Lesson Overview:
Students will develop basic geography skills by reading neighborhood maps. They will learn how to interpret map symbols and identify the specific colors used for each. Students will learn to identify primary and secondary colors, then use them to create their own map, map symbols, and colored map key.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grade 1.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- create a map of their neighborhood
- interpret a neighborhood map.
- learn their home address.
- learn to read and understand a map key.
- read the book Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Supplies:
- Crayons
- Johnson, Crockett. Harold and the Purple Crayon
- Several copies of a map of your city or neighborhood
- White art paper
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
Note: This lesson is designed to be taught in sequence after the lesson Exploring
Neighborhoods through Art.
Begin the lesson by having the children read the book Harold and the Purple Crayon. Ask the students the following questions:
- What were some of the things that Harold drew?
- What is a map?
- What can you learn from a map?
- What can you tell other people by drawing a map?
- How did Harold draw maps with his purple crayon?
Tell the class that they will be learning about maps and how to read them. Send a letter home to parents/guardians ahead of time asking them to supply their child with a copy of their home address and some photos of the neighborhood for use in the mapping project. If students are unable to bring in pictures, supply them with appropriate magazines and allow them to cut out pictures of
places that resemble their neighborhoods. (You may also wish to ask a parent volunteer to provide neighborhood photographs for use by students who are unable to bring in their own photos.) Have the students look at the photos of the neighborhoods. Ask the students what they see in each picture. Encourage them to find houses, buildings, trees, roads, people, animals, and cars.
Review with students the definition of an address. Each house has a number and usually a street name. These two items are combined together to make an address. Then explain that an address also includes a city, county, or country name, as well as a zip code. You may wish to bring in envelopes with address to use as examples.
Guided Practice
Explain to students that they will now use computers to look at a map of their own neighborhood (or the neighborhood where their school is located). Working in small groups, have the students use computers and the Internet for this portion of the lesson. Have students locate a map of their own neighborhood using an online resource such as MapQuest or Map Point.
Depending upon the level of each student’s computer skills, you may need to assist some with entering their address once they have found the Web site. If the students know their own home address, have them write it on a piece of paper. If they do not know their address, have them write the school’s address. (This is an opportunity to help students memorize their address, if they have not already done so.)
After the home addresses are entered into the Web site, have students search for a map. Then the students can zoom in or out to look at how the map of their neighborhood changes when looking at it in contrasting ways. Allow each student to print a copy of the map showing the streets in their neighborhood. Have them locate where their house (address) is on the printed map.
Group Work
Post a large map of the neighborhood(s) where your school district is located, so it can be used as a reference during the lesson. Have students find each other’s homes on the map. Divide students into small groups and distribute one map of your city or neighborhood to each group. The map should be in color and relatively uncomplicated.
Point out the map key or legend, and explain how it can be used to understand the map.
Ask the students to look for symbols on the maps. Explain that specific colors are often used for certain symbols. The colors used are often the colors associated with the place or object and they help people to understand the map. For instance, parks and trees are often represented on maps by green areas. Lakes and bodies of water are often represented by blue areas. Go over the map and have students identify the colors used for each symbol on the map key.
With the students, list the colors used for the map symbols on the board. (You may wish to use colored chalk.) Point out the primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Remind students that these three colors can be mixed to create every other color. Select a color from the list on the board, such as green. Review the concept of secondary colors by asking the students which colors should be mixed to create green (yellow and blue). Repeat the exercise for orange and purple. Return to the map, and have the students identify the primary and secondary colors.
Independent Activity
Tell the students that they will create their own maps of the street on which they live. Refer back to the artwork that the students created in the lesson Exploring Neighborhoods through Art. Tell them that they will turn this artwork into a map of their street. Point out the different purposes of the artwork and the map. Unlike the artwork, the purpose of the map is to show other people how to get around their neighborhood or street. Other people must be able to "read" the map and understand what the symbols represent.
Tell students that they must create a map key using colors to help people understand what is on the map. Tell students that they may use whatever colors they wish, but to remember that the colors are meant to make the map clear and readable.
Suggest a list of items for which students might wish to create symbols: houses, driveways, stop signs, grassy areas, roads, etc.
Allow students to swap maps with another student in the classroom. Students should try to decipher their partners' maps and their symbols.
Assessment:
See the accompanying Assessment Rubric.
Sources:
Print:
- Johnson, C., Harold and the Purple Crayon. Harper Collins Publishers, 1955. Banks, J., Beyer, B., Contreras, G., Craven, J., Ladson-Billings, G., McFarland, M.,
- Parker, W., The World Around Us. People and Neighborhoods, Places We Live. New York: MacMillan-McGraw-Hill School Publishing Company, 1995.
Authors:
-
Rebecca Holden, Educator
Virginia Beach, VA
