Elements of Mapping

ELEMENTS OF MAPPING
Hawaii Geographic Alliance Advanced Summer Geography Institute
Kristi Lee Higuchi
Mililani Mauka Elementary School
June 2000

Overview:

This unit, geared for grades 5 - 6, explores the five elements of mapping. Students will create mental maps, compare their maps to street maps, and label the five elements of mapping.

Geography Standards:

The students will engage in the following standards:
1. Standard #1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process and report information from a spatial perspective.
2. Standard # 2: How to use mental maps to organize information about people, places and environments in a spatial context.
3. Standard #3: How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places and environments on Earthís surface.

Geography Skills:

Throughout this unit, all students will:
1. Ask geographic questions
2. Acquire geographic information
3. Organize geographic information
4. Analyze geographic information
5. Answer geographic questions

Materials Needed:
1. Paper and pens or crayons
2. Street maps
3. Blank papers

Objectives:

By the end of this unit, all students will
1. Create a mental map of their neighborhood, with each student creating their own mental map, and assisting in creating a group mental map of their neighborhood.

2. List the accuracies or inaccuracies in comparing their mental map to a street map with each student listing at least 3 accuracies or inaccurasies.

3. Create a legend for a map, with each group of students creating an icon for each of the five elements of mapping.

4. Label a map with the five elements of mapping with each group of students labeling at least 2 of each element on their map.

5. List observations they find in the elements of mapping with each student listing at least 5 observations.

Procedure:

1. Students will create a mental map of their neighborhood (offer parameters, if necessary). After the maps are drawn, place the students in groups of 3 or 4. Have the groups compare their maps with each other, noting similarities and differences. Have the group create a second mental map together, combining items from each of their original maps.

2. After the group maps are drawn, pass out the street maps of the neighborhood (area) that the students have drawn their mental maps on. Have the students compare their maps to the street maps, listing and describing the accuracy or inaccuracy in their maps on a separate sheet of paper. Following the group discussions, have the students draw their mental maps onto the street maps.

3. Explain and discuss the five elements of mapping:
* Paths: (re: streets, walkways, transit lines, canals, railroads)
* Edges: (re: shores, railroad cuts, edges of developments, walls)
* Districts:
* Nodes: (re: junctions, a crossing of paths, a street corner 'Hang-out')
* Landmarks: (re: building, sign, store, mountain)

4. Have the students create a legend for the five elements of mapping and draw it on a corner of their street map. Have the students label the five elements on their maps. After they label their maps, have them each create a list of observations that they find within the elements. Some items to consider are:
* Abundance or lack of certain elements
* Elements that are grouped together in more than one area