cheatlakeelA6

Become a Tourmobile Guide:
Learning Map Skills

Grade Level: Grades 2-4

Subject(s): Social Studies (geography and map skills), Language Arts (writing), Art

Learner Outcomes:
     The student will be able to:
     1. Name the four cardinal directions and identify these directions on a map
     2. Locate a specified place on the map when given the directions from another location
     3. Give directions to go from one location to another
     4. Write a narration or description that a tour guide might provide to get from one location to
                   another

Duration of Lesson: 1-2 hours

Materials

Map of Washington’s National Mall

Map of Washington D.C. (then type in Washington, D.C.)

Technology Tools/Courseware:
Optional software for use in enrichment activities:
Software, Neighborhood Map Machine (Tom Snyder)
Software, Jenny’s Journey (MECC)
Software, Hurkle (MECC)

Teacher Notes:
1. In creating a virtual tour of Washington, these directions could be created to become the itinerary for each of the
    specified numbers of days of their visit to D.C.
2. Students could be divided into cooperative learning groups and each group given a different day of
    the visit and/or a specified list of landmarks to visit. Students would need to decide on a logical
    sequence to visit their list of landmarks.

Procedures:
1. Display a map and label the four cardinal directions on the map. Look for a compass rose on map
     Pose the problem to the student - how would you tell someone to walk from the White House to
     the Capitol Building?
2. Identify two tourist attractions on the map - such as the White House and the Library of Congress.
     Have the students identify a walking path between the two and give the cardinal directions (such as
     walk two blocks north and then walk 1 block west). Find a variety of different ways to walk there.
3. Given a starting point and directions to walk, have the students identify on the map where it would
     take them
4. Using a tourist map of Washington D.C. have the students write up a tourist guide’s directions for
     tourists (or for their class) to visit a specified number of locations
5. Create a map of the National Mall or other areas using software or by hand
     Create a bulletin board mural that is a large map of the National Mall or other tourist area

Modifications:
1. Allow students with limited writing abilities to complete written assignments orally, to dictate
their responses.
2. Pair students with special needs with a learning buddy or with an instructional aide to assist in
project activities
3. Reduce the number of landmarks to include in project

Enrichment Activities:
1.    Introduce other compass directions (northwest, southeast)
2.    Teach the activity of “Hurkle”, play it on the blackboard, play it on the computer.
3.    After creating the directions for their itinerary (list of landmarks to visit), the teacher can set aside one day for each
       itinerary and have the students spend one class period / one day visiting these landmarks by using a projection device
       and a list of the web sites.
       Students can create journal entries for each of the days of their itinerary and describe what they saw, their feelings
       about the landmark visited.
5.    Use activities to develop vocabulary related to maps, such as the Mapmaker Crossword Puzzle
6.    Use Neighborhood Map Machine for students to create maps. Give directions to locations on maps.

Evaluation/Assessment:
Teacher can observe student's performance during lesson activities:
Can the student name the four cardinal directions and identify these directions on a given map?
Can the student locate a specified place on the map when given the directions from another location?
Can the student give directions (orally or written) to go from one location to another?
Can the student write a narration or description that a tour guide might provide to et from one location to
another that uses the cardinal directions and that is unambiguous ?

Use an appropriate teacher-created scoring rubric to evaluate their written tour mobile project

Project Activity	Points Available	Student Score
Identified 6 landmarks	20	.
Correct information Correct directions	20	.
Logical sequence to visits	20	.
Enough information Not ambiguous	20	.
Correct spelling and grammar	20	.