Cardinal Directions on a Map

An island map fills the top of this 2nd grade page, with a compass rose beside it marked N, E, S and W and seven small symbols on the land: a tree, a pond, a bush, a flower bed, a bench, a house and a tent. A key beside the rows names all seven. Below are six numbered rows. Each starts with one of the symbols in a square, then a direction word in an orange pill, then three symbols in circles. The child finds the first picture on the map, looks the way the word says, and circles the one of the three that lies that way. All four direction words are used, two of them twice.

This face uses the compass rose for what it is for: finding things on a map. The child has to hold two things at once, where they are starting and which way the word points, and the three choices are spread across the map so only one lies in that direction. The rose sits beside the map rather than on it, so check that children read north as the top of the map before they start. There are no steps or squares to count; it is a looking task, not a route.

One sheet, six rows, six circles. The house and the tent are drawn as seen from above, a two-tone roof and a round striped tent top, and the key beside the map names them, so a quick look at the key before starting saves questions. In the C3 Framework this supports D2.Geo.1.K-2. The compass rose face is the right page to do first, and a map of the school yard with the four directions marked on it is a good follow-up.