Creating Simple Maps

Overview

This is lesson 3 of 8 in Mapping My World. Students build on earlier work identifying places and features in their school environment by learning the parts of a simple map and creating a map of a familiar area, such as the classroom or playground.

Learning intentions

• WALT create a simple map.
• WALT show familiar features using drawings or simple symbols.
• WALT explain why selected features are important.
• WALT use a map key and compass rose when ready.

Success criteria

• I can draw a map of a familiar place.
• I can include at least three recognisable features.
• I can place features in roughly the right positions.
• I can add a map key and compass rose to make my map easier to understand.

Curriculum links

• Geography — using simple symbols and keys to create simple maps.
• Geography — using simple maps of immediate surroundings to identify school and playground features and discuss why they are important.
• Social Sciences practices — using spatial tools and mapping to communicate information about places.
• Te Mātaiaho competencies — thinking, using language and symbols, and relating to others through discussion and peer feedback.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and connect. Open the map mystery hook showing a simple map with three familiar features partly hidden or unlabeled. Ask, “How could someone find their way around this place?” Students turn and talk, then identify what information a useful map needs.

2. 5–13 min · Teach map parts. Use the map parts slides to model a title, drawing area, recognisable features, symbols, labels, map key, and compass rose. Think aloud while sketching a basic classroom map, explaining that a map shows where things are from a bird’s-eye view rather than how they look from the side. Students help suggest symbols for a door, table, tree, slide, or reading corner.

3. 13–18 min · Notice and plan. Display the planning prompt slide and discuss a familiar area students know well. Students choose the classroom or playground, name at least three features they will include, and point to where each feature belongs. Provide the simple map planning and drawing sheet to each student; students may use the planning boxes or begin with the large map space.

4. 18–33 min · Create a map. Show the map-making steps as a visual reminder: draw the outline, add three or more features, add labels or symbols, and check positions. Students independently sketch their maps with markers. Confer with individuals, asking, “What does this show?” and “How will another person know what your symbol means?” Students needing structure use the map template and may copy or adapt the model symbols.

5. 33–39 min · Partner map check. Use the partner-check slide to guide a quiet swap with a partner. Each student points to three features on their partner’s map and says what they think each represents. Partners give one helpful suggestion, such as adding a label, moving a feature, or making a symbol clearer. Students make a final improvement to their own map.

6. 39–45 min · Share and assess. Display the reflection and exit prompt. Invite two or three students to share a feature and explain why it matters in that place. Students complete the worksheet reflection: “My map helps someone to…” and circle or tell the teacher whether they included three features. Collect maps for assessment.

Resources

• the complete simple maps slide deck
• the simple map planning and drawing sheet
• Blank paper or map templates
• Markers, pencils, and crayons
• Examples of simple classroom and playground maps
• Board or modelling paper
• Optional photographs of the classroom or playground

Assessment

• During modelling, check whether students can identify a map feature, symbol, label, or key and explain its purpose.
• During creation, use questions and observation to check that students include at least three recognisable features and place them meaningfully.
• Use the partner check and final reflection as evidence of whether students can interpret a map and identify one improvement.

Differentiation

• Support students needing structure with the scaffolded map template, a reduced choice of three features, pre-drawn symbols, and adult scribing for labels or explanations.
• Offer oral rehearsal before drawing, sentence starters such as “This symbol shows…” and “This feature is important because…”, and allow students to explain their map verbally.
• Provide dyslexia-friendly options: read all instructions aloud, use clear sans-serif text with generous spacing, avoid requiring lengthy writing, and accept labels copied from a visible word bank.
• Pair students thoughtfully for the map check and allow a quiet workspace, larger paper, thicker markers, or additional movement breaks where needed.

Extension

• Challenge students to add a compass rose and map key, using symbols consistently throughout the map.
• Ask students to include a route between two features and describe it using positional language such as beside, behind, next to, or near.
• Invite advanced learners to create a second map of the same area from a different viewpoint and discuss what stayed the same and what changed.