Maps, Symbols and Legends
| Objectives: | To interpret maps by using symbols found in the map legend. Symbols are the dots, lines and patterns used to represent natural and people-made features on maps. |
| Materials Needed: | A pencil and your map. |
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A map is a drawing created to represent the world or a part of the world's surface. Maps show where physical or natural features, such as lakes and mountains, are found. They also show where human or political features, such as cities and country boundaries, are located.
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Symbols are used to represent the features shown on maps.
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Map makers do not want people to guess about the meaning of symbols used on maps. For this reason most maps include a key or legend. The map legend lists the symbols used on the map and tells us what the symbols represent. Examining the map legend will help you understand the meaning of the symbols used on that map.
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Look at the map of the United States. Find the legend. The legend lists some of the symbols used on the map. It also explains what these symbols mean.
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The United States map legend shows that six dot-like symbols are used to represent the locations and population of cities.
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Use the six dot population symbols found in the United States map legend to answer the following questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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The United States legend shows that several different line symbols are used to represent canals, dams, country boundaries and state boundaries. For example, country boundaries are represented by red lines made up of one long dash and two short dashes. State boundaries are represented by red lines made up of one long dash and one short dash.
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Use the state boundary symbol in the United States map legend to answer the following questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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The United States map legend shows that a city with its name underlined and a star in the population symbol. The example used in the legend is shown below.
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| Use the state capital symbol found in the United States desk map legend to answer the following questions. Write the name of the state capital in the space next to the name of the state. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The legend on the United States maps shows that different colors are used to represent water and land areas. Bodies of water are all colored blue. Land areas are shown in shades of green, yellow, and brown. Shades of the colors are used to represent differences in land elevation.
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| Shades of green, yellow and brown are used on maps to represent elevation. The elevation of a place refers to its heights above the level of the sea. The legend on the United States map shows that dark green is used to represent places from sea level to 500 feet above sea level. Light green is used to represent land areas that are between 500 and 1,000 feet above the level of the sea. Bright yellow is used for place with elevation of 1,000 to 2,000 feet. Places with elevations 2,000 to 5,000 feet are represented by a yellow-brown pattern. Places 5,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level are represented by brown. Places over 10,000 feet above sea level are represented by a darker brown. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Answer the following statements about elevation in the United States. Use the six land elevation symbols in the map legend to help you. Circle T if the statement is true and F it the statement is false. |
| T | F |
| T | F |
| T | F |
| T | F |
| Note: Particular symbols are not used to represent the same things on all maps. For example, on the United States map various circles and squares are used to represent the population of a city. On another map the same symbol might represent a furniture store or a factory. This is way examining a map's level is so important. The legend will help you understand the meaning of the symbols used on that map. |
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Direction Mixers
United States Physical Political - Lesson 2
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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Water Features
United States Physical Political - Lesson 3
| Objectives | To identify and locate various water features on a United States map |
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water. Many different water features can be shown on maps. On your map all water feature names appear in a lettering style called italics. Italic lettering slants to the right. Here are three examples of italic lettering. On your desk map the italic lettering is printed with blue ink.
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A river is a large stream of water. The river source is its beginning. The river mouth is where the river empties into a larger body of water.
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The largest river system in the United States is the Mississippi River. Look at the United States map. Locate the Mississippi River. Trace the Mississippi River from its source in Minnesota to its mouth in Louisiana. Use the United States map to help answer the following questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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The Mississippi River has many important tributaries. A tributary is a smaller river that empties into a larger one.
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Use your United States map to help you answer the following questions about some other rivers. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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A lake is a body of water that is completely surrounded by land. The largest lakes in the United States are the Great Lakes. Use the United States desk map to locate the Great Lakes.
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A gulf is a body of water that extends from the ocean or sea into a large indentation of the coastline. The Gulf of Mexico is an example. The Gulf of Mexico is south of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
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Use your United States map to locate and name the following gulfs. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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A bay is an arm of an ocean, sea or lake usually smaller than a gulf. An example is Appalachia Bay. Look at your United States map. You will find that Appalachia Bay is located south of Tallahassee, Florida. Use your United States map to help you answer the following questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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States and Capitals
United States Physical Political - Lesson 4
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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Center of Population
United States Physical Political - Lesson 5
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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United States |
Latitude |
Longitude |
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Zip Codes
United States Physical Political - Lesson 6
| Materials Needed | A pencil and the ZIP CODE map, which accompanies this lesson. |
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The United States Postal Service distributes over 100 billion pieces of mail each year. To help speed the delivery of the mail, a special location system was introduced July 1, 1963. This system is called the ZIP Code. ZIP Code means Zone Improvement Plan.
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Look at the Zip Code map, which accompanies this lesson. The United States is divided into ten national areas. Each national area is given a number from 0 to 9. This is the first of the five numbers in a ZIP Code.
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Important post offices in each national area are designated as sectional centers. These sectional centers are assigned the next two digits. Many major cities have their own large central post office. These large cities would not be served by the sectional centers. In those cases, the second and third digits identify the city.
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Each sectional center serves several associate post offices. The associate post offices use the last two digits in the ZIP Code.
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Let's follow a letter that is mailed in Seattle, Washington to someone in Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310. The postal worker has never heard of Alamogordo, New Mexico. The worker does know that New Mexico is part of national area 8. She also knows that 883 refers to the Carrizozo, New Mexico sectional center. She puts the letter in the 883 slot and it is sent directly to the Carrizozo, New Mexico sectional center.
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Once the letter reaches the sectional center, it is then sent to Alamogordo, the local post office whose last two digits are 10.
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Below is an illustration showing how the ZIP Code for Alamogordo, New Mexico is established
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Write your ZIP Code in the boxes shown below.
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Find the first digit of the ZIP Code for each state listed. Write your answers in the spaces provided.
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The Postal Service has introduced the ZIP + 4 system. This is the original ZIP Code plus a hyphen and 4 new numbers. This ZIP + 4 system enables the Postal Service to sort your outgoing mail on high speed automated equipment to specific streets, specific buildings or even specific floors within a building. The boxes shown below illustrate how the last four digits of the ZIP Code + 4 work.
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The letter mailed from Seattle, Washington to Alamogordo, New Mexico was mailed to this specific address: |
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122 Indiana Avenue Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310-6722
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We have already traced the letter from Seattle to the associate post office in Alamogordo. Once the letter arrives at this post office, the postal worker looks at the + 4 part of the ZIP Code (88310-6722).
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In this example, the number 67 indicate the 1200 block. The number 22 means the building is on the side of the street whose address ends in even numbers.
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Scale
United States Physical Political - Lesson 7
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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| New York to Miami | ______________________ | |
| Houston to San Diego | ______________________ | |
| San Diego to Seattle | ______________________ | |
| Seattle to Denver | ______________________ | |
| Denver to Chicago | ______________________ | |
| Chicago to New York | ______________________ | |
| TOTAL MILES | ______________________ |
The Oregon Trail
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United States Physical Political - Lesson 8
| Materials Needed | A pencil and your map. |
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Answers for US Phy/Pol. Lessons Gr. 6-up
Lesson 1 - Maps, Symbols and Legends
Lesson 2 - Direction Mixers
Lesson 3 - Water Features
Lesson 4 - States and Capitals
Lesson 5 - Center of Population
Lesson 6 - Zip Codes
Lesson 7 - Scale
Lesson 8 - The Oregon Trail
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