Following a simple map
Geography · Early Years · The School
Looking down
A MAP shows a place from above. Imagine a bird looking straight down at it. A table from above is just a rectangle. A cup from above is a circle. Try drawing your own bedroom from above. Or your classroom. That is the first step in map-making. It feels strange until you try it.
Following a route
On a picture map you can trace a route with your finger. Start at the door. Go past the sandpit. Turn at the tree. Stop at the gate. Say it out loud as you go. That turns the map into directions. And directions are what maps are for.
Words for where
Maps need position words. NEXT TO. BEHIND. IN FRONT OF. NEAR. FAR. BETWEEN. UNDER. OVER. Say that the tree is next to the gate. Now someone knows where to look. Without those words, a map is just a picture.
Draw a simple map of a room. Put north at the top. Mark a route from the door to a chair. Stand at the door, facing the chair. Now walk it. The map matches. Now walk it BACKWARDS, from the chair to the door. Hold the map the same way up. Every left turn is now a right turn. It feels wrong. Now turn the map round so it faces the way you do. The route matches again.