What can I see on my journey to school?

What is a map?

A map is a diagrammatic representation of an area of land or sea showing physical features such as cities and transportation networks

Activity 1

View the map below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Which is farther east, the elementary or middle school?

2. Which is farther south, Lake Park or City Park?

3. How far (in miles) is it from the bus station to the hospital?

4. Which school's address is 250 Oak Street?

5. What city building is located at E3?

6. When you look northeast, you see River Park. When you look north, you

see the Water Plant. When you look east, you see the Elementary School.

Where are you?

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Activity 2

1. Which bridge is closest to the Art Museum?

2. How far (in miles) is it from the bus station to the hospital?

3. If you cross Denny Bridge going north, turn right at River St., turn left at

Grove Ave., turn right at Oak St. and walk half a block, what building do

you see on your right?

4. What park is located in A2?

5. When you look north, you see the river. When you look east, you see the

High School. Where are you?

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Activity 3

1. What is the name of the largest island above?

2. What is the name of the ocean in the map?

3. Which island is farthest west?

4. Which island is farthest south?

5. Draw a red "X" at latitude 20oN, longitude 157oW.

6. About how many miles is it from Hilo to Captain Cook?

7. What direction would you travel to go from Hilo to Mauna Kea?

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Classroom Mapping

A common activity for building map skills is to draw a map of the classroom. There are “required elements” — objects that must appear on their map, such as the door, the teacher’s desk, individual student desks, and so on. Anything not on the list is optional, but shouldn’t interfere with someone’s ability to identify the required elements.

Symbolic representation. First, you must draw a map of the classroom using a consistent symbolic representation. You can choose the symbols — desks can be squares or stars or cartoon monkeys, as long as they’re consistent and clearly labeled in a key.

Scale. You will be given tape measures; you will work in groups to calculate the various dimensions of the room. This is not just length and breadth but also distance between objects.

You must list the scale at the bottom. To the best of your ability, you must draw the sizes and shapes of objects and the distance between them to scale.

Viewing angle. You will draw maps of the classroom from various perspectives. Your first map should be of someone on the 9th floor who has x-ray vision and can see through solid objects like ceilings. So this person is staring down at the outline of the classroom from above.

Features of a map

When you think of the features of a map, you should memorise this anagram: BOLTS.

No it’s not Usain Bolt but

BOLTS = BORDER; ORIENTATION: LEGEND or KEY; TITLE; SCALE

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Elements of a Map

Border - The line or frontier area separating political divisions or geographic regions; a boundary.

Orientation - A map is orientated when it is turned around so that north on the map is in line with the true direction of north on the ground.

Legend or Key - A legend or map key uses SYMBOLS to represent special features on a map that you would find on the landHere are a few examples of symbols:

Title: Map title is an element in map design that describes the theme or subject of a map. The title of the map is important in giving the audience the initial information that they need in order to use the map properly.

Scale: Map scale refers to the relationship (or ratio) between distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground. For example, on a 1:100000 scale map, 1cm on the map equals 1km on the ground.

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Activity 4: BOLTS OR NO BOLTS

For each of the following maps you will have 30 seconds to identify how many of the BOLTS you can see on the map. For each map write down BOLTS and put a tick or a cross next to each letter to show you have checked them.

Map 1: London Underground Map

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Map 2 Political Map of the United States

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Map 3 Taiwan

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Map 4 World Map

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Map 5 Bygholm

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Map 6 Map of Hong Kong

BOLT Yes or NoBorderOrientationLegend or KeyTitleScale

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Types of Maps There are several types of maps. Each shows different information. Most maps include a compass rose, which indicates which way is north, south, east and west. They also include a scale so you can estimate distances. Here's a look at some different types of maps.

1. Climate maps - give general information about the climate and precipitation (rain and snow) of a region. Cartographers, or mapmakers, use colors to show different climate or precipitation zones.

2. Economic or resource maps feature the type of natural resources or economic activity that dominates an area. Cartographers use symbols to show the locations of natural resources or economic activities. For example, oranges on a map of Florida tell you that oranges are grown there.

3. Physical maps illustrate the physical features of an area, such as the mountains, rivers and lakes. The water is usually shown in blue. Colors are used to show relief—differences in land elevations. Green is typically used at lower elevations, and orange or brown indicate higher elevations.

4. Political maps do not show physical features. Instead, they indicate state and national boundaries and capital and major cities. A capital city is usually marked with a star within a circle.

5. Road maps show major—some minor highways—and roads, airports, railroad tracks, cities and other points of interest in an area. People use road maps to plan trips and for driving directions.

6. Topographic maps include contour lines to show the shape and elevation of an area. Lines that are close together indicate steep terrain, and lines that are far apart indicate flat terrain.

Source: http://www.factmonster.com/world/geography/types-maps.html, accessed Tuesday, 3rd of November

Activity 5: Guess the type of map – put your answer beside the title (i.e. Map number)

Map 1

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Map 2

Map 3

Map 4

Map 5

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Map 6

What is a mud map?

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A map drawn in the ground with a stick or any other roughly drawn map It doesn’t have to have to be accurate but it should show a location clearly

or communicate how to get somewhere We use them to quickly show something to someone.

Activity 5

You need to tell someone how to get from your house to VSA. This is the route you take every day! How observant are you?

Draw a “mud map” (a rough map without scale),which will ensure that a person could make their way to school without getting lost.

Try to use road names as well as landmarks. Mud maps are functional not beautiful- you do not need to colour or

decorate- the purpose of them is to make sure someone does not get lost when in unfamiliar territory! They are usually thrown away after use

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