Topic: Map scale and its types. Calculating distance

Author: Magdalena Jankun

Target group

5th‑grade student of elementary school

Core curriculum

Map of Poland. The student:

I. 1. Applies the map legend to read information and the map scale to calculate the distance between selected objects.

I.4. Reads the content of the map or the plan of the nearest school environment, referring them to the elements of the geographical environment observed in real life.

The general aim of education

You will calculate the distance on the map using the map scale, and you will apply the legend to read the information on the map.

Criteria of success

• You will explain what the map scale is and what it is for;

• name the types of the scale;

• calculate distances on the map and actual distances on different scales;

• determine the dependence of the map content on the scale size;

• explain why the actual image must be smaller.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in a foreign language;

• learning to learn;

• digital competence.

Methods / forms of work

• using ICT tools;

• activity with educational material and multimedia on the epodreczniki.pl platform;

• individual activity, activity in pairs, and collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook for teaching geography;

• interactive whiteboard;

• multimedia projector;

• tablets/computers;

• physical map of world;

• political map of Europe;

• geographical atlases.

Lesson plan overview

Before lesson

The teacher asks the students to bring one map or one plan to the next lesson.

Before classes

1. The teacher asks the students to look at the maps they have brought. A short presentation of the students’ maps: places they show. The students should note that the maps they have brought refer to different areas: e.g. countries, regions, cities, etc.

2. The teacher asks how it is possible that on a piece of paper of a similar size there are areas of different sizes. The students give their hypotheses.

3. Then, the teacher draws the students' attention to the legends of the maps, and asks what can be read from them. The students give their answers. The teacher draws the students' attention to the map scale. The students read the scales on the maps they have brought. A short discussion: how do these numbers differ? Why?

Realization

1. The teacher refers the students to the text contained in the topic of the abstract entitled „Map scale, map types and calculating distance”. The teacher indicates the student from the class to read the glossary terms: map scale, numerical scale, nominated scale, linear scale. Their content is visible on the multimedia screen. The students read the lesson material. The teacher points out that the scale informs about the degree of reduction of the Earth's image on the map in relation to real dimensions.

2. Based on a graphical presentation of the scale in the abstract, the teacher asks the students to indicate the differences between the scales. Then, the teacher chooses eager students to write examples on the board in each scale.

3. Work in pairs: using the maps in the abstract and geographical atlases, the students read about the map scales, such as the physical map of Poland, the map of Poland - agriculture, the map of Europe - relief, the map of world - relief. The selected pairs give the map scales and information on how many times the actual picture has been reduced. Then, they write the numerical scales they have read on the board.

4. The next task is to change the numerical scale to the nominated scale (eager students approach the board). The teacher gives examples.

5. Doing exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the abstract. Calculating distance in the field using a map with a numerical scale and a nominated scale. The teacher controls the correctness of the tasks performed.

6. The students open their atlases on a page with the map of Australia or use the map of Australia in the abstract. Commands for individual work or work in pairs:

• analyse the legend;

• change the linear scale to the nominated scale;

• calculate the distance on the map and the actual distance in a straight line from Geraldton to Perth (west coast of Australia).

7. The teacher refers the students to the information in the topic of the abstract: division of maps due to the scale size. Joint analysis, discussion.

8. Work in pairs with an atlas. Searching for two different maps, reading the scales in which they were made. Deciding which scale is larger and which map contains more details. Presenting the results on the class forum.

9. Interactive exercise - ordering elements: put the numerical scales from the smallest to the largest in the right order. The students do the exercise on the interactive whiteboard.

10. Interactive exercise - completing a text.The students do the exercise on the interactive whiteboard.

Summary

1. At the end of the class, doing an exercise on the interactive whiteboard. Combining the text in pairs. Combine the appropriate scale with the numerical scale.

2. The teacher assesses the students' activity during the lesson, appreciating their engagement and commitment.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Map scale, its types and calculation of distances

The presentation of any area on the map requires its image to be reduced. The degree of such a reduction, i.e. the map scale, shows the ratio of the distance between two points on the map to the corresponding distance in the field. The horizontal distance in a straight line is taken into account, not the real distance, taking into account the terrain. This can be written down as follows:

$\mathrm{map\; scale}= \frac{\mathrm{map\; distance}}{\mathrm{ground\; distance}}$

Depending on the type of the notation, there are several types of scale. When we write it as a fraction, it is called the numerical scale. It may, for example, be in the form of 1:100000 or 1/100000. Sometimes, the second way of notation is called a fractional scale. In both cases, this scale informs that one section on the map corresponds to 100,000 identical sections in the field. The actual length of the section, which is 2 cm on the map with the above scale, is 2 x 100000 of the same two‑centimetre sections in the field, i.e. 200000 cm, 2000 m or 2 km. Thus, 1 cm on this scale corresponds to 100000 cm, 1000 m, or 1 km.

We can present it as: 1 cm – 1 km (or 1 cm → 1 km). The notation is read in the following way: one centimetre on the map corresponds to one kilometre in the field. Such a scale is called the expressed scale.
Each scale can also be presented in a graphic form. We call it then the linear scale.

In relation to maps made in appropriate scales, the terms small scale or the large scale are often used. It is easier to understand the differences between them when you remember that the scale is a fraction, so the higher the number in the denominator, the smaller the scale. Since the numerical value of scale 1:1000 is much greater than 1:100000000, it is easy to interpret that the first is large and the second is small.

Due to the size of the scale, maps can be divided into three groups:

• large‑scale maps (in scales larger than 1: 200 000, e.g. plans for building plots, city plans, topographic maps, tourist maps);

• medium‑scale maps (from 1: 200 000 to 1: 1 000 000, e.g. car maps, overview maps, general geographical and thematic maps with larger scales);

• small‑scale maps (scales smaller than 1: 1 000 000, e.g. overview maps, general geographical and thematic maps with smaller scales, continental maps, world maps).