Lesson Topic: Introduction to Maps Grade level: 1st-grade Length of lesson: 30 minutes

Desired Results

State Content Standard(s):

1.3.7 Draw simple maps using symbols that show how space is used in familiar areas such as
the classroom, the school, and the neighborhood.

D2.Geo.1.K-2. Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places.

Central Focus: Essential Question(s):

Students will understand: ● What do maps help us do?
● Students will understand how to ● How can you draw an effective map?
read, interpret and draw simple ● How can you determine what a map is
maps. telling you?
Students are being introduced to map
reading, interpreting, drawing for the first
time. During this lesson, they will use their
prior knowledge of maps and build a deeper
understanding in order to set them up for
success in the following three lessons.

Student objectives (outcomes):

Students will be able to
1. Identify the important elements of a map.
2. Explain why maps are useful to people.
3. Apply their understanding to make a map of their room and neighborhood.

Students will be assessed based upon their inclusion of details/perspective on these two
maps. Their map will need to be visually appealing, in the sense that their scale makes sense
for the map they are trying to portray (ex. Each part of their map should have proportions that
make sense so that when the teacher or a friend read the map, they are able to draw
conclusions for what they are looking at).

Assessment Evidence
Performance Task(s):
● Students will create two maps, one
of their room and one of their
neighborhood to begin their flipbook.
This book will be completed at the
end of the unit.
Other Evidence:
● Turn and talk with partners
● Class discussion during the introduction
with various maps as well as during the
reading
● On-task behavior during the drawing of
their maps.

Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

5 minutes:
We have various examples of maps which will be organized into folders for each pair of
students. There will be four maps in each folder ranging from very simple to very complex.
● We will ask students, ‘what would you call these pieces of paper that we have in these
folders? Turn and talk to your partner’
● Students will then respond (hopefully) with ‘maps’. If students aren’t able to identify
that on their own, we will explicitly tell them that each of these is a map.
● Students will then be asked to take two minutes to look over each type of map and be
ready to share with their partner what they notice. Once students have looked they will
talk to their tablemates and share ideas on what they noticed.
○ If students are struggling to find things to discuss, we will provide guiding
questions such as;
○ What makes this a map? What is the same or different about each of these
maps? What do each of these maps tell us? Based on these few instances of
maps, what do you think the purpose of maps are?
10 minutes:
Students will then gather on their carpet dots by the reading chair and Maddie will read “Me
on the Map”.
● Before reading the book she will ask students, what do you notice just based on
looking at the cover of the book? What might you expect this book to show us while we
read? Can you make a prediction?
● Finally, before reading, she will instruct students to pay close attention to the details
they may notice on maps within the book because later on, they will be making maps
of their own. Here, she will tell students to make sure they notice how the maps are
drawn, in specific, they are drawn from a ‘birds-eye view’.
○ Ask students, what does it mean to see from a ‘birds-eye view’?
○ Here students will explicitly understand that their maps should be drawn from a
top-down perspective aka a ‘birds eye view’. Do not move on until all students
can reiterate this concept and display their understanding.
● During the reading, ask students periodically what specific details they notice about
maps that are encountered within the book. Then ask students why they think these
 specific details are necessary? How do they help people distinguish between what is
on the map?
● When the book has ended, she will ask the students to turn and talk to a partner about
other places they may see on a map.
○ If and only if time allows, as a class we will make a chart titled, ‘Things on a
Map’ on the smartboard. Here, students will list off various places, elements,
etc. that they would expect to see on a map.
15 minutes:
Students will return to their seats to begin the final activity for the day. The students will turn
their attention to the whiteboard where we have placed my example of the “Me on the Map
Flipbook”.
● The students will be given visual and oral directions for this activity. To complete this
flipbook, students will have to refer to the many maps that we have placed on the
board and think back to what they saw in the book. All of these resources will be at the
front of the classroom for reference if the students need it.
● This book has six parts; my house, my neighborhood, my town, my state, my country,
and my world. (The book says ‘my house’ but for this assignment, students will draw
their room because they will be more familiar with this space.) For the purposes of this
first day of introduction to maps, the students will only complete maps of their room
and their neighborhood. (At this point, from our student interviews, students do not
know the differences between a town, state, and country, so this will come up later on
in the unit).
● Based on what they know from the lesson, students will draw (in pencil) a map of their
room and their neighborhood in their books. They will be mindful of the different
elements that they include.
○ Students should put specific identifying elements of their room and
neighborhood on their maps, and it should be from a ‘birds-eye view’
● While students are working, we will walk around and formatively assess their
understanding of basic map-making.

Resources and Materials:

● The book, “Me on the Map” by Joan Sweeny
● 12 copies of each of the 4 maps from very simple to complex
● 24 copies of the flipbook (each one should be cut out for students to save time) -
Pinterest
● 6 sets of markers, crayons, and color pencils (one for each table)
● If there is time, we will use the Smartboard

Required Accommodations/Modifications:
● There are four students with IEP’s in the classroom; one for Autism and three for
learning disabilities.
● For the student with Autism:
○ We do frequent turn and talks and work with partners to ensure that this
student doesn’t yell out the answer when the class is working silently.
 ○ There are multiple modalities being used within the lesson as well as quick
transitions to ensure that this student stays on task.
■ We use maps that this student can manipulate, a book to listen to, oral
communication with peers, and artistic creation.
● For the students with learning disabilities:
○ We are unaware of any required accommodations for these students, but some
simple modifications we can make its that students with learning disabilities
can be paired with another student or one of us, to make sure that they
understand the directions and tasks.

Additional Modifications for Individual Students:

Students who have difficulty following instructions
● We will switch partners up if we see that students are off task. We will pair an on-task
student with an off-task student. We will also be walking around the room and will give
reminders of what to do to any students who are off task.
● Students who have difficulty comprehending text that is read to them
During the read aloud, we will ask students to restate what we read in their own words
every few pages. We will also reiterate what the student said in my own words to
ensure that students heard the main idea twice.

Extending the Lesson

Gear up:
● If students finish quickly or are ready for another challenge, their attention will be
brought back to the maps at the beginning of the lesson. The students will then take
time to look at all the maps and determine similarities and differences more in-depth.
Students will be asked to make specific claims about what maps always, sometimes
and never have.
● Or, students can take on the task of drawing a map of their house and not their
bedroom. We originally changed this to make it more graspable for all students, but if
some students are showing signs of being advanced, they will be able to draw a birds-
eye view of their house on the first page of their flipbook.

Gear down:
● If students are not grasping the concept of maps or map making, we will rearrange the
table groups and put the students in need of extra help with the students who have
shown a strong understanding. This will encourage peer collaboration and hopefully
help them understand in terms that they understand. If this is still not enough, we will
grab these students and take them to the back table and work with them explicitly
using the maps from the beginning part of the lesson as well as the book that we read.
Here we will show them how these maps show the reader specific places and be
explicit that we are expecting them to make a map from a top-down perspective of
their room and neighborhood.
Adapted from Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition (2005) by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Suggested Lesson Plan Guidelines for Student Teaching

Lesson Topic: Elements of a map Grade level: 1st-grade Length of lesson: 30 minutes

Desired Results

State Content Standard(s):

1.3.7 Draw simple maps using symbols that show how space is used in familiar areas such as
the classroom, the school, and the neighborhood.
D2.Geo.1.K-2. Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places.

Central Focus: Essential Question(s):

Students will understand: ● Why are the symbols of a map
● That maps have keys that help us to important?
make sense of the map. ● What do the symbols on a map tell us?
● How do we know what the symbols on a
Students will be introduced to the elements map mean?
of a map, more specifically the keys that are
incorporated with some maps. In this
lesson, they will use what they already know
about maps, that they provide us directions,
to understand that a ‘Key’ on a map gives
us further information about a map.

Student objectives (outcomes):

Students will be able to:
1. Identify symbols on a map
2. Understand that symbols on a map have meaning
3. Identify what symbols on a map mean by reading the key of a map

Students will be primarily be assessed based on their observations of the symbols of a map
and the correct placement of symbols on their maps, along with their participation in the class
discussion about maps. Students will also be assessed on their ability to use a key of a map
accurately, meaning that students will be able to correctly identify places on the map by using
the key. (Ex. Students will be able to color the trees green on the Reading a Map worksheet
because they have identified that the symbol correctly from the key)
 Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s): Other Evidence:

● Students will identify the symbols of
a map based on the key that the
map provides.
● On-task behavior while observing the
maps and participation during the
discussion
● Accurate identification of the symbols
on a map key worksheet (Reading a
Map worksheet)

Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

5 minutes: What do you notice about these maps?

Students will be given the same folder from the first lesson to look at again but this time:
● Students are to observe the maps, looking for what the maps have in common. The
goal is that students will notice that these maps have symbols on them that tell you
something
10 minutes: Discussion about the maps, introduce term: Key
● We will come back together to discuss what they noticed about the maps and
we will write their answers on the white board
● During the discussion, we will ask the following questions to the students, to
get them to understand the key of the map:
○ What do the symbols on a map tell us?
○ How do we know what the symbols on a map mean?
● We will write ‘Key’ on the whiteboard to further explain that maps sometimes
have these so we can know where are located with simplicity.
● We will then have students think of common symbols that they encountered on
their maps in order to make a chart all together on the board titled, “Symbols in
a Key”.
○ Working with their shoulder partner, students will find a common symbol
to share with the class, and we will add it to the chart paper.
○ Students from each partner group will share their answers, and if time
allows, we will take more comments to add to the paper.
● We will then ask, how are these symbols similar? Different? Why do you think
that is? Why do you think some symbols look like what they represent, and
others do not? (Trees look like trees but a camping area is only a triangle.)

10 minutes: Reading a Map worksheet

Students will get out their coloring utensils and pencils (crayons of colored pencils)
● We will have students get out the colors that they need for the worksheet (green and
red)
 ● We will read the directions to the students, and we will go one by one together to use
the key to identify what color to color the symbols on the map

Remaining time if any:

Play Adventure Island as a class
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/interactive/maps-tools-adventure-island/
● If we have remaining time, we will call the students to the SmartBoard and we will play
Adventure Island together! Student will be randomly chosen from the cup of names to
come up and help us play the game!
Make any adjustments and add color to the two maps made in their flip book from the first
lesson.

Resources and Materials:

● 24 copies of Reading a Map worksheet - Pinterest
● Crayons or Colored Pencils
● Pencils
● Dry Erase Marker
● 6 Folders of Maps
● SmartBoard / Computer
○ https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/interactive/maps-tools-
adventure-island/ this link/game pulled up on the computer, if we have the
opportunity to play the game!

Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are four students with IEP’s in the classroom; one has Autism and three others have a
learning disability.
● For the student with Autism:
○ We will have maps at each desk so this student will be able to see and interact
with the map
○ We do frequent class discussion, which will provide this student with an
opportunity to raise his hand and speak, instead of blurting out the answer.
■ This student normally has an aide with him, so we will work with the
aide to make sure that this student can be engaged and learning with
us
○ In this lesson, the student will be sitting down for a while, so if the student
needs to get up and walk or stand up while doing his work, He will be given the
opportunity to do so.
○ Also, in this lesson we provide different ways of learning and engaging
■ We use maps that this student can manipulate/color and oral
communication with peers and teacher
● For the students with learning disabilities:
○ We are unaware of any required accommodations for these students, but some
simple modifications we can make its that students with learning disabilities
 can be paired with another student or one of us, to make sure that they
understand the directions and tasks.

Additional Modifications for Individual Students:

Students who have difficulty following instructions
● We will make myself available to the students by walking around the room, and having
another teacher walk around to provide reminders to off task students of what
Students who have difficulty comprehending the key
● We will work on the Reading a Map worksheet together so that all students have the
opportunity to finish the worksheet, though we will not be providing the answers and
only reading the direction, 2 other teachers will be present in the class to help these
students to comprehend and identify symbols on the map.

Extending the Lesson

Gear up:
● If students finish quickly or are ready for another challenge, their attention will be
brought back to the maps that they created in lesson 1. The student(s) will then take
time to look at their maps of their room and neighborhood and determine symbols that
they could use to create a key for their maps!
Gear down:
● If there is/are student(s) who are finding it difficult to identify symbols and read the key
of the map, We will have 1 of the 2 other teachers to work with the student(s) while we
are working on the Reading a Map worksheet. This way,the student(s) can get the
support they need, without being pulled out the class or changing the assignment for
the student(s).

Adapted from Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition (2005) by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Suggested Lesson Plan Guidelines for Student Teaching

Lesson Topic: Using Maps to Identify Cities, States, and Countries Grade level: First
Length of lesson: 30 minutes

Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
1.3.2 Identify and describe continents, oceans, cities, and roads on maps and globes.

1.3.7 Draw simple maps using symbols that show how space is used in familiar areas such as
the classroom, the school, and the neighborhood.

Central Focus: Essential Question(s):

Students will understand: ● Why do people use a paper map
● How to identify a city, state, and instead of an interactive map?
country on a map. ● Why is it important to know the
● How maps and globes compare, and difference between cities, states, and
what each one is used for. countries?
Students now have a great understanding of
how to construct simple maps, so by adding
in a larger context of map interpreting they
will be continuously building upon what they
know. Students will understand how flat
maps, and interactive maps compare, and
how to determine when each one is
appropriate to use depending on what
information is needed.

Student objectives (outcomes):

Students will be able to:
1. Explain how to find a city, and state on a flat paper map, and interactive map (Google
Maps).
2. Apply their understanding to add maps of their city and state on their flipbook.

Students will be assessed based on their accuracy of map drawing when they draw their city
and state on their flipbook. By this point, students should have correct top down perspective, a
key (legend), and now labels (the name of their city, and state).

Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s): Other Evidence:

● Students will apply their
understanding of map making to
draw maps of their city and state on
their ‘Me on the Map’ flipbook.
● Turn and talks during the reading
● Comments during carpet discussion of
the Google Maps.
● On task, higher order thinking checks
as the teacher circulates the room
during map making activity
 Learning Plan

Learning Activities:

10 minutes:
Students’ memories will be refreshed of their mapping ideas from the previous two lessons
with the reading of the book, “Follow that Map!” This book will also introduce the idea of
following maps around cities, states, and the world.
● Students will gather on their carpet dots in front of the reading chair. We will first ask
the students to make observations about the cover of the book.
○ What do you think will happen in this book? Make a prediction and turn and talk
to your partner.
● Maddie will then read the book aloud to the students. During the reading she will ask:
○ What specific elements on this map make it readable for our characters?
○ Why do these characters need to use a map?
○ How is this map helpful for them?
○ What is the difference between their city and their state? Their state and their
country? (This is for us to get another initial idea on their prior knowledge so
we can decide the level of instruction we need to do during the lesson)
10 minutes
Once the students are back to their seats, we will project a map of Indiana on the smartboard
from Google Maps.
● We will ask the students who can come up and show me where a city is.
○ If students are unable to do this, we will show them where the city of Ellettsville
is and tell them that is where they are.
○ Here we can zoom in and take a “walk” through Ellettsville through Google
Maps.
○ We will also ask (once zoomed back out), what do you notice within the cities?
What do these lines mean? (referring to roads and bodies of water).
○ How would these be represented on a key, if this map were to include a key?
○ What are the main routes in and out of Ellettsville based on this map?
● Then, we will ask the students who can come up and show me where Indiana is.
○ If students are unable to do this, we will show them Indiana on the map and tell
them that this is the state they live in by explicitly showing them that their city is
inside their state.
○ We will zoom out the map so it shows the whole United States. We will ask
students:
○ Where is Indiana now?
○ Where is Ellettsville?
○ Once zoomed back in, can you identify any other cities in Indiana? Why are
those important to know?
● How does this interactive map compare to the other flat paper maps that we have
seen in the past few lessons?
 ○ What are the similarities and differences?
○ What is the benefit of using one over the other?
10 minutes:
Students will then have the remaining time to begin to draw a map of their city and state on
their ‘Me on the Map’ flipbook. Student will be reminded to think back to how the author chose
to draw the maps in the book “Follow that Map!” that we read at the beginning of the class.
This book will be at the front of the classroom for students to reference if need be.
● Students will be prompted by me asking:
○ Can you close your eyes and picture what is around your in your city?
○ Are there any places in your city that you will include in your map?
○ How will you use your labels and keys that you learned last time?
● We will have little printout traceables of the state of indiana to assist students in
drawing their state. We will also have other identifiable elements of indiana up on the
smartboard like; a cardinal (the state bird), the state flag, an indycar, etc. Hopefully
some of these will be recognizable for students and they will include them in their
drawing.

Resources and Materials:

● Book, “Follow that Map!”
● Smartboard
● ‘Me on the Map’ flipbook
● State of indiana traceable printouts
● 6 sets of markers, crayons, and color pencils (one for each table)

Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are four students with IEP’s in the classroom; one for Autism and three for learning
disabilities.
● For the student with Autism:
○ We do frequent turn and talks and work with partners to ensure that this
student doesn’t yell out the answer when the class is working silently.
○ There are multiple modalities being used within the lesson as well as quick
transitions to ensure that this student stays on task.
■ We use maps that this student can manipulate, a book to listen to, oral
communication with peers, a worksheet with picture printouts to avoid
communication barrier, and artistic creation.
● For the students with learning disabilities:
○ We are unaware of any required accommodations for these students, but some
simple modifications we can make its that students with learning disabilities
can be paired with another student or one of us, to make sure that they
understand the directions and tasks.

Additional Modifications for Individual Students:

Students who have difficulty following instructions
 ● We will switch partners up if we see that students are off task. We will pair an on-task
student with an off-task student. We will also be walking around the room and will give
reminders of what to do to any students who are off task.
● Students who have difficulty comprehending text that is read to them
During the read aloud, Maddie will ask students to restate what she read in their own
words every few pages. She will also reiterate what the student said in her own words
to ensure that students heard the main idea twice.
● If students have a hard time drawing their city/state we will provide explicit guidance by
drawing them a starting point and then asking them guiding questions to help them
complete their maps.

Extending the Lesson

Gear up:
● Students who are easily able to attach the pictures to the compare/contrast worksheet
will be asked to write other observations underneath the pictures.
● Students could also be challenged with having them determine the differences
between states and countries by looking at the maps. How are they related? (states
are within countries) They could also be challenged to look for roads, rivers, or bodies
of water on the maps. Why do map makers include these details?

Gear down:
● If students are struggling with the idea of distinguishing between a city and a state, We
will work with them in groups to complete their flip books based upon their specific
locations. We will do this by giving them guiding outlines on their books and then ask
questions about where things are to get them to visualize familiar places.

Adapted from Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition (2005) by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Suggested Lesson Plan Guidelines for Student Teaching

Lesson Topic: Map Making: Elements of a Map Grade level: 1st grade Length of lesson: 30
minutes

Desired Results
State Content Standard(s):
1.3.7 Draw simple maps using symbols that show how space is used in familiar areas such as
the classroom, the school, and the neighborhood.

Central Focus: Essential Question(s):

Students will understand: ● What are the elements of a map that
● The elements of a map that are are needed to make a map?
needed to make a map. ● How do you create a map?
Students now know the purpose of maps
and what maps have that make them able
to follow. Students will understand that all
the elements of a map have to be present in
order for a map to be useable.

Student objectives (outcomes):

Students will be able to:
● Create a map of their classroom with the elements of a map needed for their map to
be followed.

Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s): Other Evidence:

● Students will create a classroom
map that has a title, symbols, a key,
and an accurate drawing of the
classroom that can be used to
navigate the classroom.
● Cooperatively working with peers to
create an accurate classroom map
● Following the classroom check-list for
their classroom maps

Learning Plan

Learning Activities:
10 minutes:
Refresh students memory on the book, Follow The Map!
● Students will gather on the carpet dots for this discussion/recap.
● Ask 2 students to recap the book for the class, so that we know that students
remember the book
● Then have the students tell me if they remember the elements (things) the map in the
book had that made it easy to follow
○ Write down a list of things (elements) that a map has that makes it easy to
follow on chart paper
● Have students return to seats by table group!
20 minutes: Creating Classroom Map
● Explain to students the directions of this activity (5 minutes)
○ How can we show someone how to navigate the classroom? We can create a
simple map of the classroom for them to use!
○ What were the elements that we said needed to be on a map for us to be able
to read a map? Do we need all those elements for this map?
■ Present the chart paper from the previous lessons where students
provided their observations of elements/symbols from the keys of
various maps.
○ We will write on the board all the things that their simple maps need to include,
coming from the list we created earlier, this way students know exactly what
their task is going to be.
■ Here, we will also discuss how the maps we have looked at previously
may have had bodies of water, or roads, but those will not be present in
their classroom maps.
■ This will drive in the idea that not all maps will have all of the same
symbols in their keys, or the same elements in general. Symbols are
dependent on the environment being mapped.
● As a class, we will decide what symbols we will use for our maps (this makes the task
a little easier for the students and easier for me to read their maps) (5 minutes)
○ Create a symbol for desks (square, rectangles), chairs (X’s), and any other
things that students think should have a symbol
● Students will begin to work on their simple maps, but before they begin we will talk
about and do the following: (10 minutes)
○ Student in the seat closest to the door, will write the title of the Map on the
map, near one of the edges of the map - Mrs. Simmons’ Classroom Map (Title)
○ Next they need to decide the area of the paper they will use for the map (i.e
draw a box and use the space within the box, or use the entire sheet of paper).
○ Then, we will explain to students that each student will need to take turns
making additions to the map. The list of things that they need to include on the
map will be on the whiteboard, so we will reference that list if students have
questions about what should be on the map
○ Walk around and help students as necessary, until the activity is over!
■ If students need guidance or help, we will support them by asking
guiding questions that will help them to answer their own questions.

Resources and Materials:

● 6 large poster sized paper for students to create a map on
● Pack of markers
● Pencils (6)
● Chart paper (2)
● Sharpie (1)
● Follow the Map book
 ● Dry erase marker (1)

Required Accommodations/Modifications:
There are four students with IEP’s in the classroom; one for Autism and three for learning
disabilities.
● For the student with Autism:
○ Student has a difficult time in groups and as a part of his accommodations, His
aide will be their to support him and make sure he is on-task and participating.
● For the students with learning disabilities:
○ We are unaware of any required accommodations for these students, but some
simple modifications we can make its that students with learning disabilities
can be paired with another student or one of us, to make sure that they
understand the directions and tasks.

Additional Modifications for Individual Students:

For the student with Autism:
● This student loves to draw, however group work can be stressful and loud for him.
Since this is the case, this lesson can be modified specifically for him by allowing him
to make the map of the classroom by himself. Furthermore, we can create a checklist
of things he needs to have on his map, so that he can make sure that everything is
included.
Students who have difficulty following instructions
● We will also be walking around the room and will give reminders of what to do to any
students who are off task or need help remembering the directions of the lesson.
● If students have a hard time participating in the group creating the map, We will
provide these students with a space in the back of the classroom at table. Here, they
can make their own simple map of the classroom. If students get stuck or are unsure
of how to create the map, we will use guiding questions to help them complete the
map.

Extending the Lesson

Gear up:
● For the student(s) who need a challenge, we will have them create a map that will help
someone find hidden treasure. The hidden treasure will be a pencil that they will hide
somewhere inside of the classroom. Once they have hidden their pencil, they will need
to create a map that will help someone be able to find the pencil that they have hid in
the classroom.
Gear down:
● If creating a classroom map is proving to be challenging for these students, we will
modify the activity. Instead of students creating a map of the classroom within their
table group, We will have students look at the folder of maps that we used in the
 earlier lessons and identify the elements of a map that we talked about. Next, they can
label the maps that they have been creating with the elements that maps have.

Adapted from Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition (2005) by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Resources:

Me on the Map flip book: *We are only using the house (room), neighborhood, city and state
parts of the book, we are leaving out the country and world pages*
https://pin.it/ffaa7c4usamsr7
http://firstieland.com/map-skills-for-young-students-with-me/

Map Vocabulary:
https://pin.it/xyo4umty7plrvj

Reading a Map Worksheet:

https://pin.it/ayqqnpoit56u2d