Me on the Map: My Home, My Town, My State & My World, Grades 1-4

Where do you live — and how would you show a friend the way there? This 60-page pack helps first, second, third, and fourth graders answer that question one layer at a time. Children begin with themselves and zoom outward step by step — home, then town, then state, then country, then continent, and finally the whole planet, drawing and labeling each layer as they go. Every layer gets its own page, so the idea of bigger and bigger places grows slowly and clearly.

Next come the tools real map readers use. Learners practice with a compass rose, work out which way is north, south, east, and west, build a map key of their own, label a town map and a land-and-water map, and follow directions across a grid. They also learn the grown-up skill of writing an address — putting the name, street, town, state, and ZIP code in the right order and addressing an envelope to mail. A fall parade route map brings the season in, and writing pages about their street, their neighborhood, and their favorite place in town make the learning personal.

Word games keep the new vocabulary fresh: a match with ten map words, a fill-in-the-blank with the same words, a word search, and a crossword. Ten true-or-false statements, a mixed review, and two ten-question quizzes check the whole unit, and five extra practice pages — reading a town map, the seven continents, drawing a route to school, ordering the layers, and a map journal — give fast finishers more to do.

Answer keys for every activity are included for the teacher only, plus a certificate on the final page. Every town, street, and state name in the pack is invented, so learners master the concepts with pretend places before swapping in the real names from their own lives. Print the pack and start on page three.