Creating and Interpreting Simple Maps

Expectation:

E1.4 create and interpret simple maps of familiar places

Key Concepts

Math and Spatial Reasoning Focus

• Position

• Orientation and location

• Positional and directional spatial language

• Perspective taking

• mapping

materials

Minds On

• Large 10 x 10 learning carpet or make a grid with masking tape on the carpet or floor first

• 1 green and 1 red construction paper to mark the start and finish of the path

• Obstacles (objects from around the room that can be placed in one of the squares to form an obstacle that child have to get around)

• Optional: interactive whiteboard to record different pathways and/or a laminated ten-frame to record with a dry-erase marker

Action (per pair of students)

• 4 x 4 grid with start and end points marked (laminate if face to face)

• Drawing materials (dry erase markers)

• Arrows cut from construction paper

Source: Taking Shape, Page 196-199. Lesson 4: Pathway Moves

Task Sequence (Face to Face Classrooms):

NB: Use the Mathies Notepad App for 10 x 10 if you can’t make it on the floor and project it.

1.Gather students on one side of the 10 x 10 grid that you made on the floor in advice. Doing so will allow them to share the same perspective.

2. Show students the grid. Tell them that the square with green paper indicates the starting point and the square with a red paper indicated the end point. Explain that, in this game, one student is going to give directions to another person, the “explorer”, to get that person from the starting point to the end point.

3. With the class, agree on a set of “rules” for the game. Two helpful rules are as follows:

• We can only give directions for moving one square at a time.

• We can’t move on a diagonal, only forwards or backwards or left or right.

4. Start by getting the explorer to stand on the green square. Encourage the child who is giving the directions to start. Alternatively, you could invite the students to direct you as the explorer.

5. The explorer will move through the grid, eventually landing on the red square.

6. Ask students whether there is a shorter path to get to the red square and play the same again.

7. Once students understand the activity, introduce an obstacle by placing an object in one of the squares; explain that the explorer cannot step in the square so the person providing directions will have to give directions around it.

Key Questions:

How many moves did it take to get from the green square to the red square?

Is there a shorter path? How do you know it is shorter?

Is there another route? How many moves would it take?

Key Questions:

How long is your pathway?

Which pathway do you think is the longest?

Check: How many squares long is your path?

Check: How many moves are required for your path?

Which is the path with the most squares? Is it what you expected?

Did you visualize your pathway before you started? Could you find a different pathway?

Would you rather make a longer or shorter path?

Independent Task / Assessment Opportunities:

Task: Using the 4 x 4 grid or a 10 x 10 grid have the students plot out the classroom (give them parameters of what needs to be on the map) i.e. horseshoe table, student desks, door, a start and finish point. They need to put three possible routes to their finish on the back.

Give the map to a partner and the partner explains the path he/she would use to get to the finish point.

Student A "peer assesses" the Partner B on his/her directions and directional language used.

Ongoing Assessment for Student Learning

1.Observe and listen to spatial language, and model or introduce appropriate vocab if students are not using it.

-language of transformational geometry-slide, flip/reflect, rotate/turn,

-directional language, “left” “right” “up” and “down”

2.Watch for students who have initial challenges with communicating instructions or understanding instructions.

3.Notice whether children count squares rather than jumps.

Student Self Assessment: (French and English)

Teacher Rubric: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C28aCyHpZFAwz6C7AGxu_hAvPTSUKbHtNvH3R-d9yDM/edit?usp=sharing

If students are struggling with positional language, introduce the terms in your natural speech to model their use. You might say: I see you are rotating the arrow clockwise or to the right.

Consider including a “direction key” showing up, down, left and right to remind students of directional terms.

Encourage students to explore the different lengths of their pathways: Count the squares in each path. Are some longer? Are some shorter? Is this what you expected or predicted? Students will be interested to know the pathway length (number of squares) is the same no matter why the pathway is (provided that they try to make the most direct route without doubling back) but the number of moves (instructions) can make the pathway more or less complicated.

Have students sit facing each other. Doing this will increase the challenge the student giving directions will have to consider her or his partner’s orientation.

Have older students use a hundred’s chart as the grid. Students can use numbers as additional landmarks and will gain familiarity with the structure and patterns in the hundreds chart.

Continue this into a simple coding lesson Scratch Junior. It is a lesson in our Grade 3: Coding and Algebra