Topic: Distances on the map

Target group

4th‑grade students of elementary school

Class IV

II. Orientation in the field. Student:
6) reads information from the plan and map using the legend;

General aim of education

Students compare distances on the map with real distances in the field.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• define a concept of the scale;

• explain how to interpret correctly the linear scale;

• determine the distance between towns using the map scale.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• exposing

  • film.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• A4 pages with drawings of the notebook and benches;

• maps with a linear scale (one per pair);

• step or compass;

• ruler;

• table tents.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The students are paired up. The instructor distributes the A4 sheet of paper to the pupils, on which one page is drawn on a scale 1: 1, and on the back - a reduced bench. He asks students why the illustration of the notebook is bigger than the bench's illustration (expected answer: the bench is too big to be drawn in 1: 1 scale, so it had to be reduced).

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

Realization

• The lecturer asks the students to find an explanation of the scale in the abstract. The selected person reads them.

• The teacher displays the „Linear scale” illustration (see „Gallery 1”) and explains how to interpret it correctly.

• Students read the fragment marked with the heading „Important!” And compare the maps presented in the illustrations in the abstract („Comparison of maps on different scales”).

• Students solve interactive exercise no. 2.

• The lecturer announces a movie entitled „Measuring distances on the map” and instructing students to execute „Task 2”. Students formulate a research question and hypothesis, and the teacher displays the film. Students note their observations and conclusions.

• The lecturer distributes the maps, steps or compasses, rulers and checkered cards to the mentees. Students, according to the guidelines presented in the film, measure the distance between the places indicated by the teacher. After completing the task, the students write the results on the board. Together with the lecturer, they check their correctness and discuss it.

Summary

• Students independently solve interactive exercise no. 1.

• The teacher carries out a summary part of the lesson using the trash and suitcase method. The teacher hands out small pieces of paper in two different colours (e.g. green and yellow). On the green pieces of paper the students write down the useful knowledge and skills they acquired during the class. The yellow pieces of paper are used to write down things the students did not find useful or interesting. The teacher reads students’ reflections.

Homework

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Distances on the map

In order for plans and maps to work well, they must inform us about the distances between different places. That's why when creating plans, maps and sketches we use a scale. It is placed in the map legend and informs us how many times the actual size of an object or area has been reduced or enlarged compared to the same objects in the field. The scale can be shown as a linear scale. It is a representation of the scale on the drawing, thanks to which you can make a quick measurement on the map.

The exact measurement of the distance in the field can be easily obtained using any map that has a linear scale. You will need a bow‑compass or a scribe‑compass to do the calculations. The bow compass is better because it is more accurate, and every fraction of a millimeter can affect the amount of error. How to make such measurements, read the exercises below.

• The degree of reduction or enlargement of objects or distances on a plan or map in relation to the appropriate size or distance in the field is defined by means of a scale.

• The scale of the map or plan can be presented as numerical, nominated or in the form of a linear scale.

• Thanks to the scale, you can calculate the real distance between different places.