· 2 min read · Ages 6–10 · Grade 1–4
Map skills worksheets with a brand-new town on every sheet
What is at C4? Which direction is the library from the school? Every print draws a different town, so the answers can't be copied from last week.
At the zoo, my eight-year-old took the paper map and led us to the otters without help. Right at the fountain, past the gift shop, there they were. On the way home he asked why the map had letters down one side and numbers along the top.
What the sheet looks like
The map skills generator draws a new made-up town each time you print: roads, a river with a bridge, a park and 10 to 14 places like a school, library, hospital and pond, all on a lettered and numbered grid. The grid is 8 × 8 (A–H) or 10 × 10 (A–J). Each map has a key, a compass rose with N, E, S, W or the intermediate directions added, and an optional scale bar. Below the map are 6, 8 or 10 questions, and the answer key prints separately.
The worksheet type picks what the questions ask about: map key, cardinal directions, grid coordinates, or mixed. There is also a blank make your own map page with an empty grid and key, and a Me on the Map page that goes from My House out to Planet Earth.
Why it works
- Grid coordinates on a map are the gentlest introduction to coordinates there is. C4 is a square with a playground in it, not a point on an axis.
- Because the town changes every print, a child who did the sheet last week cannot do it from memory this week. They have to read the map again.
- Direction questions make the child put a finger on two places and work out the relationship. That is the skill, and it transfers straight to a real paper map.
Who it suits
Map key questions on the 8 × 8 grid with four compass points suit first and second graders. Third and fourth graders should have the 10 × 10 grid, intermediate directions on, and 10 questions, with the scale bar used for distance questions. The Me on the Map page is a first grade social studies staple and works on its own. When the grid squares are easy, the coordinate grid sheet is the next step, with real (x, y) points.
Print the make your own map page after the questions, not before. Kids design better towns once they have read a few.