Teachers, save “Map Making: Family Cartography Adventure” to assign it to your class.

You are going to be a cartographer, that means a mapmaker this week. You and your family will have fun exploring and thinking about where you live. 1. 👀 Watch the video of the book, "Me on the Map" by Joan Sweeney. As you listen to the story, think about where you have seen a map. What are maps used for? 2. This week you are going to make 3 maps. You can use the templates in Seesaw or draw on paper and take pictures of your maps. 3. Tap the add button. 4. Tap the drawing tool and draw a map of your room. Or, draw your map on paper. Show your map to a family member. Do they recognize your room. What details make your map clear? 5. Next, draw a map of your home or apartment. How many rooms do you need to include? Create a scale so you can tell which rooms are bigger or smaller? You can use a ruler or a piece of string to help you. 6. 🚶 Go on a walk with your family to draw a neighborhood map. Add lots of details. Where is your home located? What buildings, roads and other features are around your neighborhood? Label your map. Talk to your family about what makes your neighborhood special. Option: Create a map key that uses symbols to show things on your map. Note cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. 7. Use the label tool to complete the self-assessment. 8. Tap the mic to record yourself explaining your maps. 9. Tap the check to add to your journal. Family Why: Reading and creating maps builds observation and spatial reasoning skills or the ability to see things in your mind. Spatial skills help children understand the world around them and are important skills that engineers and architects use.