East Detroit Public Schools
Lesson Design

Author: Elizabeth Quigley-Loria
Subject: Map Creation
Grade: 2
Course: Social Studies
Title: Neighborhood Map

Length of Lesson: Four 50-minute sessions
Materials Needed:
Power Macintosh G3 computer
color monitor
TV monitor or projection system
color printer
compass
maps:
Eastpointe
Michigan
United States
software:
The Neighborhood Map Machine
Social Studies textbook:
Communities and Their Needs
(Silver Burdett & Ginn, 1988)

Standards-Based Outcomes (MDE):

Social Studies:

V. Inquiry

Content Standard V, 1: All students will acquire information from books, maps, newspapers, data sets, and other sources, organize and present the information in maps, graphs, charts, and timelines, interpret the meaning and significance of information, and use a variety of electronic technologies to assist in accessing and managing information. (Information Processing)

3. Organize information to make and interpret simple maps of their local surroundings and simple graphs and tables of social data drawn from their experience.

Prior Knowledge:

The students must have basic computer knowledge. They need to know how to turn on the computer, find and initiate a program, and use a mouse.

Cue Set:

• The teacher presents the students with several maps including those of their city Eastpointe, their state Michigan, and their country the United States of America. Each map is discussed separately. Once individual map discussions have taken place, the group orally compares and contrasts the three maps.
• The compass rose, map key, and map symbols are discussed during the presentation of each map.

  1. With the use of the Social Studies textbook (pages 24-25), the teacher explains the following terms:

Map- a special kind of picture
Symbol- a picture that represents real places
Key- an area of the map which holds the symbols

2. The concept of the directions north, south, east, and west is taught in reference to major cross streets in the students' neighborhood: east- Kelly Road, west- Gratiot Avenue, south- Toepfer Street, north- Nine Mile Road. The teacher also uses the textbook (pages 30-31).

3. The compass rose is related to and demonstrated on an actual compass. Additional discussion includes the importance of compasses when hiking and signs of directions in nature such as the location of the North Star in the sky. Also included is the observation that occasionally senior citizens have compasses on the dashboards of their cars.

Best Shot Instruction:

• The teacher demonstrates the initial use of The Neighborhood Map Machine program by projecting a map that was previously created and saved. On this first map, the instructor points out the location of the map key and the symbols contained in that key. The teacher explains that: 1) a map key is located underneath the map and contains the map symbols; and 2) the symbols are pictures on the map that represent real items in the world. The teacher also points out the compass rose, its location on the map, and the directions of north, south, east, and west. The purpose and benefits of the compass rose are then explained.
• The instructor calls upon individual students to locate one map symbol at a time and explain its purpose.
• With the use of the Power Mac G3 and its projection system, the teacher demonstrates the creation of a neighborhood map. After demonstrating the creation of four symbols, the instructor asks each student to come up to the computer and add one symbol to the class map.
• After the symbol activity, the instructor quizzes the students on the meaning of each symbol used on the class-created neighborhood map.
• The teacher leads a class discussion about the many careers in which maps are used including:

  1. Urban Planners- people who are responsible for planning new cities and suburbs. They plan the location of every building that will be built in the city including homes, gasoline stations, stores, and restaurants.

  2. Traffic Reporters- people who discuss the amount of traffic and accidents which occur while people drive to and from work each day. If this reporter is on television, he/she will have a large map projected behind him/her with the location of the roads and cities.

  3. Police Officers- The officers use maps to locate accident or crime scenes within a city. The maps allow them to get to the people who need help as soon as possible.

  4. Firefighters- The firefighters use maps to locate burning buildings. Using a map allows them to reach the fire as quickly as possible.

Reteaching and Enrichment:

The teacher uses the same process as in the initial instruction. The class makes a map of a city such as Detroit. In this map, symbols for the highways, zoo, museum, baseball stadium, large apartment buildings, large office buildings, hockey arena, and People Mover are included.

Review and Closure:

• Each student creates and prints a map for teacher evaluation. The requirements are: 1) use The Neighborhood Map Machine program on the Power Macintosh G3; 2) use each symbol from the program's map key; 3) use a compass rose. The students will be working on their projects simultaneously in the computer lab.
• Each student points out the symbols on his/her map and orally identifies them. After showing the instructor the location of a particular symbol, the student identifies its direction (north, south, east, or west) in relation to another symbol.

Assessment:

• The students are told that their maps should resemble the map created by the class with all nineteen symbols.
• The students are asked to identify symbols and a direction as previously discussed.
• They are also required to print hard copies to turn into the teacher.
• There are a total of twenty items for assessment with the scoring as follows:

1. A map missing 0-2 items earns an A.
2. ...3-4 items, a B.
3. ...5-6 items, a C.
4. A map missing more than six items requires reteaching the student. This should be done through individual consultation and instruction if possible.

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