Lesson Plan: Maps

Humans have been making maps for thousands of years. In general, maps have gotten more detailed, more complex, and more precise over time. Today, you can find all sorts of maps, from maps depicting the effects of climate change to a map of a theme park. All maps tell a story, and all maps serve a purpose—sometimes more than one. Each map tells you what its creator thought was important and how they viewed their world. Some maps seek to guide people along land or sea routes. Others are designed to show who owns what land. Some maps attempt to tell a historical or religious story.

In this activity, students will consider how maps reflect the priorities of the people who make them. They will draw a map of their school and share it with peers. Then, they’ll view a selection of historical maps and answer some image analysis questions before learning more about the history of each map. They will end the activity by exploring how Google Earth represents their world. 

Mapping opener

1. Give students five minutes to draw a map of your school. They should not write their name on the map. Instruct them to think about what level of detail they will include and the different ways that their map could portray their knowledge of the school. When they’ve finished, collect the maps.
2. Randomly distribute the maps of the school to students. Give them five minutes to review the map they were given and answer these questions:
   • What direction is on the top of the map?
   • What is in the center of the map?
   • Which part of the map is most detailed?
   • Would this map help a new student navigate the school? Why or why not?
   • What do you think the person who made this map cared about the most?
   • Who would you guess made this map?
3. If time allows, you can debrief with students and let them explain the choices they made while drawing their maps or why they guessed a particular student had drawn the map they were examining..

Mapping investigation

1. Hand out the Comparing Maps worksheet (DOCX) and project (or share) the Investigating Maps slideshow (PPT).
2. In Part 1, give students about two minutes to explore each of the five maps and write down their responses to the worksheet questions for each map.
3. In Part 2, provide students with the historical context of each map, or share this blog post with them. As you share the historical details for each map, have students write down anything that surprised them.
4. Finally, in Part 3, ask students to think of similarities and differences between the maps. This is a great time for discussion!

Google Earth exploration

1. As a whole class, ask students what they think the most accurate maps are today. Ask them if anyone uses GPS and if they think this system is accurate.
2. Tell them that Google Earth only updates every one to three years. Together (using a projector) or individually (on their computers), have students zoom in on your town or school. As students view the map, ask them these questions:
   • What do you notice that’s different or wrong on the map?
   • Have buildings changed?
   • Have forests been cleared?
   • What season is it on the map?
3. To close the activity, encourage students to use Goggle Earth Timelapse to track some of the ways our world has changed over the last 40 years. Ask them to consider what purposes maps serve today and how that might change in the future.

If you’d like to extend this activity, we encourage you to check out this new primary source collection featuring several more historical maps!