An essential skill
The use and construction of maps is one of the most distinctive of all geographical skills. Maps enable us to record and present information about places and spatial relationships and they can also help us to understand more about environments, both those in which we live or move about and those of which we have no direct experience.
Yet maps are not solely related to the study of geography. Maps and plans are encountered constantly in everyday life and the ability to interpret and use them efficiently is an essential skill. Indeed it was the need to express the vital importance of the child's ability to use maps and other graphical forms such as charts, diagrams, photographs and models that led to the use of the term graphicacy to complement the skills of literacy and numeracy. This section of the guidelines deals with the introduction and development of map work in the primary school years.
Mapping concepts
Understanding and using maps involves the simultaneous use of a number of concepts and skills:
- a map is a plane surface (twodimensional) represention of a three-dimensional landscape. As such it is a drawing from an aerial perspective, i.e. the view from above, a view which children will experience very rarely
- maps use a wide range of symbols to convey information. Some of these, such as lines to represent roads, and blue and green shading to show land and sea, seem to be relatively easy for children to understand but others are much more abstract. Colours may also be used to represent altitude, countries or environmental regions; a point may mark a railway station, a village or town; a cross may represent a church; and lines may show roads, rivers, canals, railways, boundaries or contours. The efficient reading of these symbols (which are not consistently used in all maps) requires the child to discriminate between the symbols, interpret their meaning and select those relevant to his/her needs
- if a map is to be used to find a route or as an aid to understanding an environment it must be aligned correctly with the features on the ground. The ability to align (or set) a map is known as orientation. In plans or maps of small areas this involves recognising features on the map and linking them to their real equivalents in the environment; the orientation of maps of more extensive environments such as that of the county or Ireland, requires a familiarity with directions, cardinal points and the compass
- locating positions on a map involves the use of some type of grid system or co-ordinates which allow positions to be described using horizontal and vertical references
- the construction and use of maps also involves the concepts of scale and distance. Understanding and using scale is dependent on the child's mathematical concept of ratio and his/her ability to measure accurately.