Representing Land and Water on MapsActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning helps second graders grasp abstract geographic concepts by making them concrete. When students move, discuss, and create, they connect symbols on maps to real places in ways that passive instruction cannot. Building and interpreting representations builds spatial thinking skills that are critical for future geography lessons.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify the seven continents and five oceans on a world map or globe.
- 2Classify different landforms (e.g., mountains, plains, islands) based on their visual representation on a map.
- 3Compare and contrast the features of a flat map and a globe, explaining the distortion that occurs on a flat map.
- 4Analyze how colors and symbols on a map represent specific geographic features like water, land, and cities.
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Think-Pair-Share: Map vs. Globe
Show students the same region on a flat map and on a globe. Ask: what do you notice is the same? What is different? Partners discuss for two minutes before sharing with the class. Use student observations to introduce the concept that flat maps distort shape or size to represent a round planet.
Prepare & details
Explain how maps and globes represent Earth's surface.
Facilitation Tip: For the Think-Pair-Share, provide each pair with a globe and a flat map so they can physically compare shapes and sizes as they talk.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Gallery Walk: Map Symbol Decoding
Post six to eight oversized map legends around the room, each from a different type of map (physical, political, weather, road). Students rotate with a recording sheet, writing what each symbol or color means. Reconvene to compare findings and discuss how different maps serve different purposes.
Prepare & details
Differentiate between land and water features on a map.
Facilitation Tip: During the Gallery Walk, post one map type per station and give students a simple decoding sheet with color and symbol definitions to carry with them.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Map Making: Our Classroom Continent
Students draw a simple map of the classroom (or school building) using a top-down perspective, create their own legend with at least three symbols, and include a title and compass rose. Sharing maps in pairs and navigating to a 'destination' the partner marks reinforces that maps communicate spatial information to a reader.
Prepare & details
Analyze how symbols and colors are used to convey information on maps.
Facilitation Tip: In the Map Making activity, model how to simplify classroom features into basic shapes before students begin drawing their own maps.
Setup: Tables with large paper, or wall space
Materials: Concept cards or sticky notes, Large paper, Markers, Example concept map
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic through repeated exposure to the same conventions across different formats. Avoid rushing to correct misconceptions; instead, let students discover them through hands-on tasks and peer discussion. Research shows that spatial reasoning improves when students manipulate materials and articulate their thinking to others.
What to Expect
Students will confidently identify and explain symbols for land and water on maps and globes. They will use agreed-upon conventions to create their own simple maps and justify their choices. Conversations and artifacts will show growing comfort with the idea that maps are models, not exact replicas.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring the Think-Pair-Share activity, watch for students who describe the map as an exact photograph of Earth seen from space.
What to Teach Instead
Pause the discussion and ask each pair to trace their finger along a coastline on the globe and then on the flat map. Prompt them to notice how the shape changes and why.
Common MisconceptionDuring the Gallery Walk activity, watch for students who assume all maps show the same information about land and water.
What to Teach Instead
At each station, ask students to read the map title and legend aloud, then write one thing they learned that isn't shown on the other maps they visited.
Assessment Ideas
After the Think-Pair-Share activity, give each student a small sticky note to write one thing they learned about how maps and globes are alike or different.
During the Gallery Walk, circulate with a checklist. Ask each student to point to one landform symbol and one water symbol, then explain what the color represents.
After the Map Making activity, gather the class and ask students to share one choice they made when representing land or water in their classroom map. Listen for evidence that they understand symbols and simplification.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge early finishers to add a legend and scale to their classroom continent map.
- Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide pre-cut land and water shapes to arrange before they draw their maps.
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to research and map a local landmark, noting how cartographers might represent it.
Key Vocabulary
| Continent | One of the Earth's seven large landmasses. Continents are typically separated by oceans. |
| Ocean | A very large body of saltwater that covers most of the Earth's surface. There are five major oceans. |
| Landform | A natural feature of the Earth's surface, such as a mountain, valley, or plain. |
| Symbol | A small picture or shape on a map that represents something else, like a city, road, or river. |
| Legend | The part of a map that explains what the symbols and colors mean. It is also called a key. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for Science
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
More in Earth's Shifting Surface
Observing Earth's Features
Students will identify and describe various landforms and bodies of water on Earth's surface using images and models.
3 methodologies
Rapid Earth Changes: Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Students will learn about sudden geological events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and their immediate effects on the Earth's surface.
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Slow Earth Changes: Weathering
Students will investigate how weathering (breaking down rocks) slowly changes the Earth's surface over long periods.
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Erosion by Water
Students will model how moving water carries away soil and rock, shaping valleys and canyons.
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Erosion by Wind and Ice
Students will explore how wind and ice also contribute to erosion, shaping landscapes in different environments.
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