Day 6: Cities and Roads
Objective:
The student will develop map skills by recognizing basic map symbols including references to land, water, cities and roads (1.4a)
Materials:
- Map of VA interstates and cities
- Pictures and posters of VA cities
- City sequence cards
- Blank VA map
Events of Instruction:
- Instruct students to work in their groups to make a list of all of the streets, roads, and highways that they can remember traveling
- Ask how many names each group was able to come up with
- Instruct students to work in their groups to make a list of all of the cities that they have visited
- Ask how many cities each group identified
- Gather students for whole group instruction
- Pull up a map of the major interstates in Virginia
- Indicate that roads, highways, and interstates are represented by lines, while cities are depicted by dots or circles on the map
- Ask students to identify the interstates that they would travel to get from one city to another in Virginia. For example, ask students how they would travel from Richmond to Bristol and from Norfolk to Washington, D.C.
- Explain that the room has been transformed into a road map. There are pictures and posters hanging up around the classroom to represent the different cities in Virginia. Each city is represented by a different colored star. The legend is on the board. Duct tape on the floor marks the highways connecting these cities. Each group will visit 5 cities based upon the order of color-coded stars on their sequencing card.
- Distribute sequence cards-one for each group. Once a group arrives at a city, the marker/crayon for that city is taped to the city's picture. Students should fill in the star outline on their sequence card appropriately.
- Once a group has visited every city on their respective sequence card, they should return to their desks and begin mapping the cities that they visited on the blank Virginia maps. Students should draw highways connecting these cities.
- Students should glue these city/highway maps of Virginia into their interactive notebooks.
Differentiation:
- In organizing groups, pair advanced students with students who may need additional assistance
- Allow students who finish early to begin mapping activity
Assessment:
- Students will identify streets, highways, and cities on a map
- Students will use maps to determine the highways necessary to travel between cities
- Students will create a map of cities and highways in Virginia