Mrs. Coomber's Kinderland

My kindergarten students are currently working on a quarter-long project exploring what makes our community special. This is a collaborative, interdisciplinary project designed to help students explore who they are and how they fit within their communities (home, school, and greater areas). Read more about the project beginnings here and here. In this project, we use maps as a resource to help us learn more about our community.

After learning some map skills (see mapping our classroom), I asked students to think about their own neighborhoods. We discussed the term ‘neighborhood’ and used our school neighborhood as an example.

I then read the book, Map My Neighborhood, by Jennifer Boothroyd. This book outlines perfectly the steps a young child uses to draw a map of her neighborhood for the purpose of teaching her grandmother where she lives. I love the way she introduces using symbols and a map key to help others to read her map.

Inspired by this book, my students began to brainstorm and draw ideas for their own neighborhood maps on whiteboards. I was pleasantly surprised by my students’ growing knowledge of map features and geography. Look at the details in these drawings. I love the map key, compass, labels, and cul-de-sac.

The next day, my students were tasked with creating their neighborhood map with construction paper. I gave them a piece of brown paper for the base of the map and then set out colored paper cut into strips and squares.

When students completed their maps, I gave them a template to create a map key to help visitors read their maps.

I display these maps outside my classroom each year.

I love recording the exact words that my students say when they describe their map and displaying these quotations with the maps for our school community to read.

For example:

This is Casey’s and this is the parking lot with rocks. And this is the road to my house. My neighbors are all along here. And this is the Mississippi River.

5-year-old student

Here is my map key. This is the grass, and this park is really big. This is the road, and these are my houses. Mine is 26. I put all the numbers on my neighbors’ houses. And this is Casey’s, and the 24-hour store with all the furniture.  

6-year-old student

Even after teaching for more than 20 years, I am still amazed at the knowledge that young children hold.