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Schooling Active Monkeys

STEM Activities and Hands-On Learning for Kids!

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Map Skills for Kids: Planning a Route

Do your kids know how to plan a route with a map? Do you? This simple STEM activity teaches map skills for kids they can use to find their way around the world using a traditional road map. Use this activity to round out maps themed thematic units!

This activity is one of our favorite technology activities for kids!

Could your kids survive without GPS? Teach kids how to read and use a map old-school style and help them develop map skills for kids in this easy activity!Developing Map Skills for Kids

Without a GPS, I’m pretty lost even though I’ve taken navigation courses. I don’t want my kids to be in the same boat, so I try to make sure they can use all available tools to find how to get from A to B without the use of electronics! Map skills for kids is the first place to start.

Could your kids survive without GPS? Teach kids how to read and use a map old-school style and help them develop map skills for kids in this easy activity!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. 

Reading a Map

Supplies:

  • Road map 
  • Pen
  • Compass (optional, but helpful)
  • Permanent marker

Could your kids survive without GPS? Teach kids how to read and use a map old-school style and help them develop map skills for kids in this easy activity!I instructed Monkey on how to identify what each part of the map code meant. We found the lines that meant roads, rivers, state boundaries, and the mile code. We found that on our map, an inch equaled about 300 miles. We talked about how most maps are designed to be examined with north at the top, south at the bottom, east on the right, and west on the left. I had her identify various rivers, roads, and cities on our map.

Planning a Route

After decoding the map, I had Monkey plan a route. She wanted to travel to Los Angeles from Dallas where we live. She traced the roads with a marker, then estimated how long it would take to get there using the distance code. We added in extra time for sleeping. She decided it would take about 3-4 days to get to Los Angeles by car using her route. We discussed how to identify if you are still on the right path for your destination by identifying towns and road names along the way. This map skills for kids activity definitely helped boost her map literacy.

Could your kids survive without GPS? Teach kids how to read and use a map old-school style and help them develop map skills for kids in this easy activity!She was rather surprised that people used to leave the house with so little information!

More Map Unit Study Ideas

Could your kids survive without GPS? Teach kids how to read and use a map old-school style and help them develop map skills for kids in this easy activity!

Build Excitement for a Disneyland Vacation from Crafty Mama in ME

How Maps Change Case study: Boston’s Boundaries over time from Boston Kid Friendly

How Kids Can Create Sketch Maps for the Outdoors from FrogMom

Map Books for Young Explorers from Brain Power Boy

Map Books for Children: Intro to Maps from The Jenny Evolution

Continents and Countries Olympic Sort from Planet Smarty Pants

Maps Unit for Preschoolers from Bambini Travel

3 Free Puzzles to Make Learning the Continents Fun from Books and Giggles

Geocaching for Kids from Parenting Chaos

Map Activities for Kids: France, England, Ireland {Printables} from The Natural Homeschool

Travel Maps for Kids from CraftCreateCalm

Types of Maps from Something 2 Offer

Around the World Fun for Kids: Exploring Architecture from Artsy Momma

Using Maps as an Idea for Art Projects from Our Daily Craft

Making a Salt Dough Map from Tales of Education at Home

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More Unit Study Ideas

Become a better homeschooling parent with these homeschooling tips from expert homeschool bloggers and veteran homeschooling families. Want a fun activity to celebrate National Poetry Month? Try this free printable worksheet that helps create silly limericks for kids! Want to learn more about dice probability? This Venn diagram dice probability STEM activity is perfect for teaching the basics of probability to kids. Love Monarch butterflies? You won't want to miss this fun STEM unit study learning about Monarch butterflies and creating a 3D Monarch model. 1935715_10208970111228594_2250820117274616963_n
Want a fun and out-of-the-box way to learn about money? Do this fun design a coin project with your kids and find out why coins look like they do!

Filed Under: STEM Tagged With: geography, stem activities for kids

About Brenda Priddy

I'm Brenda, a mom to two girls with ADHD and a passion for science. Join us as we share fun STEM activities, science experiments, and other fun ways to learn!

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Comments

  1. Natalie PlanetSmartyPants says

    04 at 7:33 pm

    This is a great lesson! We also hope that our daughter will be able to navigate using a map!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hands-on Geography: Switzerland Unit Study with Case of Adventure says:
    02 at 9:24 am

    […] How to Plan a Route Using a Map […]

    Reply
  2. 35 Hands-on Geography Activities to do in 15 Minutes or Less says:
    07 at 9:31 pm

    […] View this virtual cave without having to leave your home. 12. Plan a route. Look at this activity Map Skills for Kids: Planning a Route, which won’t take too long. 13. Easy recipes are always a fun and quick way to learn about an […]

    Reply
  3. Map Activities for Kids: France, England, Ireland {Printable 3-Part Cards} - The Natural Homeschool says:
    08 at 9:01 pm

    […] Map Skills for Kids from Schooling a Monkey […]

    Reply
  4. Map Books for Young Explorers - Brain Power Boy says:
    11 at 5:16 pm

    […] Create Sketch Maps for the Outdoors from FrogMom Map Books for Young Explorers from Brain Power Boy Map Skills for Kids from Schooling a Monkey Map Books for Children: Intro to Maps from The Jenny Evolution Continents […]

    Reply
  5. Map Books for Children (Intro to Maps Study Unit) says:
    11 at 12:57 pm

    […] Map Skills for Kids from Schooling a Monkey […]

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HELLO THERE!

Schooling a Monkey is a one-stop shop for hands-on teaching ideas.

Here you'll find STEM activities, learning worksheets, thematic unit ideas, science experiments, and more fun tools for learning!

STEM worksheet

Adult supervision is recommended for the projects on this blog. Please read the instructions and recommended ages for each activity before deciding if the activity is appropriate for the children or child who will be doing the activity. Schooling a Monkey is not responsible for any damage or injuries that occur while replicating any of our activities. We strongly recommend taking any and all safety precautions before completing any of the activities listed here.

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