Grade 3 Fall History - Local History and Landmarks: The Stories of THIS Place
Lesson 13 50 min hist.g3.f.lesson_13

Map Skills - Scale and Legend

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students identify the 4 essential map elements: title, compass rose, scale bar, legend.
  • Students use a scale bar to measure approximate real-world distance (cross-link Math G3 Fall).
Vocabulary
scalelegendkeycompass roseabsolute locationrelative location

Lesson plan

Warm-up

5 min

Locate the school on MG-5 town map. Cross-link math: 1 inch = 1 mile.

Teacher moves
  • Cross-link math measurement
  • Affirm scale concept

Direct instruction

14 min

Today we deepen our map skills. A good map has 4 essential elements: TITLE, COMPASS ROSE, SCALE BAR, and LEGEND. Without scale, we cannot measure. Without legend, we cannot read symbols. With these tools, we can find ANY place. Today we measure distances between local features using a ruler and the scale bar - your math skills meet your map skills.

Key examples
  • Measurement + direction = location.
    model 3 inches × 1 mile/inch = 3 miles. Library is 3 miles north of school.
    prompt Measure inches from school to library. Multiply by scale.
Checks for understanding
  • Name 4 essential map elements.
  • What is scale?
Sourcework
Source type
MG-5 town map with full apparatus
Routine
MAP-NOTICE-WONDER-MEASURE
Media
M-3-F-GEO-13-A Map
24x18 laminated town-scale map (1 inch = 1 mile, ~10 miles across) with FULL cartographic apparatus: TITLE banner, 8-dir

24x18 laminated town-scale map (1 inch = 1 mile, ~10 miles across) with FULL cartographic apparatus: TITLE banner, 8-direction COMPASS ROSE top-right, SCALE BAR bottom-right (clearly marked), LEGEND box left side with 5-8 symbols (school star, library book icon, town hall flag, historical landmark cross, hospital cross, park tree, water blue, railroad). The school is marked with a STAR. Teacher Localization Note: locality-specific.

MG-5 Map
Mounted along one classroom wall as a coordinated set. The three-scale framing is INTENTIONAL - it teaches nested scale,

Mounted along one classroom wall as a coordinated set. The three-scale framing is INTENTIONAL - it teaches nested scale, a Grade-4-5 expectation introduced at G3. Children practice locating the same school at three scales in lesson 15. Teacher Localization Note: the maps must be locality-specific; templates available from local town/city planning department or USGS for region-scale. The grid system is essential for lesson 14.

Guided practice

16 min
Tasks
  • Measure 3 distances on MG-5 town map using ruler + scale.
  • Identify 5 symbols on the legend.
Media
M-3-F-GEO-13-B Diagram
8.5x11 worksheet with mini-map reproduction and 5 measure-and-name tasks: (1) measure school-to-library inches; (2) mult

8.5x11 worksheet with mini-map reproduction and 5 measure-and-name tasks: (1) measure school-to-library inches; (2) multiply by scale; (3) state direction; (4) identify 2 legend symbols; (5) state absolute and relative location of school. Sentence frames in each task.

Formative assessment

4 min
Exit ticket
  • The school is ___ miles from the library, calculated from scale of ___ inches × ___.
scoring Both = mastery

Closure

4 min
Moves
  • Add 'scale', 'legend' to Word Wall
  • Preview: tomorrow we add grid

Homework

8 min
Tasks
  • Find one map at home (in a book, a brochure, online). Identify the 4 essential elements.

Exercises in this lesson

hist.g3.f.geo.scale_legend.ex_01
Use ruler on MG-5 town map. Measure 3 distances: (1) school to library; (2) school to nearest park; (3) school to town hall. State each...
 scale measurement · diff 2

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Pre-measured 1-inch ruler reference
  • Color-coded legend
Extensions
  • Calculate one diagonal distance
English Learners
  • Bilingual map-element vocabulary
Ieps 504s
  • Tactile raised-relief map
  • Adult-supported measurement

Teacher notes

PROTOCOL: cross-link to Math G3 Fall measurement/place-value explicitly. The 4-element framework is the universal cartographic convention. Teacher Localization Note: locality-specific town map MUST have full apparatus including scale and legend. USGS or town planning department maps usually qualify.