Maps of Familiar Places: a week of ready-to-teach maths

Five days of lessons for Year 3 Space. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus plan pieces, position-word cards, a mini-check and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
3. Cut out the plan pieces and the position-word cards once; they are reused all week.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which picture to show and which buttons to press.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. A plan (a simple map) shows a place from straight above, as a bird would see it: a round table is a circle, a desk is a rectangle, and the legs disappear. On a plan, “above” and “below” mean towards the top or the bottom of the page, and left and right are as you look at the page. No grids or coordinates yet: the week is about what is next to, between, above or below what. Each plan in this pack sets its landmarks in neat rows, so every question has one answer.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 50 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day stands on the one before. Every plan marks a split point if your timetable runs two shorter sessions.

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day stands on the day before, so run them in order.

How the week builds

Day 1 turns side views into views from above. Day 2 reads a labelled plan, and Day 3 names where things are with position words. Day 4 follows and describes routes by their landmarks, and Day 5 creates a plan from position words. It leans on Sorting Objects by Their Features (AC9M3SP01) and Positions and Pathways (AC9M2SP02).

Materials for the week (one trip)

• From the classroom: scissors, pencils, glue sticks, this pack printed.
• A few objects to look down on: a cup, a box, a ball, a book.
• Plain paper and coloured pencils, for drawing plans.
• Cut out once, use all week: the plan pieces and the position-word cards.

Words for the word wall

plan, map, from above, from the side, landmark, label, next to, between, above, below, left, right, in the corner, route, past, start, finish, smaller

Dear families

This week in maths, Year 3 is reading and drawing plans: simple maps of familiar places seen from straight above, with landmarks placed next to, between, above or below each other.

Try this at home

• Look down on the dinner table together: what shapes do the plates and cups make from above?
• Draw a plan of your child’s bedroom and label the bed, the door and the window.
• Hide a toy and give directions with landmarks: go past the couch, then stop by the lamp.
• On the walk to school, name the landmarks you pass, in order.

Our landmarks this week

Fill one row a day: a place, a landmark in it, and where the landmark is.

Printed from the free seegongsik Maps of Familiar Places teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y3/space/AC9M3SP02/pack

A view from above

A plan shows a place from straight above. From above you see the top of each object, not its sides: a round table is a circle, a desk is a rectangle, and the legs disappear under the top. Looking down on real objects before drawing them makes the switch from the side view to the plan view.

We are learning to

• describe an object from the side and from above,
• draw an object as it looks from straight above,
• explain that a plan shows the tops of things.

Success criteria

• I can draw an object as it looks from above.
• I can say why a plan does not show legs.

You need

Objects to look down on: a cup, a box, a ball, a book, a chair. The plan pieces (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the board; start Session B with the worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• Drawing the legs on a plan. From above, the table top hides the legs.
• Drawing the side view and calling it a plan. A plan is the view looking straight down.
• Thinking every circle on a plan is the same object. A label tells them apart.

Answers

• From above: a table, a rectangle, the top of the table; a chair, a square seat with a thin strip along one side for the back; a bucket, a circle (the rim); a cup, a circle with the handle sticking out; a bookshelf, a long, thin rectangle; a drum, a circle.
• A cup and a bucket: a label, or the cup’s handle, shows which is which.
• My desk: a rectangle, with the things on it drawn from above too.

A view from above

Draw it from above

Each picture shows the object from the side. Draw it as a bird would see it, looking straight down.

My desk from above

Look straight down on your desk. Draw it and the things on it.

Read the plan

A labelled plan answers questions about a place without walking around it. Read the labels, then look at what is beside, between, above and below each landmark. The edges of the plan are the walls of the room, and the door, the window and the whiteboard are marked on them.

We are learning to

• read the labels on a plan,
• find where landmarks are on a plan,
• answer questions about a place from its plan.

Success criteria

• I can find a landmark on a plan.
• I can say what is next to it.

You need

The worksheet. A plan of the school, if you have one (the front office or the school website).

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the board; start Session B with the worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• Reading a label without finding its shape. Point to the shape each label names.
• Mixing up “next to” and “near”. Next to means right beside it.
• Thinking the top of the plan is the ceiling. The top edge of the plan is a wall of the room.

Answers

• 1 the bookshelf, 2 the bin, 3 the computer, 4 table 3, 5 the sink, 6 the teacher's desk, 7 the plant, 8 4.

Read the plan

This is a plan of a classroom, seen from straight above. Use it to answer the questions.

1. What is in the top left corner? ______________________
2. What is next to the door? ______________________
3. What is between the bookshelf and the teacher’s desk? ______________________
4. What is below table 1? ______________________
5. What is in the bottom right corner? ______________________
6. What is under the whiteboard? ______________________
7. What is next to the window? ______________________
8. How many tables are there for children? ______________________

Where is it?

Position words say where one landmark is compared with another: next to, between, above, below, left and right. On a plan, above means nearer the top of the page and below means nearer the bottom; left and right are as you look at the page. A position always needs a second landmark: the swings are below the slide.

We are learning to

• use next to, between, above, below, left and right on a plan,
• describe where a landmark is compared with another,
• find a landmark from a description.

Success criteria

• I can say where a landmark is, using a position word and another landmark.
• I can find a landmark from a description.

You need

A pencil and a rubber for each child. The position-word cards (cut-out sheet 2). The worksheet.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the board; start Session B with the worksheet.

Watch for these ideas

• Turning the page to read left and right. Left and right are as you look at the page.
• Giving a position with no second landmark, such as “the swings are below”. Below what?
• Thinking above means higher off the ground. On a plan it means nearer the top of the page.

Answers

• Gaps: 1 between, 2 above, 3 below, 4 left, 5 right.
• Find it: 6 the tree, 7 the slide, 8 the sandpit.
• The tap: any true sentence, such as “the tap is to the right of the bin”.

Where is it?

A plan of a park, seen from straight above.

Fill the gap

Words: between · above · below · left · right

1. The bench is ______ the sandpit and the swings.
2. The tree is ______ the bench.
3. The swings are ______ the slide.
4. The shed is to the ______ of the tree.
5. The slide is to the ______ of the tree.
6. What is between the shed and the slide? ______________
7. What is above the swings? ______________
8. What is to the left of the bench? ______________

Your turn

Write a sentence about where the tap is. Use a position word and another landmark.

Follow the route

A route is a path from one place to another, described by the landmarks it passes, in order: start at the gate, go past the sandpit and the bench, and finish at the swings. Following a route is reading those landmarks in order; describing one is naming them in order, with a start and a finish. No distances are needed yet.

We are learning to

• follow a route on a plan,
• name the landmarks a route passes, in order,
• draw and describe a route of our own.

Success criteria

• I can follow a route on a plan and name what it passes.
• I can describe a route with a start, landmarks and a finish.

You need

Coloured pencils. The worksheet. A short walk around the school, if you can.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the dashed route; start Session B with drawing routes.

Watch for these ideas

• Naming the landmarks in the wrong order. Trace the route from the start with a finger.
• Leaving out the start or the finish. A route needs both.
• Naming every landmark on the plan. Name only the ones the route goes past.

Answers

• The dashed route: start at the gate, past the sandpit, past the bench, finish at the swings.
• Shed to slide: a line from the shed, passing the tree, to the slide.
• Gate to tap: any route that makes sense, such as gate, sandpit, bench, swings, tap.

Follow the route

The dashed route starts at the dot and finishes at the arrow.

Follow it

The dashed route starts at the ______________ , goes past the ______________ and the ______________ , and finishes at the ______________ .

Draw it

Draw a route on the plan: start at the shed, go past the tree, and finish at the slide.

Write it

Write a route from the gate to the tap. Name the landmarks it passes, in order.

Draw a plan

Creating a plan is the reverse of reading one: each object goes where the position words say, drawn as it looks from above and labelled. A plan is much smaller than the real room, but shrinking it keeps the arrangement: the bed is still in the corner, and the rug is still between the desk and the bed.

We are learning to

• place objects on a plan from position words,
• draw and label objects as they look from above,
• explain that a smaller plan keeps the same arrangement.

Success criteria

• I can draw a plan that matches the position words.
• I can say what stays the same on a smaller plan.

You need

The plan pieces (cut-out sheet 1) and glue sticks, if children build the plan first. The worksheet. The unit’s self-check quiz.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the bedroom plan; start Session B with the question and the quiz.

Watch for these ideas

• Drawing objects from the side. Draw the top of each object, as on the plan pieces.
• Drawing the rug before the desk and the bed. Follow the steps in order: each one leans on the ones before.
• Thinking a smaller plan changes where things are. Only the size changes.

Answers

• Plan: the bed in the top right corner; the desk in the top left corner, under the window; the rug along the top, between them; the bin beside the door, in the bottom right corner; the toy box just left of the bin; the bookshelf in the bottom left corner. Shapes drawn from above and labelled.
• Smaller plan: where things are compared with each other stays the same; only the size changes.

Draw a plan

This bedroom has a window and a door. Follow the steps. Draw each thing from above and label it.

1. Draw the bed in the top right corner.
2. Draw the desk under the window.
3. Draw the rug between the desk and the bed.
4. Draw the bin next to the door.
5. Draw the toy box to the left of the bin.
6. Draw the bookshelf in the bottom left corner.

Smaller, same

Your plan is much smaller than a real bedroom. What stays the same?

Plan pieces

Cut out the twelve pieces. Each one is a piece of furniture seen from straight above. On Day 1, pairs match each piece to a real thing; on Day 5, children can lay out a bedroom with the pieces before they draw it.

Position-word cards

Cut out the twelve cards. On Day 3, pairs turn over a card and make a true sentence about the park plan with it, naming two landmarks; the partner checks it on the plan.

Teacher note: there is no answer key; a sentence is right when the plan shows it.

What we know: Maps of Familiar Places

Work on your own. This is a plan of a library, seen from straight above.

1. Seen from straight above, a round rug looks like a ______________ .
2. What is in the top left corner of the library? ______________________
3. What is between the computers and the plant? ______________________
4. Is the rug above or below the librarian’s desk? ______________
5. The plant is to the ______________ of the librarian’s desk.
6. The dashed route starts at the door. What does it go past? ____________ Where does it finish? ____________
7. A plan is drawn much smaller than the real library. What stays the same? ______________________________
8. Draw a bin next to the bookshelf on the plan.

Answers and marking guide

Answers

1. A circle.
2. The computers.
3. The librarian's desk.
4. Below.
5. Right.
6. It goes past the beanbags and finishes at the rug.
7. Where things are compared with each other (the arrangement); only the size changes.
8. A small circle, drawn and labelled, right beside the bookshelf.

A quick three-level guide

Eight questions, three ideas. A child at standard reads where things are on a plan they have not seen before, and says each position with a second landmark.

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

The five columns are the five days: views from above, reading a plan, position words, routes, and drawing a plan.