I had the pleasure of walking into Ms. Gonzalez’s seventh grade social studies class and observing the students working on the concepts of map development and reading. Students were creating their own island using the skills they have learned about map development! They were required to include all elements of B.O.L.T.S.S (Border, Orientation, Legend, Title, Scale, and Source) when making their map. Within the island, students designed features that might be found on a deserted island such as: a beach, palm trees, rainforest, swamp, a shelter, and more!
An additional part of the project was for students to create a diary entry using the map they created to help answer various questions about being stranded on a deserted island. One of the questions was, “Where did you build your shelter?” Students used their compass rose and scale to help write about the direction and distance of where they found or built their shelter.
It was exciting to see how engaged the students were with creating their map. Please view a few examples of students’ finished maps.