How To Read Maps

The original study was conducted by Edward C. Tolman at the University of California at Berkeley in 1948.

In the article “Do Maps Create or Represent Reality?” written by Laura Herbert as a high school senior on March 2002 is about how maps can tell stories. No map is 100% accurate and is usually only accurate in shape, area, or distance. There are different types of maps and each has its own strong points. Maps are good at representing a place it self, but they don’t define that the place exists. Mapmakers when making maps can each put their own personalization, this is what usually causes them to be different. Even though maps are not completely right, they still influence the way we think about the world. Mapmaker cannot just make up random things they need to have some sort of reality

Some English teachers might even argue that their content focuses more on rhetorical devices and composition rather than learning to read and write. Some teachers may say that they need to focus more on content than literacy strategies. However, simple literacy strategies can be taught that we will help students understand the content even greater. For example, a higher level literacy thinking skill is being able to properly label diagrams and maps. If a student cannot understand how to read a map of Europe they simple will not do well in a history class. Some teachers might not realize that they are teaching literacy skills by teaching a student how to read a map

I decided to sketch a map of Langley High School, which is the high school I attended from 2011-2015 in McLean, Virginia. While I have lived on the Colgate campus for almost two years, I find that I am not as familiar with Colgate’s campus due to its large scale compared to my high school campus. I attended Langley for four years, and I often spent a majority of my days at school, both during school hours and after for sport’s practices and games. As a result, I became very familiar with the layout of the campus, the function of different areas, and the overall dynamic of the school, both socially and culturally. Now that I am a Langley alumni, I went back to visit during Thanksgiving break 2015 and 2016, and was able to observe the school from an outside perspective. Through my observations, I became aware of different aspects of Langley that I had not noticed as a student. For example, the different in the tense and stressful dynamic of the second floor, and the more relaxed feeling of the bottom floor was something I did not notice until I walked through the halls after graduating. Additionally, the clear hierarchy and social divisions that exist as a result of grade differences was more prominent as a non-student. In my sketch of Langley, I represented more socially important spaces by drawing them to a larger scale, and less important spaces to a smaller scale. I also indicated the changing role of a space throughout the school day by using different

In Ted Binnema’s “How does a Map Mean?” the author describes how maps are used as a way of understanding how a particular society functions. In Old Swan’s map, it is evident that it was done by groups of individuals and not just one particular person given there are places on the map that Old Swan was unaware of. Therefore, maps are a portrayal of an entire community’s knowledge of their land and not just one individual. Given this, it appears that it is not about what a map means but how it is used to establish meaning for those who wrote it. Each map is created in a different way and it is useless to try to understand it without first placing ourselves in the mindset of the cartographer(s) who wrote it. Furthermore, some indigenous maps are created using many others and to completely appreciate them, it is best to assume that they were created to be understood by the people at the time and hence, this can be why they seem puzzling to modern readers. For instance, in trying to understand Fidler’s map, because Arrowsmith was completely consumed with modern cartography, he was unable to decipher the cartographic style of Old Swan’s map (which Fidler based his maps on as well as others (five maps total) ).

To assist students to “read with purpose and anticipation,” Vacca et al. (2014, p. 173) suggests, in their book Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, that teachers need to “create an instructional context” that activates their students’ “prior knowledge” and helps them to become interested in a lesson. Throughout chapter six, “Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest,” Vacca et al. (2014, pp. 172-173) explain instructional strategies that can lead students to “read with purpose and anticipation.” This chapter presents the reader with a plethora of instructional strategies and means for applying them, along with example for real educators. As I journeyed through this chapter, I discovered many instructional strategies,

4. List three examples of things a map can show. Answer: A map can show you a legend or a key to explain to you what the different symbols mean like (roads, highways, railroads building and more things that are man-made) The second example is that the map can show you a compass rose and that will indicate directions, it will show the North, South, West, and East. Third example is Line symbols and that can show like boundary lines, roads, streets, or routes of trade and transportation.

Over the course of the centuries maps have been used to find locations all over the world. They have evolved and to become more advanced, thanks to technology. Of course, there are specific ways to use a map such as basic components. Basic components include a compass rose which indicates the cardinal directions. Legends is the key where symbols are used to help find a point on the map, or in other words, lead the way. A scale can range from as far as a continent to as close as a house. All these components are important while using a map.

During my guided reading practice, I decided to choose two students that read at a level A. These two students were grouped together because they need almost the same help in order for them to grow as a reader. For this guided reading practice, I decided to choose the book “I See Flags” by Wiley Blevins. This book is a level B book. I choose this book because students are learning about maps during social studies, but also I wanted students to see the different flags from other countries. I wanted the students to know that flags do not come in the same color or shapes. With this book, the students are able to see and read about the different kind of flags and the different shapes that flags can have. With this activity, students are able to

Reading comprehension may be the most important skill for any student to acquire and is therefore an area of particular interest to educators. Without adequate comprehension skills, students are limited in their reading, analytical and occupational abilities. To many, including the student’s themselves, comprehension or “good reading” skills begin and end with simple decoding. It is thought that if students can ‘read’ and define the vocabulary they are reading, then they also comprehend what is read. True comprehension goes far beyond decoding, however. True comprehension requires visualization of a text, predicting events in the text, making inferences about the text and clarifying what is not

The article titled,” 5 Maps and Charts That Will Surprise You” by Ezra Klein asks,” Which chart did you find the most surprising?” The chart I found the most surprising was the chart that was titled,” Switzerland is the best place to be born” because I thought that the U.S. would be a better place to be born. Also, I didn’t know that the geography of a place needs to be counted to determine if children have the best chance of a happy, safe and prosperous life. I also didn’t think that trust in public institutions and the health of family life counted in children having the best chance for a happy, safe and prosperous life. I didn’t think these would be needed because these don’t seem that important to live a happy, safe, and prosperous life.

REAL reading strategies can be used to remind students of how to read informational text. The strategies are:

MAP-IT represents an affective configuration of steps that is broken down into five categories that include mobilize, access, plan, implement and track (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Beginning with mobilizing a vision statement is created along with identifying the needs within that community. Access is a matter of establishing what the needs are and what is available for those that are affected. Planning is establishing goals and determining when those milestones are met. Implementing is a matter of staying true to the course and the guidelines set to reach the end result along with pinpointing where improvements can be made. Lastly, tracking is not just the last step but really where the most important recovery

After completing all the assessments and the parent interview, reading and writing activities were differentiated and conducted during whole group and small group instruction. Bear (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009c) discusses using the RRWWT Framework for guiding instruction for students. During the Read To activity, the Emperor’s Egg (Jenkins,) is read whole group to the students. This is an information text which uses labeled diagrams and captioned pictures throughout to provide additional information about the topic. During the Read To, students are following along in their basal as I read, and I have students discuss the diagrams of the Emperor Penguin. Drawing attention to the diagrams and teaching the students how illustrations and diagrams within text can aid in their understanding of what is being read seems to help the struggling reader. Using the visuals such as the diagrams helps this

Maps are summarized real word for particular purposes and humans read maps to make a decision in real world. The position of map reader is essential for finding relevant information through the map. Therefore, the map reader position was explicitly indicated in the