Our classroom map

The past few weeks we have been focusing a lot (among other things) on maps.  We have explored world maps, discussed compasses, used our directions, and followed maps to get to places.  Noticing the map of the school posted by the door showing fire exits, we started discussing our immediate environment.  If we were to make a map of our classroom, what would it look like?


We started by using a large piece of paper.  We decided where our directions would be and tried to focus on furniture as much as possible.  Where would the door be?  How about the technology table?  How far away should the drawing and creating table be from there?  We outlined important parts with pencil after careful finger measuring and an "okay" from the group.  What was difficult was deciding on how to draw our objects.  
In the map, you view it as a bird would- looking straight down.  What does a chair look like from above?  Would you see the triangle on the back side?  Would you see the seat?  How do the tables look from above?  What we see and what the map shows are two different things.  What a map shows is a view from above.  North often doesn't mean "up."  It can mean forward or backward.  

We talked about coloring in our map because it was too hard to see.  One thing the children discussed was including miniature versions of ourselves.  Normally on maps you would not see people or animals, but we wanted our map to be a bit interactive. As you can see, most of the children are sitting at meeting time, but a few are working on something else!

Come in and visit our classroom map with your children and discuss what it shows.  The picture below doesn't detail as much as it does in person.