What is a map? - Lesson 2

In the second lesson of a series titled "What is a map?", students are encouraged to explore and understand the geography of the area directly surrounding their school. The lesson begins with a practical exercise where the children take a walk outside and photograph houses in the vicinity, noting that permission from homeowners may be required. This hands-on approach allows children to observe and document their local environment directly. To further engage with the subject, students use cereal boxes to recreate the street layout inside the classroom, discussing house numbers and the arrangement of the boxes to reflect the actual street next to the road they have observed.

The lesson extends to a second walk, during which students look for additional features such as road signs and street names. This activity is aimed at helping them to notice details that they may otherwise overlook. For some students, it also serves as an opportunity to introduce residential terms like terraced, detached, semi-detached, bungalow, and flat, enhancing their architectural vocabulary. To connect these real-world observations with cartography, if time allows, a simple map showing the streets around the school is used. Children are encouraged to make the connection between the physical locations they have visited and their representations on the map, potentially carrying the map with them as they walk to reinforce this understanding. The lesson is designed for focused group activities, ideally with small groups of about six students, to ensure engagement and facilitate learning.