Reading World Maps

Unit	World Olympics, p. 138
Lesson Name	Reading World Maps
Grade Band	Elementary (Grades 3-5) Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Unit

World Olympics, p. 138

Lesson Name

Reading World Maps

Grade Band

Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Required Materials	Have a copy of the Compass, one for each student (Handout 1). Have copies of Handout 2, World Map Showing Continents, one for each student with extra copies if needed. Copies of Handout 3, World Map Showing Continents and Oceans with Latitude and Longitude, one for each student with extra copies if needed. Print North, South, East and West on four pieces of card stock Print Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and South West on four pieces of card stock. Have masking tape to post points of the compass. Have a globe.
Standards / Competencies	CASEL Core Competencies Self-Awareness Self-Management Social Awareness Relationship Skills Common Core ELA-Literacy Standards Listening and Speaking Reading NCSS Social Studies Themes Individual Development and Identity Culture
Recommended Time	2 days

Required Materials

Have a copy of the Compass, one for each student (Handout 1).
Have copies of Handout 2, World Map Showing Continents, one for each student with extra copies if needed.
Copies of Handout 3, World Map Showing Continents and Oceans with Latitude and Longitude, one for each student with extra copies if needed.
Print North, South, East and West on four pieces of card stock
Print Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and South West on four pieces of card stock.
Have masking tape to post points of the compass.
Have a globe.

Standards / Competencies

CASEL Core Competencies

Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills

Common Core ELA-Literacy Standards

Listening and Speaking
Reading

NCSS Social Studies Themes

Individual Development and Identity
Culture

Recommended Time

2 days

Essential Question	How do we read the map of the world?
Learning Objectives	Label the four cardinal points of the compass: north, south, east, west Label the four ordinal points of the compass: northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest Locate the equator, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line on the world map Demonstrate the ability to use longitude and latitude to locate places on the world map Associate the location of an area on the earth to its climate

Essential Question

How do we read the map of the world?

Learning Objectives

Label the four cardinal points of the compass: north, south, east, west
Label the four ordinal points of the compass: northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest
Locate the equator, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line on the world map
Demonstrate the ability to use longitude and latitude to locate places on the world map
Associate the location of an area on the earth to its climate

Activating Prior Knowledge	Ask if any students in the room know what a compass is. If one or more students know what a compass is, ask for a volunteer or two to explain what it is and how it works. If no one knows, provide this definition: a device having a magnetic needle that indicates direction on the earth’s surface by pointing toward the north.
Core Instruction	Distribute Compass (Handout 1) to each student. Stand in the middle of the classroom and show students the cardstock with North, South, East and West printed on each. Tell students: Think about all the maps you have ever seen. Imagine that we are standing in the middle of a map. Ask: Where do you think I should post the sign for North? Ask for three volunteers to use their compass to post the remaining three directions on the correct walls. Hold up the compass handout. Point to the four ordinal points on the compass handout you are holding and tell students to notice that these points are halfway between the cardinal points. They are called the ordinal points of the compass. Point to the corner of the room between the North wall and the East wall. Ask students: What do we call that point on the compass? Elicit northeast. Ask students why we label it northeast. (Elicit that it is halfway between the north and the east.) Post the sign and ask for three volunteers to post the cardstocks with the other three ordinal points in the correct corners of the room. Tell students to write down these points on their compasses. Point out to students that the compass is a circle. Tell them that, in math, we measure a circle in degrees. Ask for a volunteer to tell the group how many degrees are in a circle. (If no one knows, tell the group 360 degrees.) Tell students that the design they see on the compass is called a compass rose. The black and white design on the compass rose gives us information. Tell students to look carefully at the compass rose to see if they understand how the picture itself is communicating. Ask students to share ideas they have. (If no one answers, tell them that the right side of the cardinal arrow pointing North is black. This pattern of alternating black and white within cardinal arrows continues over the entire Compass Rose. The lower side of the cardinal arrow pointing East, for instance, is also black.) Show the same pattern with the ordinal arrows. The ordinal arrow for northeast is white on top to show the shift to the E, the black bottom of the arrow. Tell students that the Compass Rose alternates shades to help sailors steer because it was designed at a time when not everyone went to school or could read. Distribute Handout 2 – the Compass Rose. Remind students that we know there are 360 degrees in a circle. Tell them that this compass rose shows how the circle is divided into 360 degrees. Ask: What degree is north? What degree is east? Quickly divide the group into three. Ask the first group: How many degrees are between East and South? Ask the second group: How many degrees are between south and west? Ask the third group: How many degrees are between west and north? Ask the whole class: Who can tell us how many degrees are between north and northeast? Between northeast and east? Distribute the World Map Showing Continents (Handout 3), one per student. Tell students to use their compasses to put the directions on the map. Ask for a volunteer to tell the group what direction a person would sail to go from North America to Africa. (Southeast) Ask: What direction would you go if you were going to fly from South America to Asia? What direction would you fly to go from Australia to Europe? Point out that knowing the cardinal and ordinal points of the compass helps us get the general direction to move between continents, but if we wanted to go to a very particular place on a continent, we would need more information to do so. Ask: How many students know how to play the game Battleship? Ask for one or two volunteers to explain how the game is played. Show students a sample Battleship Grid. State: The triangles on the grid represent ships. Ask for a volunteer to call out the number and letter that would sink one of the ships. Repeat until all three ships are sunk. Day 2 Tell students that early explorers created this same kind of grid for the map of the world so people could find places on all the continents. They used a number and a letter. Distribute Handout 4, Map of the World with Latitude and Longitude. Ask students: Why can we play a Battleship kind of game on this map? Ask if anyone knows what we call the horizontal lines on the map. If no one knows, provide them with the term latitude. Ask if anyone knows what we call the vertical lines on the map. Again, if no one knows, tell them the term is longitude. Ask them to find the line of latitude that is 0 degrees. Ask if anyone knows the special name this line has. Provide equator if no one knows. Explain that the equator divides the world in half into two equal hemispheres, the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Use the map and the globe to show where the equator is located. Ask students what they notice about the notation on the lines above the equator and on the lines below the equator. Ask: What wouldn’t you know if I just told you to go to 10 degrees latitude? (Elicit that you wouldn’t know whether you were supposed to go to Northern or Southern latitudes.) So, would everyone know what line of latitude to go to if I said sail to 30 degrees South latitude? Which continents could you be on if you went to 30 degrees south latitude? (Elicit South America, Africa or Australia.) Suppose I want you to meet me on a specific continent. What else do you need besides the latitude lines that cross the map horizontally? Ask if anyone knows the name of the vertical lines. (Longitude.) Ask students to find the 0 degrees longitude line on the map. Tell students this line is called the Prime Meridian. It is an imaginary line that, along with the International Date Line at 180 degrees halfway around the world, divides the world in half. Show the lines to students on the globe. Tell students: If we go west from 0 degrees longitude to 180 degrees, we call it the Western Hemisphere. If we go east from 0 degrees longitude to 180 degrees, we call it the Eastern Hemisphere. Look at your map. If I go east of 0 degrees longitude, I use the word east and if I go west from 0 degrees, I have to add the word west. Ask: So, if you are at 30 degrees south latitude and 160 degrees east longitude, what continent are you on? (Australia.) Tell students: Geographers as far back as the Ancient Greeks figured out that to make a map, they needed two coordinates to locate places – just as we need two coordinates to play Battleship. Ask: Where are we if we are at 40 degrees north latitude and 20 degrees east latitude? (Europe.) Can you find an airport to land a plane if you go to 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude? Ask: What kind of clothes should you be wearing if you go to 80 degrees south latitude and 20 degrees east longitude? Why? Ask by a show of hands: How many people know who Santa Claus is? Then ask: According to the story of Santa Claus, where do you think I would I be if I went to 90 degrees north latitude and 135 west longitude to visit him? What kind of clothes should I be wearing? Why? Ask: What kind of clothes should I bring on my vacation if I go to 20 degrees north latitude and 80 degrees west longitude? What about if I went to 20 degrees north latitude and 140 degrees east longitude? Ask: What about if I went to any place located on 70 north latitude? What did we just figure out about what happens the further we travel away from 0 degrees latitude? (Elicit from class that it is warmer at the equator.) Ask: Why is it warmer at the equator? (Lands near the equator receive more direct rays from the sun than the rest of the planet.)
Wrap-up	Say: We just figured out that where a place is located on the earth makes a difference in how we would want to be dressed if we went there. How do you think where a place is located could affect the sports played by the people who live there?

Activating Prior Knowledge

Ask if any students in the room know what a compass is. If one or more students know what a compass is, ask for a volunteer or two to explain what it is and how it works. If no one knows, provide this definition: a device having a magnetic needle that indicates direction on the earth’s surface by pointing toward the north.

Core Instruction

Distribute Compass (Handout 1) to each student. Stand in the middle of the classroom and show students the cardstock with North, South, East and West printed on each.

Tell students: Think about all the maps you have ever seen. Imagine that we are standing in the middle of a map. Ask: Where do you think I should post the sign for North? Ask for three volunteers to use their compass to post the remaining three directions on the correct walls.

Hold up the compass handout. Point to the four ordinal points on the compass handout you are holding and tell students to notice that these points are halfway between the cardinal points. They are called the ordinal points of the compass. Point to the corner of the room between the North wall and the East wall.

Ask students: What do we call that point on the compass? Elicit northeast. Ask students why we label it northeast. (Elicit that it is halfway between the north and the east.) Post the sign and ask for three volunteers to post the cardstocks with the other three ordinal points in the correct corners of the room. Tell students to write down these points on their compasses.

Point out to students that the compass is a circle. Tell them that, in math, we measure a circle in degrees. Ask for a volunteer to tell the group how many degrees are in a circle. (If no one knows, tell the group 360 degrees.)

Tell students that the design they see on the compass is called a compass rose. The black and white design on the compass rose gives us information. Tell students to look carefully at the compass rose to see if they understand how the picture itself is communicating. Ask students to share ideas they have. (If no one answers, tell them that the right side of the cardinal arrow pointing North is black. This pattern of alternating black and white within cardinal arrows continues over the entire Compass Rose. The lower side of the cardinal arrow pointing East, for instance, is also black.)

Show the same pattern with the ordinal arrows. The ordinal arrow for northeast is white on top to show the shift to the E, the black bottom of the arrow. Tell students that the Compass Rose alternates shades to help sailors steer because it was designed at a time when not everyone went to school or could read.

Distribute Handout 2 – the Compass Rose. Remind students that we know there are 360 degrees in a circle. Tell them that this compass rose shows how the circle is divided into 360 degrees.

Ask: What degree is north? What degree is east?

Quickly divide the group into three. Ask the first group: How many degrees are between East and South?

Ask the second group: How many degrees are between south and west?

Ask the third group: How many degrees are between west and north?

Ask the whole class: Who can tell us how many degrees are between north and northeast? Between northeast and east?

Distribute the World Map Showing Continents (Handout 3), one per student. Tell students to use their compasses to put the directions on the map. Ask for a volunteer to tell the group what direction a person would sail to go from North America to Africa. (Southeast)

Ask: What direction would you go if you were going to fly from South America to Asia? What direction would you fly to go from Australia to Europe?

Point out that knowing the cardinal and ordinal points of the compass helps us get the general direction to move between continents, but if we wanted to go to a very particular place on a continent, we would need more information to do so.

Ask: How many students know how to play the game Battleship? Ask for one or two volunteers to explain how the game is played. Show students a sample Battleship Grid. State: The triangles on the grid represent ships. Ask for a volunteer to call out the number and letter that would sink one of the ships. Repeat until all three ships are sunk.

Day 2

Tell students that early explorers created this same kind of grid for the map of the world so people could find places on all the continents. They used a number and a letter.

Distribute Handout 4, Map of the World with Latitude and Longitude. Ask students: Why can we play a Battleship kind of game on this map?

Ask if anyone knows what we call the horizontal lines on the map. If no one knows, provide them with the term latitude.

Ask if anyone knows what we call the vertical lines on the map. Again, if no one knows, tell them the term is longitude.

Ask them to find the line of latitude that is 0 degrees. Ask if anyone knows the special name this line has. Provide equator if no one knows. Explain that the equator divides the world in half into two equal hemispheres, the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Use the map and the globe to show where the equator is located.

Ask students what they notice about the notation on the lines above the equator and on the lines below the equator.

Ask: What wouldn’t you know if I just told you to go to 10 degrees latitude? (Elicit that you wouldn’t know whether you were supposed to go to Northern or Southern latitudes.)

So, would everyone know what line of latitude to go to if I said sail to 30 degrees South latitude?

Which continents could you be on if you went to 30 degrees south latitude? (Elicit South America, Africa or Australia.)

Suppose I want you to meet me on a specific continent. What else do you need besides the latitude lines that cross the map horizontally? Ask if anyone knows the name of the vertical lines. (Longitude.)

Ask students to find the 0 degrees longitude line on the map. Tell students this line is called the Prime Meridian. It is an imaginary line that, along with the International Date Line at 180 degrees halfway around the world, divides the world in half. Show the lines to students on the globe.

Tell students: If we go west from 0 degrees longitude to 180 degrees, we call it the Western Hemisphere. If we go east from 0 degrees longitude to 180 degrees, we call it the Eastern Hemisphere.

Look at your map. If I go east of 0 degrees longitude, I use the word east and if I go west from 0 degrees, I have to add the word west.

Ask: So, if you are at 30 degrees south latitude and 160 degrees east longitude, what continent are you on? (Australia.)

Tell students: Geographers as far back as the Ancient Greeks figured out that to make a map, they needed two coordinates to locate places – just as we need two coordinates to play Battleship.

Ask: Where are we if we are at 40 degrees north latitude and 20 degrees east latitude? (Europe.) Can you find an airport to land a plane if you go to 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude?

Ask: What kind of clothes should you be wearing if you go to 80 degrees south latitude and 20 degrees east longitude? Why?

Ask by a show of hands: How many people know who Santa Claus is? Then ask: According to the story of Santa Claus, where do you think I would I be if I went to 90 degrees north latitude and 135 west longitude to visit him? What kind of clothes should I be wearing? Why?

Ask: What kind of clothes should I bring on my vacation if I go to 20 degrees north latitude and 80 degrees west longitude? What about if I went to 20 degrees north latitude and 140 degrees east longitude?

Ask: What about if I went to any place located on 70 north latitude? What did we just figure out about what happens the further we travel away from 0 degrees latitude? (Elicit from class that it is warmer at the equator.)

Ask: Why is it warmer at the equator? (Lands near the equator receive more direct rays from the sun than the rest of the planet.)

Wrap-up

Say: We just figured out that where a place is located on the earth makes a difference in how we would want to be dressed if we went there. How do you think where a place is located could affect the sports played by the people who live there?

Download this lesson to access handouts.

Register For This Site

Reading World Maps

Sign up for updates.

Follow us