NY Social Studies K.6b

Social StudiesKindergartenKey Idea K.6

The Standard

Places and regions can be located on a map or globe, using geographic vocabulary.

New York State K–12 Social Studies Framework

Maps and globes are representations of Earth’s surface that are used to locate and better understand places and regions.

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students find familiar community places on a simple map. They use words such as near, far, next to, and between to describe locations.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can point to the school, grocery store, hospital, or train station when shown a community map. They can describe each location using map symbols and location words.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat a map picture as if buildings look exactly that way in real life. They may confuse left and right or think a globe shows individual neighborhood buildings.
How to Assess It: Give students a simple community map and say, “Circle the hospital. What place is next to it?” Ask them to answer with a location word.

Lesson moves

Build a floor map with blocks and picture cards, then place the school, grocery store, hospital, and station in labeled locations.
Display a community map and ask, “Where is the hospital compared with the school, and what map clues helped you?”
Give pairs location clue cards to read aloud while partners identify the matching place on a community map.
Use a local map to trace a route from school to a familiar community place, naming places passed along the way.

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