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Overview:
This lesson emphasizes map projections and has students consider the different types of map projections and the most appropriate projections for various uses. After reading about, seeing graphics of, and taking notes on a variety of map projections, students will pretend to be cartographers and will specify which types of map projections would be the most valuable for their clients.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, earth science, social studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective"
Time:
Three to four hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
Objectives:
Students will
- do the Globe Projector activity in the Xpedition Hall and take notes on the different map projections;
- list the pros and cons of the map projections they have learned about;
- read and take notes on a feature article describing map projections and their purposes;
- pretend they are cartographers, and explain which type of map projection they would use for a variety of purposes; and
- pretend they are cartographers, and create maps that would be relevant for particular clients.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Have students do the Globe Projector activity in the Xpedition Hall. Ask them to take notes on the differences between the map projections they see (have them keep the database in outline mode).
Development:
Have students list the pros and cons of each of the projections they have seen. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using each projection?
Have students go through the Round Earth, Flat Maps feature. Ask them to take careful notes on the purposes of each map projection they read about.
Ask students to pretend they are cartographers who have been asked to make maps for several clients with very different needs. Ask them to explain which projections and design features they would use for each of the following clients, using details from the Xpedition Hall site and the feature they visited.
- A company that produces geography textbooks
- An adventure travel company that is sponsoring an expedition to the North Pole and needs maps for the expedition
- A nonprofit organization that is mapping the world's population
- A company that makes road atlases
- A sailboat manufacturer that wants to expand its product line into the map business
Closing:
Discuss students' research results. Which map projections do they think would be the most suitable for which of the clients, and why?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have each student choose one of the fictitious clients from the above list and create a map that would be useful to that client. The map should look the same as other projections of the same type that students have seen in their research, and it should include actual geographic and demographic features (when appropriate) to make it particularly relevant to that client (e.g., the map for the nonprofit organization would contain some population information). Students will probably need to conduct further research to find out what these maps would look like.
Extending the Lesson:
Have students visit a bookstore or sporting goods store and find maps in books or stand-alone maps available for purchase. What projections can they find? Why do they think these projections were used? Do they see any projections that they think are particularly unusual, interesting, or inappropriate?
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