Mapmaking!
Mapping Penny’s World by Loreen LeedyBy Amy Vaccarella, Librarian
We began the year with some wonderful read alouds and activities that help build connections between our smaller worlds (home, family, neighborhood) and the larger world around us. Maps help make this connection, and being able to use a map is a lifelong skill.
Mapping Penny’s World by Loreen Leedy was a great book to begin our discussion about mapmaking. Lisa and her dog Penny make maps of many parts of their world. The book encourages students to think about maps in a variety of ways: mapping rooms, mapping directions from point A to point B, making maps three-dimensional. Also, this book demonstrates that maps can not only be fun but reflect one’s personal world and unique perspective.
After reading the story, we discussed what we knew about keys, symbols, and perspective. Students then selected an area outdoors (e.g. red playground, monkeyland, the fish pond), and with clipboard and pencils, went out and drew maps of their area. Continue reading.
