Mapping the World

Spring Flood Plains, Unteres Odertal National Park, Germany
Available at AllPosters.com

Using Papier Mache to turn blank maps into relief maps is an excellent way to help children understand the meaning of the symbols and colors on a map. The following links show how this project could be done.

When homeschooling we used a large map of our state that we got from a yard sale. We built up the mountains with newspaper and glue made from flour and water and then dried it over a radiator. When it was thoroughly dry we painted the rivers blue and the mountains green. We covered the whole project with polyurethane.

1. One summer day we took it outside to run the hose over it to see how water flows downhill.
2. In the fall we drove up the valleys and across the mountains looking at the colors of the leaves and noted how our relief map compared with the actual layout of the land.
3. In the winter we went sliding and skiing on one of the mountains and another day went skating on one of the lakes.
4. In the spring we watched the banks of the river overflow as the ice broke and made ice jams. We saw that the water rose in the same way on our relief map when we had run the hose over it last summer.

Making a relief map was a hands-on experience that made the map skills we were learning come to life.

Europe Political Map, Executive Style
Buy at AllPosters.com

We begin using a blank map in conjunction with a labeled map. We fill in all the names of the states or provinces and as we do we try to notice and comment on the words, spellings, things we know about each place in order to help us remember where each is located.

Next we take a new copy and try to label as many as possible without looking at the answers. When we have filled in as many as possible we use the labeled map to again fill in the rest.

When we can fill them all in we may add the capitals, rivers or other features.

Sometimes we cut apart the map by boundaries and put it back together as a puzzle. For a real challenge, try cutting the map apart at random and try to put it back together.

Photo Credit: World Map
on WPClipart

These free downloadable games are fun for the whole family. Choose to play competitively or just explore countries, capitals and continents.

When I homeschooled my older children they loved playing the Map Puzzle games and soon learned all the countries on each continent. The Owl and Mouse map puzzles also be used on interactive Smart Boards.

visited 18 states (8%)
Create your own visited map of The World or try another Douwe Osinga project

It takes just a couple of minutes a day practicing your map skills to learn all the countries in the world. My children loved these map puzzles. It is fun to sit down together and talk about the different countries as you help each other put the countries back onto the map.