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3rd grade · Social Studies · Unit 6 of 11

Maps, Scale & Grids

Directions, distances and map parts

What your child practices

Cardinal and intermediate directions, using a map scale to find distances, letter-number grids, and the title, compass rose, legend and scale of a map, with places in Texas.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 3.4(A); 3.4(B); 3.4(C) · cardinal and intermediate directions, map scale and distance, and map elements including a grid system

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The compass rose shows north, south, east and west, plus in-between directions like northeast.
  2. If A is east of B, then B is west of A.
  3. Use the scale to measure distance, and the grid to find places.

Example: Dallas is north of Austin. Austin is ___ of Dallas. Switch the places and flip the direction. The opposite of north is south. Answer: south

Maps, Scale & Grids in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 6 of 11 in 3rd grade Social Studies, after Heroes, Writers & Artists and before Land & People.

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

    A symbol of a tent in a park map legend probably means…

    • a hospital
    • a campground
    • a school
    • an airport

  2. Question 2

    North, south, east and west are called…

    • map keys
    • cardinal directions
    • intermediate directions
    • grid lines

  3. Question 3

    The part of a map that shows directions is the…

    • scale
    • title
    • legend
    • compass rose

  4. Question 4

    El Paso is at the far west of Texas. To go from El Paso to Dallas, you travel mostly…

    • south
    • east
    • west
    • north

  5. Question 5

    A map's scale says 1 inch = 5 miles. A lake is 4 inches away. How far?

    • 9 miles
    • 4 miles
    • 5 miles
    • 20 miles

  6. Question 6

    Your grid map shows the school in A1 and the park in A4. They are in the same…

    • row
    • column
    • legend
    • scale

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