Map Scale and Legend: Reading the Pinecrest County Map

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Social Studies · Geography
SP-GEOG-002 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Map Scale and Legend: Reading the Pinecrest
County Map
Social Studies · Geography · Grades 8-10 · 50 minutes
Time needed
50 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the scale on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone with the described map information.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard, Calculator (optional)
Goal for today: Students will use a map legend and grid references to locate features and use a map scale to convert
distances between map centimeters and real kilometers.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: SCALE: 1 cm on the map = 4 km in real life. To find real distance, MULTIPLY centimeters
by 4. To find map distance, DIVIDE kilometers by 4.
☐ Tell students there is no map to draw. The worksheet describes the map in tables and every answer comes
from those tables.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk.
Say this to start
Good morning! Today is a map skills lesson. Mapmakers use a legend to explain symbols and a scale to show how map
distance matches real distance. The worksheet describes a county map in tables, so you will work like a map reader
without needing to draw. Everything you need is on the page and on the board.
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet face down.
Wait for directions.
5–13
Read the board aloud. Work this example: a road is 5 cm
long on the map, so 5 × 4 = 20 km in real life.
Listen and copy the example.
13–25
Tell students to complete Part A (questions 1–5) using the
legend and places table.
Read the tables and answer on their own.
25–38
Tell students to complete Part B (questions 6–10). A
calculator is optional.
Multiply or divide using the scale.
38–46
Tell students to finish Part C (questions 11–13) and then
question 14. Partners may compare.
Answer the scale questions and explain a
map idea in a sentence.
46–50
Collect worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Hand in the worksheet.

SubstitutePlans.com
Social Studies · Geography
SP-GEOG-002 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
If things go wrong
• If students ask for the map, explain that the tables describe it, and all the answers are in the tables.
• If a student multiplies when they should divide, remind them: cm to km = multiply by 4; km to cm = divide by
4.
• If a student confuses grid squares, tell them: letter first (column), then number (row), like C3.
• If students finish quickly, check their work and use the early finisher list.
Early finishers
• Invent a road 7 cm long on the map. Write its real length.
• Write three symbols you would put in a legend for a map of your school.
Support and challenge
• Support: Allow a calculator and skip questions 10 and 12.
• Challenge: Ask students to find how many cm on the map would show 50 km, and explain how they got it.
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: