Let’s Make a Map

Engage

10 minutes

Review with students some of the things they observed on their Water Detective walk the day before. Tell them that they will be going back to the same area to draw a “map” that will show where the water is located.

Explore

30 minutes

Distribute science notebooks for students to put in their backpacks. Go on a walk, returning to a place where you found water during the previous lesson. Allow each child to find his or her own space for making a map as well as an observational drawing of what they see, hear, and feel around them. Distribute pencils. Remind them to start with the date and a title. As students finish drawing and writing encourage them to share with a partner sitting next to them.

Explain

20 minutes

Complete the maps back in the classroom.

Model a science notebook page on chart paper. Ask questions: How did we get there? What was close by? What else can you add to your map? Suggest possible additions such as buildings, bridges, trees, rocks, and docks.

Allow time for students to complete their maps, and have each child share their map with a friend as they finish.

Gather the class together, and have students sit in a circle with their science notebooks on their laps. Ask students to share ideas from their maps, while you make a chart that records common elements from all maps. This is a great opportunity for students to learn from each other. List student ideas on a chart to model writing, and elements of a map.

Elaborate

10 minutes

Begin an O-W-L Chart with the students. Record the Observations: what students were able to see and possibly what they inferred from what they noticed (for example if they saw garbage in a creek, they might have inferred that the water was dirty or that people had been near the water).

Ask students: “Now that you’ve seen water in our backyard, what are some things you OBSERVED about water?” Tell them: “Later on we’ll come back to: What are some things you WONDER about water? Eventually we’ll document: What have we LEARNED about water?”

Evaluate

Notice which students are able to share observations of their work. Keep notes or a checklist so that you can make more explicit instruction available for those students who do not seem to be able to work independently.

Curricular Connections

Math. The Globe Toss activity helps students practice counting skills and introduces basic concepts of probability and statistics. Allow students to revisit this activity during center or choice time, and encourage students to collect additional data: are their hands touching mostly land or water? They can compare it with the class data chart.

Language Arts. Students develop speaking and listening skills, and begin to practice writing as they use labels with drawings.

Art. Students draw from their observations.

Additional connections to music and poetry can be made by bringing in a picture of the planet Earth from space, and song “Blue White Planet” by Raffi.