A study of toy-play mapping by three-, four-, and five-year-old children demonstrates that children can clearly represent a cognitive map at the age of three. Mapping, therefore, is developmentally primitive and formal map learning can begin at the age of school entrance. (JH)

Questions investigated in this study deal with relationships between map problem difficulty and students' acquired level of intellectual development, the effects of sequential mastery of map concepts, and the optimum age to introduce certain map concepts in the geography curriculum. In the main investigation, which covered varied selected,…

This educational research project is designed to assess an elementary student's quality of reasoning in relation to map skills and to determine spatial concept abilities. 21 activities are designed to test sense of proportion, scale, dimension, accurate relationship, and abstract thinking. The related topographical map, a Map-Study Scoring Key,…

Describes a kindergarten/first-grade and a second-grade program for teaching map reading skills. Suggests that map- reading instruction is required to improve children's geography knowledge. Provides ideas on how to observe the environment, use photos, encourage block play, use books, share maps, construct a model of the classroom, read cardinal…

Describes a field sketch mapping project conducted with a sixth-grade class. The project involved selecting appropriate sites around the school to map, organizing the students, and instructing them about measuring distances and drawing maps. Illustrations include assignments and examples of students' work. (MJP)