?:
Show the students globes and maps. Have them make a list of what a globe is and what a map is. Pull out
other examples and have the students decide where they would fit.
Materials: Globes and maps.
Time: 10 minutes.
Culminating Activities
 Zoo or Farm:
Take a trip to the zoo or a farm. The students could follow a map of the farm or zoo or make one as they
visit the areas.
Mapping Routes:
Provide maps of the school and/or the neighborhood. Have children trace routes to various places. For
first graders it may need to be as simple as a map of the classroom and trace a route from students desk to
teachers desk, pencil sharpener etc.

Key Knowledge/Concepts/Skills/Vocabulary:

A vital part of the social studies curriculum is teaching students a basic understanding of maps and
globes. Map skills are taught throughout the elementary grades. The skills range from directional mastery,
understanding the difference between a map and a globe, to latitude, longitude, map symbols, kinds of
maps, the scale on a map and the geographic terms that accompany the many different kinds of maps and
globes.

The GLE’s that cover map skills for first grade states that the students will understand beginning
geographic concepts. The objectives include that students will identify map symbols which represent real
things, identify the meaning of symbols on simple picture maps, identify the directions of north and south
in relation to the North and South Poles, and construct a simple map of the classroom. These basic skills
help to create a foundation that will be added to in years to come throughout a student's education.

Once learning takes place in other areas of study, students will be able to use their map skills to better
understand their studies. Connections can be made with economic conditions, drought, war, historic
events, and political education. These connections will teach the students to understand the information at
a higher level.

Assessments:

Materials/Resources:

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/pirates/mmap.html

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnesf2000/wenhal/hales.html
#anchor705193

http://www.jmeacham.com/science.social.studies.mini.lessons.htm

http://pbskids.org/arthur/parentsteachers/lesson/world/pdf/Dear_Pen_Pal.pdf