Mapping Familiar Spaces

Overview

Lesson 10 of 15 in Shapes, Space and Reasoning. Students work collaboratively to represent a familiar classroom or school space with shapes, symbols, a key and positional language, then explain and evaluate a route.

Learning intentions

• WALT represent a familiar space using shapes and symbols.
• WALT use positional language to describe locations and routes.
• WALT include a key so another person can interpret a map.
• WALT reason about and compare routes.

Success criteria

• I can represent important features of a familiar space.
• I can create and use a clear map key.
• I can describe a route using positional language.
• I can explain why one route may be more efficient than another.

Curriculum links

• Geometry: describe, represent and interpret the position of objects and places.
• Geometry: use maps, diagrams, shapes and spatial language to communicate ideas.
• Measurement and spatial reasoning: consider distance, direction and route efficiency.
• Mathematical processes: problem-solving, communicating, explaining and justifying thinking.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min – Hook and connect

Open with the map hook and learning intention. Show a simple map of a familiar classroom or school area and ask: “How could someone find the library without asking for directions?” Invite students to identify symbols, landmarks and positional words. State the WALT and success criteria in student-friendly language.

2. 8–18 min – Model map features

Use the map features and route model to model a rough map of the classroom. Think aloud while representing the door, tables, teacher desk and reading area with simple shapes or symbols. Add a key and demonstrate a route using language such as beside, between, opposite, near, far, left, right, forwards, backwards, north, south, east and west, where appropriate.

Ask: “Which features are important for someone using this map?” and “How do we show that our drawing is not a picture but a map?” Clarify that a map does not need to look exactly like the space; it needs to communicate useful information.

3. 18–25 min – Explore the real space

Take the group on a brief visual walk around the classroom or a nearby school area. Students identify three to six important features and discuss how each could be represented. Provide the familiar-space map planning sheet for students to sketch possible symbols and record a starting point, destination and route.

For students who benefit from concrete visual support, use photographs of the actual area and revisit them while planning.

4. 25–43 min – Collaborative map-making

In one group of five, students create a shared map on large paper, or make individual maps and combine them for comparison. They must include a title, important features, at least four symbols, a key, a starting point, a destination and a clearly marked route. Refer back to the map-making checklist and pause midway for students to check their work.

Encourage precise positional language: “The reading area is beside the window” or “Walk past the tables, turn right at the door, then continue to the bookshelf.” The teacher or TA supports orientation, measuring approximate spacing and recording ideas without taking over decision-making.

5. 43–53 min – Route challenge and peer interpretation

Swap maps between students. Each student chooses a route shown on another map and explains it aloud to the group. The listener checks whether the map and key provide enough information to follow the route without pointing to the original space.

Ask: “Could you follow this route?” “Where might you get confused?” and “Which of these two routes is shorter, clearer or safer?” Students may mark a second route in a different colour and compare the two.

6. 53–60 min – Share and reflect

Revisit the discussion and reflection slides. Invite two students to present maps with different strengths, such as a clear key or an especially easy-to-follow route. Students complete the final reflection on the map review and exit reflection: one feature they represented well, one positional word they used and one improvement they would make.

Resources

• the complete mapping lesson deck
• the familiar-space map planning sheet
• Large paper or whiteboard-sized sheets
• Pencils, coloured pencils, rulers and erasers
• Sticky notes or removable labels
• Photographs of the classroom or school area
• Optional compass or simple north arrow
• Clear, uncluttered working area for collaborative map-making

Assessment

• Observe whether students select important features and represent them with recognisable shapes or symbols.
• Check each map for a title, key, route, starting point and destination.
• Listen for accurate positional language during route explanations and note whether students can interpret a peer’s map.
• Use the map review to identify next steps, such as improving symbols, route clarity or spatial vocabulary.

Differentiation

• Support learners with a partially completed map, a symbol bank, photographs and a marked starting point or destination.
• The TA can support orientation by standing at landmarks, using gestures and offering either/or choices for positional language; scribe students’ explanations where needed.
• Use authentic visual modelling, high-contrast symbols, uncluttered layouts and written versions of all spoken instructions to support Deaf learners and other students who benefit from visual access.
• Pair students strategically and assign roles such as navigator, symbol designer, recorder, route checker and presenter.
• Extend advanced learners by asking them to maintain consistent spacing to create a scale-like map, add a north arrow, plot multiple routes and compare efficiency using number of turns, approximate distance or clarity.