Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 2, Lesson 2

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 2, Lesson 2: Understanding a Map (pp. 34-40)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Technology Geographers and cartographers use a variety of tools to communicate information on a map.

Begin by discussing how maps are used to communicate information about people and places. Tell students how symbols, colors, lines, and scale on a map are clues that tell what the map is about. Use a thematic map, such as a battle map, to point out these important features.

Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.

Check for Understanding

Give students a variety of atlases, globes, and individual maps to explore. Have each student pick one map and write a paragraph explaining what the map shows. Encourage students to use the legend and scale to uncover the information from the map.
Have students draw a map that shows the route between two places they know, using symbols, colors, and lines with arrows to represent important places. For example, students might draw the route from home to school, or from one room in the school to another room. Be sure that students include a legend to explain their symbols, and an approximate scale to show the distance of the route. Then ask them to exchange maps with a partner and see if they can follow their partner's map.

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