What is a map? — Me on the Map and the bird's-eye view

Daily Calendar Circle. Then introduce the GEO unit: 'For the rest of the term, we are going to learn about MAPS and PLACES.' Hold up a folded map.

• Show globe and ask 'is this a map?'
• Tease: 'today we'll find out what a map really is'

A MAP is a small picture of a real place. But not a regular picture — a map shows things FROM ABOVE, like a bird looking down. Listen to Me on the Map. The girl in this book draws her room from above, then her house, then her street, then her town, then her country, then the whole world. Each step zooms OUT.

• Notice how each map looks SMALLER on the page but stands for a BIGGER real place. That's the magic of maps.

  model Room -> house -> street -> town -> country -> world

  prompt Read Me on the Map (Joan Sweeney) — pause at each zoom-out level
• All three show our school, but in three different ways.

  model Eye-level: I see the front door. Aerial: I see the roof. Map: I see SYMBOLS for parts of the school.

  prompt Compare three views of our school: eye-level photo, aerial photo, drawn map

• What makes a map different from a photo?
• Show me on the school map where our classroom is.

M-K-S-GEO-10-A Illustration

Reproduction of Joan Sweeney / Annette Cable cover — a smiling girl sitting cross-legged on top of an open book that shows a zoomed-out cartoon map of her neighborhood, town, country. Soft blue and yellow watercolor; whimsical illustrated houses and trees. Title 'ME ON THE MAP' in 4-inch sky-blue letters.

M-K-S-GEO-10-B Photograph

Color aerial photograph of the school building taken from approximately 200-500 feet (drone or satellite). The whole building, playground, parking, and adjacent streets are visible. North arrow added in upper-right corner. Used side-by-side with eye-level photo and drawn map for triangulation.

• In pairs, match 4 eye-level photos of school spots to 4 map symbols

  scaffold Pre-numbered card sets; teacher-modeled first match
• Apply MAP-NOTICE-WONDER to the school map: each child says 'I notice ___ on the map. I wonder ___.'

  scaffold 3-box sheet (NOTICE / WONDER / ASK)

MG-4 Map

Neighborhood Map Anchor — teacher-drawn 24x36-inch watercolor aerial map of the school's actual neighborhood within a 4-block radius. Shows the school at center, with library, park, grocery, post office, place(s) of worship, fire station, and 6-8 named streets in clear watercolor. Includes a 5-element key: school icon, library book icon, park tree icon, grocery cart icon, place-of-worship dome/cross/star/crescent icon. Compass rose in upper-right corner with N/S/E/W and 'NORTH IS UP' label.

M-K-S-GEO-10-C Map

11x17-inch laminated hand-drawn watercolor map of the school showing classroom, hall, office, cafeteria, library, playground, nurse, gym. Each room labeled in 14pt sans-serif. Compass rose in upper-right corner with N marked. Color key shows: green=outdoor, beige=classroom, light blue=specialty room.

• What is one thing you NOTICE on the school map? What is one thing you WONDER?

• Add 'map' and 'bird's-eye view' to Word Wall
• Preview: tomorrow we will WALK our neighborhood and take photos to make our own map

• At home, find one map (a paper map, a phone map, a map on a placemat, a story-book map). Bring it to school OR tell us about it tomorrow.