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3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 10

Map Tools & Grids

Legends, scales, latitude and longitude

What your child practices

Using a legend, compass rose and map scale; the Equator, Prime Meridian, International Date Line and tropics; latitude and longitude; and working out real distances with a map scale.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 3.1 · locating map features with geographic terms, latitude and longitude, and the map scale

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Equator splits Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Prime Meridian splits Eastern and Western.
  2. Latitude lines run east–west. Longitude lines run north–south.
  3. Use a map scale to work out real distance: multiply map distance by what 1 inch stands for.

Example: On a map, 1 inch stands for 10 miles. Two towns are 3 inches apart. How far apart are they really? Each inch is 10 miles. 3 × 10 = 30. Answer: 30 miles

Map Tools & Grids in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 2 of 10 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Maps of Our World and before Alabama's Land Regions.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The part of a map that tells what its symbols mean is the…

    • compass rose
    • title
    • scale
    • legend, or key

  2. Question 2

    A grid point written as 33° N, 87° W gives a place's…

    • latitude and longitude
    • address and zip code
    • elevation and rainfall
    • population and size

  3. Question 3

    Montgomery is about halfway between Birmingham and the coast. From Birmingham, Montgomery is to the…

    • west
    • northwest
    • southeast
    • northeast

  4. Question 4

    A map that shows one topic, like rainfall or population, is a…

    • road map
    • globe
    • compass rose
    • thematic map

  5. Question 5

    On a map of Alabama, 1 inch stands for 20 miles. Two towns are 3 inches apart on the map. How far apart are they really?

    • 60 miles
    • 20 miles
    • 80 miles
    • 40 miles

  6. Question 6

    The Prime Meridian is the line of 0°…

    • latitude
    • temperature
    • elevation
    • longitude

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