Overview

In this activity, students will use MapPoint to create hands-on experiences for understanding the relevance of maps, both past and present.

Map reading in the 21st century

Lesson plan information

Teacher guide

Objectives

Knowledge

• Students will gain knowledge about the types of information (geographical, political, and demographic) that can be provided by digital maps.
• Students will gain knowledge about various ways that users can interact with digital map information.

Skills

• Students will develop skills in using digital maps to provide information or solve problems.
• Students will develop skills in using a variety of map tools and features, such as finding locations, getting directions, and using pushpin markers.

Prerequisite skills

Some familiarity with word processing and the use of drawing tools

How to begin

1. Decide on the particular MapPoint tools that students will employ for the project.
2. Develop the assessment of the project and create a rubric.
3. Demonstrate to students a sample MapPoint project and show how MapPoint tools can be used to create final product.
4. Have students submit an idea for their own MapPoint project or assign them a project.
5. Before students begin working on their individual projects, review expectations and directions and the use of MapPoint tools with the students.

Teacher tips

• Create a project of your own to use for demonstration, and then share the process with the class. Try to incorporate a variety of MapPoint tools to show what is possible to the students.
• It is also helpful to display student projects from prior years if they are available.
• Align your project to your curriculum and state standards, and create an assessment rubric for your project. (For more information, visit the Rubistar site.)
• A few days prior to the project, talk over the subject you will be using, and assist in developing a dialogue about maps and how they can be used.
• Help students set up their calendar by "backtracking" from the final due date and setting deadlines for the separate project elements.
• Send out a message to parents letting them know of project expectations and due dates.
• Create a series of mini-lessons to address skills and knowledge needed to complete the project.
• Allow time to meet with individuals or teams to assess progress and assist in problem solving. Make this an assessment time by checking off and scoring completed elements.
• Be sure to plan for differentiation or modification as needed for your diverse group of learners.

Grade level ideas

For elementary school students

• Using MapPoint, locate a place your family has visited. Find out how many people live there and how far away it is from your home.
• Plan a week-long family vacation within your state or region. For each day, plan an activity, such as visiting an historic site, park, museum, zoo, or other activity; decide on a place to stay and where you will eat dinner. Try to travel no more than 200 miles each day.
• Locate your favorite store or place of interest in another town on a digital map. Label the site, and briefly describe why classmates would want to visit it. Provide directions to get there from your school, following three different routes. What are the advantages of each route?

For middle school students

• Trace the Lewis and Clark Trail on a current map. Label important locations along the route, and compare the differences between life along the route then and now, using demographic and geographic data.
• Research demographic data about your hometown, comparing how the population and the number of schools have changed during the last 10 years, and projecting trends in the next five years.
• Play "Where in the World Am I?" with your classmates. Find a location somewhere in the world that you would like to visit, and research its culture and attractions. Trace the most direct route to the location from your school, providing clues about the location and the route you have selected with labels along the route. Make sure classmates will uncover the labels on the map as they uncover the route and, finally, the location.

For high school students

• Analyze examples of a topography map, relief map, hydrographic chart, and digital map. Describe the purposes of these maps and how they are created.
• Research the viability of starting a business in your town using information such as population data in specific regions, number of competing businesses in your chosen industry, and site accessibility.
• Determine the changing infrastructure needs of a major city by tracking demographic and resource trends. For instance, how does population growth impact the needs for housing, roads, and public services such as libraries and schools? Make sure to evaluate needs within small regions or territories, rather than the city as a whole.

Resources and web links

Teacher technology tutorials

• Navigate and annotate digital maps
• Analyzing and mapping demographic data

Websites and other resources

• Map collections
  Provides access to digital maps within the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress from 1500 to the present
• The David Rumsey historical map collection
  Offers more than 8,800 online maps focusing on rare 18th- and 19th-century North and South America maps
• Microsoft Encarta Reference Library
  Offers photographs, historical timelines, graphics, and text on virtually any subject
• http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
  Offers help setting up rubrics for assessment

Student activity

Description

In this activity, you will use MapPoint to create a customized map project and then present your project to the class.

Step 1: create your MapPoint project

• Software: Microsoft MapPoint 2002
• What to do
  Create your MapPoint project and review it

1. Review your teacher's expectations and directions for your project, and make sure you understand how to use the MapPoint tools.
2. Use MapPoint to begin finding information and creating your customized map project.
3. Meet with your team or teacher to help solve problems and check your progress.

Step 2: finalize your MapPoint project and present it

• Software: Microsoft MapPoint 2002
• What to do
  Finalize and present your MapPoint project

1. Finalize your map project. Make sure you have included and completed all the required elements.
2. Have your team and teacher do a final review of your project.
3. Prepared your map project for class viewing.
4. Present your map to the class.

Assessment

Checking for understanding

• How are the digital maps of today different than traditional maps?
• What are the benefits and limitations of digital maps?
• How are locations determined on maps?
• How are maps used differently today than they have been in the past? Would you say their roles are more or less important?

Project rubrics

Project rubrics are an essential evaluation tool. Ideally, rubrics are available to students at the start of a project and are used to evaluate teacher-created projects or other projects so that students can have a context for what is expected. Rubrics should be brought up frequently throughout the project and used as an ongoing evaluation tool for self, peer, and teacher assessment. A good source for rubrics is Rubistar. Visit the Rubistar site.

Student reflection

Student reflection is a vital element of any assessment. It is important that time be allocated at the end of the project for reflection on processes and products. Some questions you can ask:

• When would you use a digital map?
• How is the role and use of maps changing in our world today?
• What did I learn? What did I do well? What would I change? Next time I want to...

This content is reprinted with permission from Microsoft. For additional content, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx.