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1st grade · Social Studies · Unit 1 of 15

Maps

Symbols, directions, near and far

What your child practices

Reading a simple map with north at the top, using north, south, east and west, map symbols and legends, and near and far.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 1.4(A) · reading and making simple maps of the classroom, school and community

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A map shows where places are.
  2. The legend (or key) tells what each symbol means.
  3. North, south, east, west. The sun comes up in the east.

Example: What tells you what the symbols on a map mean? Look in the map's corner box. It is called the legend, or key. Answer: the legend (or key)

Maps in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 1 of 15 in 1st grade Social Studies, before Our Land.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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

    What is the opposite of east?

    🧭
    • ⬅️west
    • ⬇️south
    • ⬆️north

  2. Question 2

    What is the opposite of north?

    🧭
    • ⬇️south
    • ⬅️west
    • ➡️east

  3. Question 3

    Look at the map. Which way is the library from the house?

    ⬆️ North is up

    🟩 🚒 🟩

    🏥 🏠 🏪

    🟩 📚 🟩

    • ⬅️west
    • ⬆️north
    • ⬇️south

  4. Question 4

    Which one is farthest from the child?

    🧒🐈➖🌳➖➖🍎
    • 🌳tree
    • 🐈cat
    • 🍎apple

  5. Question 5

    On most maps, what color shows water?

    • 🔴red
    • 🔵blue
    • 🟡yellow

  6. Question 6

    Look at the map. What is west of the house?

    ⬆️ North is up

    🟩 🚒 🟩

    🏫 🏠 🌳

    🟩 🏊 🟩

    • 🌳park
    • 🏫school
    • 🚒fire station

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