Learn how to read a map Work/Home... · Lesson 1: Introduction to maps Learn how to read a map Introduction to maps ... Watch this clip to see how Tess uses string to measure the

Dahl class geography lessons

Geography Unit- Year 3

How and why do we use maps?

What do the symbols mean on maps?

Lesson 1: Introduction to maps

Learn how to read a map

Introduction to maps

Watch the clip on BBC Bitesize

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zhtyvk7

Learn

Sue Venir is planning a visit to a castle in Shropshire.

Watch along with this clip to find out how she uses a map to find the way.

Read this:

What is a map?

A map is a two-dimensional drawing of an area .

Maps can show the countryside, a town, a country or even the whole world.

They are used to help plan routes from one place to another, or to find

certain features such as castles or hills.



Different types of map are used for different things depending on whether you

are walking, driving or even flying somewhere.

Maps can be on paper or on a mobile phone, tablet or computer.

How to use a map

The top of most maps is north and a compass can be used to find

which direction north is. Compasses show four directions - north, east,

south and west .

The needle always points north, so when that is lined up with the map it is easy

to see in which direction things are.

Maps are not drawn to the same size as the ground because they would be far

too big! Instead they are drawn to a smaller scale .

The scale on a map is a set of numbers that can be used to compare distances

and can be written, for example, as 1:25,000.

This means that the actual size of the ground is 25,000 times bigger than it is

on the map.

The same scale can also be written as 4cm to 1km, so every four centimetres on

the map is one kilometre in real life.

Part 2

Watch this clip online https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zhtyvk7

Tour guide Tess, is practicing her map-reading

skills.

Watch this clip to see how Tess uses string to measure the winding roads on a

map and calculate the distance from Ben Nevis to Aviemore in Scotland.



Activity 1

Copy this compass into your book and fill in the missing compass points

Challenge Activity (OPTIONAL)

Draw a map

Have a go at drawing a map of your street or local area. Download and print out the activity sheet below.

If you can’t download this it looks like this. You can just draw it in your book or on a plain piece of paper and

stick it into your book.


Lesson 2

Contours, keys and symbols

Today we are using this BBC Bitesize web page https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvxwjhv

Learn

STEP 1)

Sue Venir is celebrating her friend's birthday with a camping trip.

Her friend has given her a map so she can find her way to the campsite.

Watch this short film to find out how she uses contours, keys and symbols to

read the map.

You can watch the film as many times as you want until you think you

understand it.

Now read this summary of what you should have learned

Map reading

To be able to understand maps, it is important to have map-reading skills.

Maps are usually too small to contain lots of writing so instead there

are symbols which show important landmarks, places and areas.

There is usually a key at the side of the map which explains what these

symbols mean.

Symbols and contours

Symbols are generally the same on most types of map.

For example, buildings or tourist attractions are shown with blue symbols.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvxwjhv


Different types of roads are shown in different colours - blue for

a motorway, red for a main road and yellow or orange for narrower

roads .

Dotted green lines are usually used to show footpaths.

Some maps, especially ones that people use to find their way around the

countryside, contain brown contour lines.

These are lines that show high and low areas of land.

The contour lines join up areas of the same height, and when they are

close together it means the hill or mountain is steep.

When they are far apart it means the land is gently sloping,

or undulating .

This is useful to know when planning a route, to see whether it is going to

be a hike up a steep mountainside or a walk on flat ground.

STEP 2)

Now watch this short film on the website https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvxwjhv

.

ACTVITIES

Have a go at this activity on the website https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvxwjhv




Then draw and label in your book 2 of the symbols you remember.

Activity 2 on the website (optional)

This looks like this:



Lesson 3

Time Zones

Using the BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z48fvk7

Watch this clip

Now read this information

Time in different parts of the world

As the Earth rotates on its axis , the Sun only shines on the side of the Earth that it is facing. This means:

• it is daytime for the parts of the Earth that have the Sun shining on them

• it is night-time for places that are on the opposite side of the Earth and are in the shade

As it is night in some parts of the world while it is day in other parts, different places in the world have different

times. This is why the world is divided into 24 different time zones. One for each hour in a day.

Very large countries that are spread out across many time zones, such as Russia or the USA, are divided into separate

time zones. Most smaller countries keep to the same time zone even if part of them falls outside a meridian line.

When it's daytime in the UK, it's night-time in Australia.

Glossary

Axis - a real or imaginary straight line going through the centre of an object that is spinning, or a line that divides a

symmetrical shape into two equal halves:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z48fvk7


The earth revolves around the axis that joins the North and South Pole

Time zones- one of many equal parts into which the world is divided. In any place within each part, the particular

point in the day is the same, and is an hour in front of or behind that in the parts on either side:

If you go from New York to London, you cross five time zones.

Watch this short film to find out about two children’s lives on opposite sides of the world.




ACITIVITY – Time Zones

Using the information written above answer the following questions in your book.

NB DO NOT write the question in your book – just the answer using the starters

you have been given.

1) Why is it daytime in the UK when it is night-time in Australia?

Answer1) It is day time in the UK when it is nightime in Australia because….

2) How many time zones is the world divided into?

Answer 2) The world is divided into

3) Name a country has more than one time zone?

Answer3) One of the countries which has more than one time zone is

4) London is six hours ahead of Mexico. When it’s 3.00 pm in London, what

time is it in Mexico?

Answer 4) When its 3:00pm in London it will be


Lesson 4

Latitude and longitude

Go to BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zr7j7nb

Learn

What are latitude and longitude?

To help locate where a place is in the world, people use imaginary lines:

• To find out how far north or south a place is, lines of latitude are used. These

lines run parallel to the Equator.

• To find out how far east or west a place is, lines of longitude are used. These lines

run from the top of the Earth to the bottom.

Sue Venir is delivering a parcel to her cousin, but he lives on an island and he doesn't

have an address to send things to!

Watch this animation to find out how Sue uses latitude and longitude to find him. Using

BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zr7j7nb

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zr7j7nb



Read this information about hemispheres

Hemispheres

The Equator is at the centre of the lines of latitude and is at 0° latitude.

Anything lying south of the Equator is in the Southern Hemisphere and is

labelled °S. Anything lying north of the Equator is in the Northern

Hemisphere and is labelled °N. The North Pole is 90° N and the South Pole is

90° S.

The line labelled 0° longitude is called the Prime Meridian or the Greenwich

Meridian and runs through London. Anything lying east of the Greenwich

Meridian is in the Eastern Hemisphere and is labelled °E. Anything lying west

of the Greenwich Meridian is in the Western Hemisphere and is labelled °W.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart set out to be the first woman to fly on her own across

the Atlantic ocean from Canada to Northern Ireland - over 3000 km! Watch

this animation from the Explorers series to find out how latitude and longitude

helped her on this incredible journey.

Now watch this short clip on the BBC website




Using the website https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zr7j7nb

Then



Which looks like this



LESSON 5

Mountains

READ AND LEARN

What are mountains?

Mountains are areas of land that are much higher than the land surrounding

them. They are higher and usually steeper than a hill and are generally over 600

metres high. They are often found together in a group called a mountain range.

Some well-known mountain ranges in the four countries that make up the UK

include:

• the Cairngorms in Scotland

• the Pennines in England

• the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland

• Snowdonia in Wales

Sue Venir is climbing to the top of Mount Elbert, the tallest of all the Rocky

Mountains. The Rocky Mountains is a mountain range that stretches all the way

from the USA into Canada. Using this ‘BBC Bitesize’ website. Watch this short

animation to find out more about mountains.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbqsvk7



READ AND LEARN

How are mountains formed?

The highest mountain ranges are created by tectonic plates pushing

together and forcing the ground up where they meet. This is how the

mountains of the Himalayas in Asia were formed.

Tectonic plates are also at work under the Atlantic Ocean, but

instead of forcing the ground up, the two plates in the middle of the

Atlantic Ocean are actually moving apart in opposite directions. This

causes lava to erupt out of the gap that is left. As it cools down, the

lava creates a long line of mountains - the longest mountain range on

Earth.

Other mountains - usually those that stand on their own - are created

by ancient volcanoes. Ben Nevis in Scotland was once a very

large active volcano. It last erupted millions of years ago and the

eruption was so violent that it caved in on itself.

The highest mountains in the UK are:

• Ben Nevis in Scotland (also the highest in the UK)

• Scafell Pike in England

• Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland

• Snowdon in Wales

WATCH THIS SLIDESHOW USING




The German Alps

Inzell lies in the

Chiemgau region of

Bavaria in the

German Alps.

Josephine, 11, who

lives in the area,

likes to ski in

winter and wave-

board with her

friends in summer.

In this short film she shows us the mountain ranges and the traditional

Bavarian farms with their cows that graze the Alpine meadows in the summer

and come into the stalls for the long harsh winters. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbqsvk7

Practise

There are lots of fun things to do to help you remember what you've learnt

about mountains.

Here are a few you could try.





Which looks like this





Documents

Learn how to read a map Work/Home... · Lesson 1: Introduction to maps Learn how to read a map Introduction to maps ... Watch this clip to see how Tess uses string to measure the