Maps are models of Earth — Earth science, 4–6 years
A map makes a very large, round world small enough to look at. It chooses what to show and uses signs to share information.
A small picture of a big place
A map is a smaller picture or model of a place, such as a room, a town or Earth. It cannot include every tree, house and stone, so it chooses useful things to show. Lines, colours and little pictures can stand for roads, rivers, borders or buildings.
Why use a map?
The real Earth is too large to spread out on a table, and a globe is not always easy to carry. A map lets us plan a route, compare places and explain where something is. Its symbols solve the problem of showing a complicated place quickly.
Reading a simple map
Suppose a park map has a blue line, a green square and a red star. The key says blue line means stream, green square means playground and red star means entrance. To find the playground, look for the green square, then follow the map from the entrance to that symbol.
The map is not the place
Someone may expect a map to look exactly like the place, with a tiny tree for every real tree. That seems fair because a picture usually copies what we see. But a map is a selected model: its signs show information, and its size or shape may be changed to make the place easier to understand.
Maps in daily life
You may use a map to find a classroom, follow a walking path or see where a bus goes. A phone map can show your position and suggest a route, while a paper map works without a battery. In each case, the map is a helpful model, not a second place.
Keep exploring
Other languages
Loading MyLeoNes™…