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Lesson 3–What You Can Learn from a Map

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Lesson 3–What You Can Learn from a Map Lesson 3–What you can Learn From a Map Key teaching points Materials you need for this classroom, show students the location lesson of Salt Lake City. It is one of the chief • The legend is the key to unlocking centers of finance, industry, and trans- the secrets of a map. 1. A map packet for each student. portation in the Rocky Mountain States. • Different maps highlight different 2. A copy of Activity Sheet #3 for each physical and man-made features of a student. 3. Show students what they can learn particular location. Mapmakers choose from each map. to emphasize different characteristics During this lesson, students will be depending on the intended use of the working with the black-and-white maps Legends. Tell the students, "All of the map. in their map packet, as well as going to features we have just identified are the board for information from the shown on at least one of these maps. • A road map shows people how they maps on the color poster. Have stu- How can we understand the details of can travel from one place to another. It dents follow along with the maps and what those maps show? By using the also shows some physical boundaries, their activity sheets, filling in the legend on each map. You might not such as mountains and rivers; political answer to each question on their activ- have realized it, but when we did features, such as States and counties; ity sheet or marking on their maps. Lesson 1, you used the legend to see and populated places, such as cities, This will help students learn from each what the maps in your book showed. towns, and villages. other. At the end of the class, every In this lesson, we're going to look at student will have a correctly filled-in legends in more detail." • A shaded relief map is designed to activity sheet. highlight the physical features of a 4. Help students understand the infor- place. It portrays relative elevations. Suggestions for teaching this mation on the road map. Ask students lesson (2, 30-minute sessions) to turn to their road map and Activity • A topographic map shows the ele- Sheet #3. Begin with the road map, vation of the land at all points, so the As your students have learned, there since it is the map that most students reader can learn the absolute elevation are many different kinds of maps. This will have seen. To help orient them- of any given place. lesson focuses on three basic types of selves, ask the students to find the maps—a road map, a shaded relief State capitol in the center of Salt Lake • You can learn more about a place by map, and a topographic map. City. Have them circle it on their map if looking at several different maps of they have not already done so for that place. 1. Pass out Activity Sheet #3. Ask stu- Lesson 2. dents to take out their map packets. How this lesson relates to the Tell students they will be using all three Have students look at the things listed geographic themes maps to complete this lesson. Ask on the legend for the road map. them to follow along, filling in their Location—This lesson helps students activity sheets and marking on their Ask students to answer these ques- understand more about the primary maps. tions and fill in their answers on tool that geographers use to communi- Activity Sheet #3 and on their road cate information about a location— 2. Identify characteristics of Salt Lake maps: maps. City. Ask the students to look closely at the picture of Salt Lake City on the • Find and draw the map symbol for Place—Throughout this lesson, stu- poster. Using the picture, point out an interstate highway route marker. dents will examine the characteristics some of the most important things of Salt Lake City (mountains, rivers, about this city. It's the capital of Utah; roads, trails) and its surrounding area. point out the capitol building. It has a They will then look at several maps to mountain range to the east; show stu- see how those various physical and dents the Wasatch Mountains. It is a • Find and draw the map symbol for a manmade characteristics are repre- large city; help students locate the tall State highway route marker. sented on maps. buildings. The city is the world head- quarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the Mormon Tabernacle is located just a few blocks from the State capitol building. If you have a United States map in your Lesson 3–page 2 • Ask students to locate an interstate Have students notice the water in the top Point out to your students that every highway. left hand section of the map. Say, "This is map's legend is different. On this map, for (Possible answers: I-80, I-15, I-215) the edge of the Great Salt Lake—a huge example, city size is shown by printing the inland body of water." name larger or smaller. On other maps, • Ask students to locate a State city size might be shown by using different highway. Ask students to answer these ques- symbols. (Many possible answers) tions and fill in their answers on Activity Sheet #3 and their shaded Ask students to answer these ques- • Ask the students to find a road that relief maps: tions and fill in the answers on Activity goes into the mountains. Trace it on the Sheet #3: road map with your pencil. • Draw a line down the ridge (backbone) (Several possible answers) of the Wasatch Mountains. • What are the major colors on the map? What does each color represent? • Why are there fewer roads northeast of • Locate a canyon on the map. What is its (Answers: blue, water; green, lowland; the city? name? brown, mountains; red, roads) (Answer: Because the area is mountain- (Answer: Echo Canyon, East Canyon, ous.) American Fork Canyon.) More map practice. Ask students to deter- mine the pattern of population in this part Ask a student to go to the poster to • What do you see at the bottom of a of Utah—where are most of the large answer these questions for their class- canyon? cities located? (west of the Wasatch mates. (Students can't use their map (Answer: rivers or creeks) Mountains) You can tell your students that packets because they are printed in black more than three-fifths of the State's popu- and white.) • Where does the water in those rivers lation live in the Salt Lake City-Ogden and creeks come from? metropolitan area. Ask students to answer these ques- (Answer: snow or rain) tions and fill in their answers on 6. Help students understand the informa- Activity Sheet #3: • Have students use the legend to find tion on the topographic map. A shaded the symbol for airport relief map shows height through shading. • What colors are highways? The topographic map uses contour lines (Answer: red, green, or blue) to show elevation (height above sea level.) • The areas around a city are shown in color on the map. What color is used for and the State capitol Because a shaded relief map looks Salt LakeCity? something like a picture, it is often easier (Answer: yellow) for students to use.A topographic map also shows elevations, but it may be hard- • What color is used for bodies of water? er to understand because it uses contour (Answer: blue) lines. (This kind of map can be difficult for • What direction is the airport from the students to use because it requires them 5. Help students understand the informa- State capitol? to visualize a third dimension. This teach- tion on the shaded relief map. Have stu- (Answer: west) ing package includes a lesson on reading dents look at the shaded relief map in topographic maps.) the map packet. Shaded relief maps look The legend shows city size. Using the leg- the most like a picture, and are easy for end, the population of Salt Lake City is Ask the students to look at the topo- students to understand. Say, "Shaded between and graphic map. Say, "This topographic relief maps are designed to highlight the (Answer: 100,000 and 500,000) map shows a small area of Salt Lake City physical features of a place. The shading and the nearby mountains. You shows how a particular area looks with The population of Ogden is between will be drawing some lines and making sunlight shining on it from a particular and . some notations on this map." direction." (Answer: 50,000 and 100,000) Ask students to find some mountains and • Have the students find a town with a valleys. Trace them with their fingers. population of 500 to 1,000. (Many answers) Lesson 3–page 3 7. Contour lines. Show students the thin, • Find the jeep trail northwest of the State 8. Wrap-up discussion. Lead students in a wiggly lines on this map. Tell them that capitol. At about what elevation is the brief discussion that gets them to think these are contour lines. Say, "Contour trail? about why there are different kinds of lines join points of equal elevation above a (Answer: about 4,800 feet) maps. You might say, "Now we have specified reference, such as sea level. worked with three different kinds of maps Think of a contour line as an imaginary Why do you think it's a jeep trail instead of –a road map, a shaded relief map, and line on the ground that takes any path a regular road? a topographic map.
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