A beginners guide to map reading skills If you’ve decided it’s time to #GetOutside and…
It’s never too early to teach map reading skills to kids. We’ve pulled together our list of the best resources – books, podcasts and websites – to help kids build these skills and have fun in the process. They’ll be helping you navigate family walks in no time!
Books to read
Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills, by Scot Ritchie
This interactive book features a search-and-find technique to help explain and show key mapping concepts. Join Sally and her friends as they try to find Max and Ollie, a mischievous dog and cat who are hiding in maps throughout the book. The book is suited to readers aged 4-7.
Ordnance Survey Kids’ Adventure Book
OS experts have created a book that teaches kids everything they need to have an adventure. It shows them how to understand a map, advice for using a compass, plus what they should do in an emergency. Put their knowledge to the test in the map challenge section. Suited to kids aged 8-12.
What A Map Can Do, by Gabrielle Balkan
This book is designed to be an easy-to-understand and humorous introduction to maps for little navigators. Join a racoon on his adventure exploring maps, with each one clearly introduced and explained. What a map can do is aimed at readers aged 3-5.
Podcast
Curious Kids Podcast – Curious About Maps (episode 125)
What makes creating a world map tricky? Why do we need maps? And what is the world’s most expensive map? Find out in this podcast, which is sure to get kids interested in maps. Then they can take part in an activity at the end, creating a map of their local area using what they’ve learned on the podcast.
Websites to visit
BBC Bitesize – how to read a map
This BBC Bitesize article is a great introduction to map reading. Watch a short video about navigating the UK and another about using maps to find treasure. Learn about grid references, compass points and find out interesting facts about maps. For example, did you know that OS maps cover all the UK? Or that more than 6,500 trig stations – pillars built on high ground to support surveyors to plot accurate maps – were constructed across the country after WWI?
Homeschool Happiness – Printable Map Skills Worksheets
These worksheets are practical tools to help kids learn more about maps in an easy-to-understand way. Kids can choose from a range of worksheets, including map symbol matching, continent colouring, and labelling compass points. And the best part? They’re free!
OS’s Mapzone
OS’s Mapzone is a treasure trove of materials. Learn map skills, such as understanding scale, relief and contours, map symbols and compass directions. Find out more about geography, from river landscapes to weather and climate. There are games and map quizzes to try too.
OS Map Reading Skills – Beginner Guides
While not specifically aimed at children, these guides are designed for beginners, so would suit older children and teens well. A range of beginner guides are available, so take your pick. They’re themed around different areas of navigation – OS map symbols, contour lines, grid references, and more.
National Geographic – Map Skills for Students Collection
These website resources are aimed at teachers but can also be adapted by parents who want to teach their children more about maps. They’re designed for kids aged 4-8, specifically around map activities to improve spatial thinking skills. There are loads of suggested activities to choose from, which include the materials you’ll need for each one. Help kids plot maps of their home at different scales, measure distances between cities, or create a weather map.