Geography: Map Projections: Which Map Would You Use? (Google Slide + Powerpoint)

Check out Geography & Math Made Easy for more resources: 

Teaching map projections can be challenging. This lesson is an easy way to give student the foundation they need to understand what map projections are and how each has its own level of accuracies and distortions based on size and shape of land masses and measurement/distance between points. This works very well with my students and is a fund group cooperative activity that requires higher-level thinking skills and or helps students develop higher-level thinking skills by analyzing various map projections, determining their accuracies and distortions.

OBJECTIVE:

• The learner will familiarize his/herself with the following map projections: Robinson Projections, Mercator Projections, Goode Projection, & Hammer Projection
• The learner will understand accuracies and distortions of flat map projections.
• The learner will understand the three variable of map projections: Shape, size &
  distance.
• The learner will investigate and explore various map projections to determine their accuracies and distortions.
• The learner will be able to determine what map projections can be used for accuracies of size, shape & distance.

MATERIALS:

• Presentation: Google slide format & PowerPoint presentation (included in zip file).
• Comparison Chart Listening Chart (1 per students)
• Activity Instructional Sheet: Map It! (1 per group)
• Internet connections to obtain a copy of a map projections. (For each group)
• Printer to be able to print the map projection.
• Poster boards or butcher paper cut into the size of poster boards. (One per group)
• Rubric: Map It Group Presentation
• Provide students with glue, markers, crayons, colored pencils, rulers and scissors.

PREPARATION:

• Review the presentation and be prepared to discuss the accuracies and distortions of the maps presented.
• Make a copy of the listening guide for each student.
• Have students bring posterboards for group assignment or cut butcher paper into
  poster board size pieces.
• Make a copy of the Activity Instructional Sheet: Map It! 1 per group.
• Make sure your students will have access to the internet to find a map projection
  to examine and a printer that will allow them to print off the map projection.
• Print a rubric for each group so they know what the requirements.

CLASSROOM SETUP:

• Desk and or table will be set up for students to work in team of two’s, three’s or whatever the instructor feels comfortable.

INTRODUCTION: (10 minutes)

• PowerPoint Presentation or Google Slide Show (This is the same presentation.
• The PowerPoint Presentation is included in the zip file.
• GOOGLE DOC SLIDE SHOW -- will receive with purchase

PROCEDURE: (Group Reading Activity—30 minutes)
Divide the class into groups. Provide each group with the Instruction sheet: Map It! As well as a rubric, poster board, crayons, colored pencils, markers, glue, a ruler and scissors. Explain the instructions to the class based on the Instruction Sheet: Map It. Review what the group needs to present during their group presentation using the grading rubric.

CLOSURE / EVALUATION: (20-30 minutes)
Students will present as a group their findings regarding their map projection.

VIDEOS FOR REVIEW OF CONTENT:

Will receive with purchase of lesson.

(Disclaimer: As time passes, some of these videos may be dropped from the sites, which is beyond the author’s control. Therefore, the author has included a wide range of videos for you to choose from in the case this occurs. If a video is removed from a site, this should not reflect the lesson score provided on Amped Up Learning as the author has no control over whether the site allows the video to remain on their site. Simply, choose another video provided or send the author a question asking for help finding another video. AUL asks the buyer to refrain from scoring until an attempt is made to contact the author and work out issues such as these.)