3rd grade Map Makers

I always like to collaborate with classroom teachers and integrate academic subjects into the art curriculum. Since student were studying land forms in their classroom I thought this would be a great art lesson. We looked at all kinds maps and talk about how they are used. We discussed and reviewed land forms and talked about how a map is different from a landscape painting as a map is a birds eye view. Students learned about cartography and what a cartographer does.

Students designed their own map of a fictional or real place. They had a lot of freedom to create and were required to include the following: water and land, a title, a compass rose, and a map key with at least six land forms.