Planning tool

Students:

• draw a simple map of a familiar area
• represent the location of objects and landmarks in the correct position compared with each other
• use a map to describe a pathway from one place to another.

Some students may:

• have difficulty representing an area in two dimensions when visualising the area from above and not be able to locate the objects relative to one another. Provide multiple opportunities for students to visualise areas from above, position themselves on the map and draw objects relative their own position. Start with smaller areas such as their table group in class, a section of the classroom or a familiar area in the school grounds.

The Learning from home activities are designed to be used flexibly by teachers, parents and carers, as well as the students themselves. They can be used in a number of ways including to consolidate and extend learning done at school or for home schooling.

Learning intention

• We are learning how to describe routes on a map.
• We are learning how to identify features on a map.
• We are learning that maps are views from above often called a ‘bird’s-eye view’.

Why are we learning about this?

• Maps provide a representation of a real space that helps us describe location and position.

What to do

1. Draw a mud map of your local community showing how you get from your home to a place of interest.
   1. A mud map is a map drawn with a stick in dirt or sketched roughly on a sheet of paper.
2. Think about the key landmarks that you would pass along the way.
   1. What route would you follow?
   2. How would you represent this in a mud map?
3. Show your mud map to a family member and use it to describe the directions to get from your home to your chosen place of interest.
   1. Ask them if the map has the key landmarks?
   2. What might be added or is not clear or correct?

Success criteria

I can:

• read and understand simple maps
• mark landmarks and other familiar places on a simple map.