A child hands a visitor a carefully drawn map of the reading corner. There’s a book shape, an oval and a chair—but the key shows a star beside “book tub”. Could the visitor find the tub without the mapmaker pointing first? That small moment sets up a lively map-reading challenge.
Start with three familiar features
Choose a small, teacher-approved space and ask children to look closely at three features. The Observe and Locate page lets them select their own observation as the source, record each feature and where it is, then add a sketch. Model useful position words with real objects: the book tub is beside the mat; the chair is near it.
The final prompts ask what the evidence shows and what it doesn’t tell them. A teacher-added example might be: “My evidence shows where the three features are. It doesn’t tell me which feature children prefer.” This keeps the answer tied to what was actually observed. It also makes a focused connection with Year 1 HASS work on locating features and recording information from observations, as outlined in the QCAA alignment.
These learner pages are from Our Place Atlas - Year 1, which allows a teacher-approved local observation to replace parts of the fictional case when it’s safe and suitable.
Give each symbol one clear meaning
Now imagine a reading corner with a book tub beside a mat and a chair near the mat. A child might draw a small book for the tub, an oval for the mat and a chair outline for the chair. The symbols don’t need to be conventional map symbols; they simply need to be recognisable and repeated in the key with the correct meanings.
Make the mismatch easy to spot. If the map uses a book drawing but the key places a star beside “book tub”, the reader has nothing to match. Replace the star with the same book drawing, then ask the child to explain the repair.
Put the key to work on the map
The Make a Readable Map page accepts D3 or approved observations. For this activity, children can transfer the observations they just gathered. They add a title, draw and label the features, and complete the three symbol-and-meaning rows. Then they check the printed list: title, labels, matching key, relative positions and not to scale. “Not to scale” means the drawn sizes and gaps can’t be used to calculate real distances. Three key entries suit this page; they aren’t a general curriculum rule.
Keep the observed relationships as children draw. Beside and near are useful starting points. If children use left, right or behind, have both partners look from an agreed position in the same direction.
Let a partner be the visitor
Hand the map to a partner and say, “You’re visiting our reading corner. Can you find the book tub on my map? Show me which part of the key helped you.” Let the visitor point and explain before the mapmaker steps in. Oral responses, pointing or adult scribing can keep the discussion focused on the map rather than handwriting.
If the visitor hesitates, compare the map symbol with its key entry and meaning. Repair any mismatch and try again. If those already match, check the label and relative position together. Then swap roles and complete the page’s partner response.
The clearest finish is the reader’s own explanation: “That symbol means the book tub because it matches the key.” One repaired entry and a second attempt can reveal far more than a polished map that nobody else has tried to read. Explore Our Place Atlas - Year 1 for both featured pages and their place within the wider mapping inquiry.