Here are some fun ideas for revising the world map.
We sang the Oceans and Continents song from our Geography Songs CD from Sonlight.
I gave the girls a large 9 page world map which they had to assemble. Yourchildlearns.com gives many print out options – print out sizes so large that it will print on up to 64 pages! I printed the world map out on 9 pages and it was pretty challenging for my 8-year-old!
Then we labeled the map.
Then we played “Twister” calling out places with right or left hands and feet!
Physical activity is fun, and it has a multi-sensory approach. This helps young learners.
Most young children are kinesthetic learners = they need to move to learn new and difficult information.
Most young children learn in the following order:
- From BIG to small
- From 3D to 2D
- From concrete to abstract
Maps are abstract, 2 dimensional representations. We need to teach maps from a large clear globe, then find the same shapes on a large, clear, coloured map. From this, show them the atlas and smaller maps.
Twister is an excellent game to reinforce “left” and “right”, “up” and “down” which is vital spatial skills in all map work.
Advance the skills needed and adapt “Twister”- call out compass directions; call out “West/ East, North/South instead of “Left/Right, up/down”.
Review map work regularly.
After completing all the exciting physical games (and they only need about 15 minutes) we return to the desk to label and write in our minibooks and notebook pages.
Visit my Geography pages to view all the free downloads. 🙂