Map Skills Teaching Resources
Everything you need for teaching map skills in your classroom has been brought together in one place by the Teach Starter team! Find printable map skills worksheets, teaching resources about cardinal directions, longitude and latitude activities and more — all created by teachers for your elementary classroom!
Each curriculum-aligned teaching resource has been rigorously reviewed by our teacher team to ensure it meets standards, has been fact- and spell-checked, and is ready to be downloaded and used in your geography lessons!
New to teaching this part of the social studies curriculum? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including a look at the key map skills students should learn in elementary school and why this is still important in a GPS world.
What Are Map Skills? A Kid-Friendly Definition
So you're ready to start your map skills unit ... but how do you explain the concept to your class?
Map skills can be described rather simply for kids as what we need to know in order to read a physical map.
Which Map Skills Do Elementary Students Need to Know?
But what are those specific things that our students need to know in order to be skilled at map reading? Let's take a look at the major elements of a map that kids need to be able to identify and use in order to better understand the world.
On the elementary level, students should be learning to identify the following elements of a map:
- Cardinal Directions — North, South, East, West
- Symbols — Icons or pictures on a map that represent different features such as parks, schools, hospitals, airports, etc.
- Map Legend — A key that explains what each symbol or color on a map represents
- Map Scale —The relationship between the distance on a map and the distance in the real world
- Landforms — Different types of landforms such as mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers
- Major Bodies of Water — Oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and more
- Continents — The seven continents of the world and their general location on the map
- Hemispheres — The four hemispheres of the earth: Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western
- Latitude and Longitude — The grid lines that are used to locate places on the map using coordinates
- Borders — The lines that separate countries, states and territories on a map
Why Are Map Skills So Important for Kids to Learn?
It may not feel like a pertinent skill for students in our GPS era, but the skills involved in reading a map are just as important today as they've ever been!
These social studies lessons will help your students develop their spatial thinking, learning to take in data and interpret it. With a map, students get visual data that they can then put to use — calculating the distance between two points, for example, or determining where a river flows to better understand why a road cannot extend in that direction.
Map skills also help our students better understand symbols and their relationships to pictures, objects and distance. As students get acquainted with the various map elements such as a compass rose and scale, they begin to be able to put these things into perspective.
To help aid your class in developing the map skills they need to meet Common Core and state standards this school year, our team has created both digital and printable resources with activities and worksheets ranging from the primary grades to upper elementary!
Looking to extend your map skills lessons? Print blank maps of the United States and each of the 50 states right here on Teach Starter, and get ready to read the map!
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Free Map Skills Worksheet- Using Cardinal Directions
A worksheet to practice using cardinal directions.
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Reading a Map Worksheet
Develop elementary grade map skills with a map-reading worksheet.
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Cardinal Directions Worksheet for First Grade
Use cardinal directions to create a simple town map with this 2-page cut-and-paste activity sheet.
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Using Coordinate Grids-Map Skills Worksheets
A set of 13 worksheets to help teach map skills to students.
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Latitude and Longitude Worksheet
Use this free latitude and longitude worksheet along with Google Maps to teach your students about longitude and latitude.
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Map Reading for Kids - Primary Map Skills Instructional Slide Deck
Teach of the components of a map with an instructional slide deck for first grade.
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Texas Map Symbols Worksheet
Use a map key and symbols to identify and name land features, cities, and regions of Texas with a worksheet.
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Latitude and Longitude Poster
Use this educational poster when students are learning about geographical coordinates, latitude and longitude.
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A Map of Our School - Mapmaking Project
Develop primary grade map skills with a map-making project for first and second grade.
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Map Symbols Matching Activity
Practice identifying the symbols found on a map with a map symbol matching activity.
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Me on the Map - City Map Project
Engage young learners in developing their map skills with a design-your-own map project.
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Leisure Land - Map Skills Worksheet
Practice using cardinal directions with this carnival map and worksheet.
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Features of Maps Posters - B.O.L.T.S.S
Explore the features of maps using this set of colorful classroom posters.
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Earth's Hemispheres Worksheets
Practice identifying landforms in the northern and southern hemispheres with a pair of printable geography worksheets.
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Community Giant Coloring Page and Map Skills Worksheet
An activity to practice map skills using a giant map of a community.
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Create Your Own Map - Worksheet
Create simple maps of familiar places with this set of map templates and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Treasure Map Coding Robot Mat
Implement coding for kids with coding robots and a printable coding robot map activity.
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Cardinal and Intermediate Direction Posters - Compass Rose
Display these cardinal and intermediate directions posters when exploring the compass rose with your students.
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Interpreting the World Map and Map Features – Slide Deck
Explore the key map features of world maps with this 18-slide PowerPoint presentation.
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Reading a Map Grid Worksheet
Develop elementary grade map skills with a coordinate grid worksheet.
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Using Cardinal and Intermediate Directions Worksheet
Use cardinal and intermediate directions to determine locations around the United States with a map reading worksheet.
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Mapping Our Classroom - Mapmaking Project
Develop primary grade map skills with a classroom mapping project.
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Maps and Globes Vocabulary Picture Puzzles
Make your geography lessons more fun with a set of map and globe picture puzzles.
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Places on a Map Task Cards
Teach your kindergarten and first-grade students to read community maps with a set of task cards.
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Maps and Globes Writing Center
Blend your Geography and Writing instruction with Maps and Globe Writing prompts for third grade and up.
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Maps and Globes-Exit Tickets
Assess student map and globe skills with twenty exit ticket worksheets.
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Me on the Map - Map Elements Presentation
Teach the components of a map with a map elements teaching presentation.
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Elements of a Map Match-up Activity
Answer the question "What are the key elements of a map?" with a map element matching activity.
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Map Elements Worksheet
Apply knowledge of the components of a map to this map elements worksheet.
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Moving Through Maps - Barrier Game
Practice basic mapping skills with a fun partner game that encourages use of positional language.
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Treasure Island - Mapping Skills Worksheet
Put mapping skills into practice by creating a map of a treasure island!
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Latitude and Longitude Banners
Latitude and longitude banners to display in the classroom when studying geography.