Mapping Our Community

Hi All,
We are moving along in our "How We Organize Ourselves" unit and we had a GREAT week.  After learning about all the community helpers, the students came up with all the different places that are important in the community.  The kids then chose the building they would like to make.  They spent lots of time adding details and making their pictures look good so that we could tell what they were on our map.

Then, as a class, we sat down and discussed where each building should go on the map.  The kids debated which building were most important, and where they should be placed.  For instance, at first we had the community pool in the middle of the map.  Soon, the kids decided that the post office and police station were more important and should be in the middle.  They also chose to separate the two fire stations so that they could help people on different sides of the community.  Later, we created roads, railroad tracks, trees and a lake.  The kids chose different symbols to represent these different features on the map.

At this point, one little girl asked "What are maps even used for?"  This was just so exciting!  We added that question to the Wonder Wall, and began searching for the answer.

Finally, we introduced the compass rose and began asking the students to identify where things were.  The kids did a great job and they were so engaged because it was something they had created!

Check out these pictures of the process!