Map Makers and Route Thinkers

Year 3 Mathematics | MAO-WM-01, MA2-GM-01 and AC9M3SP02

Use grid maps and directional language to locate positions, follow routes and explain your thinking. Choose any 3 challenges. You must choose at least one create/design task and one explain/justify task. More than one answer can be correct.

Direction words: north means up, south means down, east means right and west means left on a map. Left and right depend on which way you are facing. Forwards means ahead and backwards means behind. A quarter turn is a turn of 90°, and a half turn is a turn of 180°.

Map words: A row goes across. A column goes up and down. A coordinate tells the position of a place. A landmark is an important place on a map. A route is the path taken. The shortest route uses the least distance; the longest route uses the greatest distance.

Choice Board: Choose 3 Challenges

Design an 8 × 8 community map. Include at least 6 landmarks, a key and coordinates. Add roads or paths. Explain why you placed two landmarks where you did.

Choose two landmarks and create two different routes between them. Compare the routes using words such as shortest, longest, turns, rows, columns or distance. Explain which route you would choose and why.

Make a map with at least 4 landmarks. Write precise instructions from one landmark to another using north, south, east, west, forwards, backwards, left, right, quarter turn or half turn. Swap with a partner and test the instructions.

Create a map and write a route containing one error. Ask someone to find the error. Explain which instruction is incorrect, how you know and how to fix it.

Create a route from a starting point to a destination that follows at least three rules, such as “visit two landmarks”, “do not travel through the park” or “make exactly two turns”. Record your rules and explain how your route meets them.

Investigate whether two routes can be different but equivalent. For example, they may use different turns but travel the same total distance. Draw or describe your routes and justify your conclusion.

Draw a small map with landmarks. Rotate or reflect the map. Describe what changes and what stays the same. Use coordinates and directional language to support your explanation.

Create a treasure hunt with at least 4 clues. Each clue should lead to a coordinate or landmark. Include a map, a key and clear route instructions. Make the clues solvable but interesting.

Create a puzzle about a grid map. Your partner might need to find a missing landmark, choose between routes or decode directions. Include more than one possible starting idea, then explain how the puzzle can be solved.

Going Beyond:

Give coordinates for every landmark, a scale, compass directions and a route with a specified distance or number of turns.

Consider: Can you create two correct routes with the same length? Can you make a route that is shortest in distance but has the most turns? What happens to the coordinates when the map is rotated or reflected?