Some of the activities you will participate in include . . . .

• watching videos online
• playing games and taking quizzes online
• learning from websites
• finding locations with Google Earth
• handing in assignments through the Internet

Don't worry if you don't know a lot about maps or technology. Your teacher will help guide you through the class, sort of like your map guide or navigator.

Show me what you already know! Click on the link below to take a short quiz so I can see what you know about maps.

Class Map

      Throughout this class we will be building a class map of our adventures outside of school. When you travel, whether near or far, visit the website and mark where you have been. After placing the marker add some notes telling the class about your adventure.

I bet you have seen maps in lots of places. I know you have seen them on the walls at school and in some of your textbooks. At home I bet you have seen maps on TV, in video games, and maybe even in your car or van. Maps are all over. Why are maps so important?

Watch "What are maps?" video

This video, "Why we use maps" is really fun! Don't miss it!

(*This video is on YouTube so you will only be able to watch it if you are at home or if your teacher shows it to you.)

Take this short quiz before moving on to the next topic.

I bet you have wondered why maps look the way they do? In this lesson you will read a story about a little girl named Nikki who goes on an adventure in a hot air balloon. While in the balloon she learns some things about how maps are created.

Work through lessons 1-3 on the Nikki's Adventures with Maps website. You will come back to this story later on for more activities so don't go past lesson three right now.

Watch this video to see a map maker at work.

Look at this map of Jefferson School. If Nikki were flying over New Ulm this might be what she would see from the hot air balloon.

Now you will make an overhead map of your house! Click on the links below for more directions.

Here is an activity to practice using satellite maps. When you go to this link you will try your luck at finding the same exact place I have mapped by zooming in on a large world map. I have given you clues so make sure to read them! Good luck!

Maps can be drawn to represent a variety of information. This information might include things such as roads, tourist attractions, and campgrounds, or they might represent the latest weather.

The objects on a map are represented using symbols. A symbol is a picture on the map that represents something in the real world.

Understanding these symbols requires the use of a key. Maps use a key, or legend to explain the meaning of each of the symbols used in the map. These keys usually show a small picture of each of the symbols used on the map, along with a written description of the meaning of each of these symbols.

Read through Lesson 4 of Nikki's Adventures with Maps and then play the mapping game on Adventure Island to learn more about symbols and keys.

Take the following online quiz to show me what you have learned about map keys and symbols. Make sure to type carefully!

A compass rose is a design on a map that shows directions. It shows north, south, east, west. These four directions are called the cardinal directions. The intermediate directions are in between the others. They are northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.

Print out the compass rose picture and color your own compass rose. Use the picture at the bottom to make sure you label all the directions correctly.

Go to Park the Car, Compass Rose Practice Site and Orientometer to practice your directions skills.

Read Nikki's Adventure Lesson 5 to see what she learns about directions on maps. There is an assignment after the reading.

Work through this Grid Lesson. Click on this symbol to hear the lesson.

Read Lesson 6 of Nikki's Adventures with Maps to see how map grids helped her find different things at the park.

Play these two online games to practice using map grids.

Now that you know about grids you can learn about latitude, longitude, the equator, and the Prime Meridian.

Watch this video to learn a little more about latitude and longitude.

Here are two fun activities to practice longitude and latitude. You must do the first activity, but the second, Crack the Code, is just for an extra challenge.

Complete this assignment

Learn about the 50 states in the United States and where they are located by completing the following activities.

Learn about the major bodies of water in the United States with the following activities.

Complete the following assignment following the directions on the links below.

Learn the continents and oceans of the world.

Complete this online quiz.

Work through the three parts of this lesson to learn about globes.

Complete the quiz below after practicing your globe skills on Build Planet Earth site.

Now that you have completed the nine sections of this class it is time to have some fun with maps. Below you will see some online activities to explore before starting your final projects.

Here is a fun video about maps. I have attached the lyrics too if you want to print them out to sing along. The man who wrote this song thinks it is great that you will be learning about maps through his song!

This National Geographic game has a lot of choices. Try a land adventure and a sea adventure!

Your final project will be a street map that you design yourself. Watch the Prezi first and then read the assignment on the pdf below.

As a class project we will be working together to make a map of the New Ulm Walking Tour using a web2.0 tool called mapme. Look at the map that has been started so you can see what we will be working on together. We will be using picnik to fix up our pictures with nice labels.

Take the Mapping Knowledge quiz again to see how much you have learned about maps!