Reading Maps: Symbols and Grids

Geography · Maps & Globes · ages 8-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Going clockwise from north, which compass point comes next?
- East
- Northeast
- West
The key on Milo's map shows a small tent picture next to the word 'Campsite'. What does a tent symbol on the map mean?
- A campsite
- A church
- A railway line
True or false: a map's scale helps you work out how far things really are.
Circle one: True False
On a map, a blue wavy line symbol usually stands for...
- A river
- A road
- A church
Look at the grid of squares. To write a four-figure grid reference for a square, which numbers do you use, and in what order?
- Only the number along the bottom
- The number up the side, then the number along the bottom
- The number along the bottom, then the number up the side
A map's scale shows that 1 cm stands for 2 km. Two villages are 5 cm apart on the map. About how many kilometres apart are they in real life?
Answer: ______________
The campsite is northeast of the car park. If you stood at the campsite, which direction would you head to get back to the car park?
- Northwest
- Northeast
- Southwest
Ben says the grid reference for a square is just '5'. What's wrong with what Ben said?
- Grid references only use letters, never numbers
- A grid reference always needs two numbers: one along the bottom, one up the side
- Grid squares don't have any numbers on a map

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Northeast · Northeast sits halfway between north and east, so it comes right after north.
A campsite · The key matches each symbol to what it means. A tent stands for a campsite.
True · The scale compares map distance to real distance, so you can turn centimetres on the page into kilometres on the ground.
A river · Mapmakers use blue for water, so a wavy blue line is a river or stream.
The number along the bottom, then the number up the side · Always count along the bottom first, then up the side. That order never swaps.
10 · Multiply the map distance by the scale: 5 x 2 km = 10 km.
Southwest · The opposite of northeast is southwest, exactly across the compass.
A grid reference always needs two numbers: one along the bottom, one up the side · One number only tells you a column or a row, not a single square. You need both.