Idaho Social Studies 2.SS.2.1.a
The Standard
- 2.SS.2.1
- Develop geographic mapping skills using maps and globes by
showing that map elements such as key, legend, and scale show how the map represents natural objects or places
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies · Geography: Students will analyze the spatial organizations of people, places, and environment on the earth’s surface and explain how human actions modify the physical environment and how physical systems affect human activity and living conditions.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students match map symbols to natural features, such as rivers, lakes, and hills. They use a key or legend to explain the symbols and a simple scale to find distances between places.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a map and its key, a student can identify a river and a hill by their symbols. If each grid square stands for one mile, they can count the squares between those places and give the distance.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think a blue line on a map shows a river's real width. Others count squares but forget to check how much distance each square stands for.
How to Assess It
- Draw four squares in a row, with a blue oval in the first and a brown triangle in the fourth. Add a key for pond and hill and a scale of one square equals one mile, then ask students to name the features and find their distance apart.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
On grid paper, pairs place blue yarn rivers and green paper forests, then draw a key and label each square one mile.
Show a map with a blue oval and a key; ask, 'How do you know it is a lake, not a river?'
Play map match: pairs match river, hill, and lake cards to symbols in a printed key, then count squares between two features.
Use a printed park map with a pond and distance bar; find the pond in the key and estimate the walk from the entrance.
Free download
Printable 2.SS.2.1.a Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 2.SS.2.1.a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson