Idaho Social Studies 6-9.WG.2.3
The Standard
Describe the relative location of people, places, and objects by using positional words, including but not limited to cardinal directions and distance.
Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students describe where a person, place, or object is compared with a named starting point. They use directions such as north and west, and give distances when a map has a scale.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a map with a compass rose and scale, a student can say the clinic is 2 km east of the school. They can switch the starting point and say the school is 2 km west of the clinic.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may say 'east' without naming what the place is east of. They may swap east and west when they switch the starting point, or count squares as kilometers without checking the scale.
How to Assess It
- Draw a school at the center of a grid marked 1 km per square. Put a park two squares west and a clinic four squares north, then ask students to describe both places relative to the school.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place sticky-note landmarks on a gridded desk map, mark north, and have pairs describe each landmark's direction and distance from the school.
Show a town map and ask, 'Is the library east or west of the park? How do you know?'
Play landmark guess: partners use matching maps to describe a mystery location from the school, using direction and distance.
Use a local street map with a scale to describe the library's direction and distance from the school.
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Related Standards
- 1.SS.2.1.a
using basic map symbols, including references to land, water, cities, and roads
- 6-9.WG.2.1
Apply latitude and longitude to locate places on Earth.
- K.SS.2.2
Describe the relative location of people, places, and objects by using positional words, including but not limited to near/far, over/under, above/below, left/ri...
- 1.SS.2.1.b
using cardinal directions on maps
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