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Map Skills - Atlases
Objectives
To begin to understand the compromises made when a spherical earth is represented on flat paper.
To able to use an atlas, in particular the glossary and grid references.
Resources
Student Atlas | 📄 Atlas Quiz Worksheet
Today's Lesson
Main Activity
Today we are going to look at smaller scale maps that show the whole world (atlases) and how they are created. Make sure you have your Atlas ready. Can you find where you live?
N.B. Please note, If you have completed the Year 3 Geography course, this lesson and the next one will be refreshers of important map skills already covered. If not, you may need to take a little more time over them.
There are two ways to look up somewhere in most factual books: a ‘Contents’ page at the front, and an ‘Index’ page at the back. The Contents show the pages of the book in order numerically. The Index shows the information contained in the book in alphabetical order.
Which does your student think will be most useful? Let's see if we can find countries using both. Can your child find the country of Thailand in Southeast Asia using the contents page? Ask your student to find the page showing East and Southeast Asia countries (Student Atlas pages 36-37) and then search for Thailand (on the fold, blue).
Now we'll try looking up Thailand in the Index. Some studenta will find searching alphabetically easy and others will need more help, in which case writing out the alphabet first can make it easier. Also explain to them that within a word, if all the initial letters are the same, then we move on to the second letter; so Thailand will come near the middle of the 'T' places.
Before they begin, look at the top of page 64 in Student Atlas together.
This shows the colours used in the Index and what the numbers mean (page number followed by grid code).
Q: What colour will Thailand be?
A: Red as it is a country.
Now ask your student to find Thailand in the Index. Next to it is written 36 B4, so what page do we need to turn to? (Answer: page 36). Now we need to find the grid square B4 (the letter is along the bottom and the number up the side) and there is Thailand.
Practise this a few more times with other countries that your child has visited or is interested in.
Finally, ask your student to have a go at the Atlas Quiz Worksheet. The answers are at the bottom of the page.
Challenge Activity
Can your student write their own Atlas Quiz for another family member to complete? Make sure they keep a record of the answers as well as the questions.