Map the Classroom, Map the World

If you are lost but afraid to ask the way, look it up on the map and you will find your way. The following is a note on teaching by Darmian Samosir, S.Pd, a Social Studies Teacher at SMPN I Sidikalang, Dairi, North Sumatera

FOR me, a map is more than just a picture with information. A map is an important guide for life. If one studies it diligently, a map should be a valuable resource for students in the future. I tried to teach basic competency 4.1, which is to use a map, an atlas or a globe as ways to find information about the area. I used to only asked my students to draw a map based on the ones already available, but this time I asked my students to make a map of their surroundings. This competency was completed in four teaching sessions.

Mapping a Friend’s House

I asked my students if they could make a map of their friend's house if they've never visited them. As expected, they said no. It was then that I told them that they would be mapping their friend's houses. At first I asked the students to draw the route they take from home to school. I asked them to recall the buildings or important signs that they passed every day. They had to include these buildings and signs on the map.

Each student worked on their own for this task. This route helped them identify where their friends live. This made some of them realize how close their friend's home are. Following that I explained to my students about the difference between a map, an atlas and a globe. Different types of map as well as their forms and uses were also explained.

What's Required to Make a Map

In the next meeting I asked students to identify things that are required to make a map. To challenge them, I came up with two questions:
1) why do maps use certain colors like green, yellow, brown and blue?; and
2) why does each map have to use a scale, yet the scales are often different?

I then informed them about the material they were going to study. Colors represent certain information; green represents forests. Numbers represent enlargement and reduction. I then asked students to work in group to count the actual distance between cities M and Q, which measures 12.5cm on a 1:3.500.000 scale map. A map's size can be enlarged or reduced and this process is done according to needs. I showed students how to enlarge or reduce a map and then asked them to do it themselves.

Mapping the Classroom

In the last meeting, I asked students to make a map of their classroom. The first step was for students to measure the classroom and the objects in it, such as chairs, desks, windows, etc. Students then drew the classroom on squared paper with measurements that were set beforehand. Even though the students worked n groups to measure the classroom, they worked independently when drawing the map. One student, Andreas P. Sirait, particularly enjoyed the learning process. He said he now understands the functions of a map, the process of making it and its uses.