Kindergarten Spring History — Calendar Time, Holidays Across Traditions, and Mapping Our Neighborhood
Lesson 17 25 min hist.gK.s.lesson_17

Drawing my own map — home to school

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students can draw a simple aerial map of their home-to-school route with at least 3 landmarks.
  • Students can include a key with at least 3 symbols and a compass rose with N marked.
Vocabulary
routelandmarkkeycompass rosehomeschool

Lesson plan

Warm-up

3 min

Daily Calendar Circle. Then preview: 'Today YOU become a mapmaker. We will draw the route from home to school.'

Teacher moves
  • Demonstrate on chart paper: 'I start at MY home, drawn here. I walk past the park, drawn here. I cross the street here. I arrive at school, here.'
  • Show MG-4 and MG-5 and MG-6 as reference

Direct instruction

8 min

A map needs three things: 1. PLACES drawn from above. 2. A KEY that explains the symbols. 3. A COMPASS ROSE to show which way is North. Watch as I draw my home, my school, and three landmarks along the way. I'll also draw a key with 3 symbols and a compass rose. Now you'll do yours.

Key examples
  • Notice the 3 parts EVERY map needs. Yours can be simpler or fancier.
    model Home square (with H label) at top-left; school square at bottom-right; 3 landmarks (tree-park, store, friend's house) along the route between; arrow showing the path; key in corner; compass rose in upper-right with N
    prompt Teacher draws sample map on chart paper
Checks for understanding
  • What are the 3 parts of a complete map?
  • Where will your home go on YOUR map?
Sourcework
Source type
child drawn map as primary source
Routine
PRODUCE rather than analyze: child IS the mapmaker; map is the artifact
Details
Each child produces their own map as a primary historical source about their daily route.
Media
M-K-S-GEO-17-C Photograph
Photo of a previous year's well-formed K student map showing home, school, 3 landmarks, key with 3 symbols, compass rose

Photo of a previous year's well-formed K student map showing home, school, 3 landmarks, key with 3 symbols, compass rose. Crayon and pencil. Labels in invented spelling acceptable. Used to set realistic expectations: not professional, but COMPLETE.

Guided practice

11 min
Tasks
  • Draw home and school on opposite ends of paper. Draw 3 landmarks between them.
    scaffold Pre-drawn compass-rose paste-in; pre-printed home / school stamps for those needing assistance
  • Add a key with 3 symbols you used. Add the compass rose with N at top.
    scaffold Symbol-sticker sheet available; teacher conferences with each child
Media
M-K-S-GEO-17-A Manipulative Physical / non-image

12x18-inch heavy-weight paper with very light 1-inch grid (in pale gray) to support placement without being prescriptive. Pre-printed in top-right corner: 'My Map by ___' with a date line. Symbol-sticker sheet (8 standard symbols pre-printed and peel-off) included with each paper.

M-K-S-GEO-17-B Manipulative Physical / non-image

Set of 2-inch square peel-off compass roses, 4 per sheet. N at top in green, S at bottom in brown, E right in yellow, W left in orange. Children peel one and stick on the upper-right corner of their map. Optional for children with strong fine-motor control to hand-draw their own.

Formative assessment

2 min
Exit ticket
  • Show me your map. Point to home, school, and one landmark. Point to North.
scoring All 4 elements present = mastery; 2-3 = practicing; 0-1 = re-teach with adult 1:1

Closure

Moves
  • Add maps to portfolio
  • Preview: tomorrow is our Neighborhood Map Gallery Walk

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • Show your map to a family member tonight. Walk them through your route using your finger. Use the words North/South/East/West if you can.

Exercises in this lesson

hist.gK.s.geo.draw_my_map.ex_01
Draw a map of your home-to-school route. Include: home, school, 3 landmarks, a key with 3 symbols, and a compass rose with N marked.
 draw complete map · diff 5

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Pre-drawn compass-rose paste-in
  • Pre-printed symbol sticker sheet
  • Adult conference with each child
  • Sentence frame for verbal route narration
Extensions
  • Add 5+ landmarks
  • Include a key with 5+ symbols
  • Narrate the route using cardinal directions to a partner
English Learners
  • Bilingual landmark vocabulary cards
  • Allow verbal narration in home language with adult-scribed English caption
Ieps 504s
  • Sticker-collage option for whole map
  • Adult-scribed verbal narration of route
  • Extended time

Teacher notes

Capstone-readiness lesson — every child produces THEIR map for tomorrow's gallery walk. Plan 1:1 conference time during the 11-minute guided practice block. Children who need extensive support can use sticker-collage exclusively; the LEARNING is in the act of representing their route, regardless of fine-motor outcome. CRITICAL safety note: any child whose home address or route shouldn't be publicly displayed (DV, custody dispute, recent move, unhoused family) should be invited to draw an ALTERNATIVE route (favorite-park-to-school, grandparent's-house-to-school) — pre-conferral done in week 16.