Directions and Maps lesson plan
Lesson Plan for Teaching and Learning Directions,
Map Making and Map Reading
Created by Robby Barnes, Sylvie Kashdan and Kaizen students.
Teaching students who are visually impaired (are blind or have low vision) directions, map-making and map-reading skills:
* helps them learn the language for orientation and mobility (O&M) skills that are necessary for independent travel;
* furthers communicative skills in the new language;
* develops map reading skills helpful in citizenship preparation and academic studies.
Objectives: Students will be able to recognize and respond to:
1. Basic directions:
* left, right, to my (left, right, etc.), to your (left, right, etc.), to her (left, right, etc.), to his (left, right, etc.), to our (left, right, etc.), to their (left, right, etc.),
* in back (of me, you, her, him, us, them, etc.), in front (of me, you, her, him, us, them, etc.),
* left side, right side,
* next to, between,
* north, south, east, west, etc.
2. Basic instructions for finding things in the environment:
* go forward, go back,
* turn around, turn left, turn right, go straight ahead,
* walk north, walk south, walk east, walk west,
* cross the street,
* find the corner, find the curb, etc.
Suggested Materials
* approximately 50 large index cards
* bold-line markers, patternwheels and braille writing equipment
* the same number of cassette recorders and blank cassettes as there are students
* enough materials for making group and student’s individual tactile maps of the rooms, floors of buildings, blocks, etc.: large pieces of stiff white paper (11 by 17 inches or larger)–4 4 pieces of the large sheets of stiff paper for each student’s four individual maps and 4 pieces of the large sheets of stiff paper for the group maps, brightly-colored wickysticks, pipe cleaners, string, pieces of cloth, velcro, buttons, textured paper, wood, masking or plastic package tape, glue, ring reinforcers, 5 packages of 100 2 by 4 inch self-stick labels for writing braille and large print identification of features to be placed on the map, etc. whatever is available.
Lesson activities
1. Exploration:
Teacher and students together begin by exploring and simultaneously talking in simplified English about a familiar small room (with the assistance of native language interpreters if necessary). Each student should have the exploration process recorded on cassette for later individual review. While exploring and recording, it is good to ask each student (or if English proficiency is not yet developed enough, ask a family member or another person who speaks the same first language) to record explanations of the spoken English in the first language too. This especially works well when a student grasps what is being taught from the interaction, and can say it on tape in her or his first language while it is fresh in her or his mind.
Everyone touches and talks about what is in the room, furniture, the basic features, what is on the walls, etc. and discusses what directions the walls, windows and doors are facing.
For example:
What is this? It is a door. It’s a door.
How many doors are in the room? There is one door in the room. There are two doors in the room.
Where is the door? The door is in front of me. The door is between the window and the space heater. The other door is across the room.
What is this? It is a window. It’s a window.
How many windows are in the room? There is one window in the room. There are two windows in the room.
Where is the window? The window is in back of me. The window is to the left of the door. The window is on the south wall of the room. The window is facing south.
There are two windows. One window is in back of me and one window is to my left. One window is to the left of the door and the other window is to the right of the door. One window is on the south wall of the room. The other window is on the east wall of the room. One window is facing south and the other window is facing east.
What is this? It is a table. It’s a table.
How many tables are in the room? There is one table in the room. There are two tables in the room.
Where is the table? The table is in front of me. The table is between the window and the door.
One table is between the window and the door. The other table is across the room between the other window and the space heater.
2. Review of Exploration:
Once the room has been explored and the English words for the major and most interesting features and their location have been introduced, play a game:
The teacher begins by asking the questions:
a. Teacher walks with each student and places her or his hand on the item, and asks: What is this?
Student answers (with support from teacher if necessary): This is …
Each student gets a turn.
b. If there is more than one student, each student takes a turn walking with another student of her or his choice or with the teacher, and placing her or his hand on the item, and asking: What is this?
Student answers (with support from teacher if necessary) (or teacher answers): This is …
Each student gets a turn.
c. If there is only one student, teacher and student switch roles and student walks with teacher and places her or his hand on the item, and asks: What is this?
Teacher answers: This is …
d. Teacher asks each student: Where is the … ? Can you find the … ?
Student describes location, goes to location and puts the teacher’s hand on the item and answers (with support from teacher if necessary): This is … Here is … The … is …
Each student gets a turn.
e. Teacher and students switch roles. If there is more than one student, each student takes a turn asking another student of her or his choice or the teacher for the location of an item: Where is the … ? Can you find the … ?
Student or teacher describes location, goes to location and puts the questioner’s hand on the item and answers (with support from teacher if necessary): This is …
Each student gets a turn.
3. Activity: Recognizing and Demonstrating Directions
a. Teacher asks students to do the following kinds of things one at a time; teacher demonstrates and guides students to follow; teacher repeats until the students seem to be comfortable with the language and activities:
Examples of demonstrated activities:
Stand up, walk straight ahead, turn right, turn left, turn around, walk forward two steps, walk back two steps, etc. turn north, turn south, etc.
b. Teacher helps students to ask the teacher and/or other students to do the following kinds of things one at a time; teacher guides students in demonstrating; teacher and students repeat until the students seem to be comfortable with the language and activities:
Examples of demonstrated activities:
Stand up, walk straight ahead, turn right, turn left, turn around, walk forward two steps, walk back two steps, etc. turn north, turn south, etc.
c. Teacher writes on large index cards in braille and large print the English phrases and sentences to ask the questions and give the answers for demonstrated kinds of things one at a time.
Teacher asks students for suggestions about additional sentences and phrases to write and adds suggestions.
4. Find it game:
a. Teacher puts large index cards with braille and large print questions about the location of features and objects in the room in a basket or box.
b. Teacher demonstrates picking a large index card, reading the question and saying where you think the feature or object is, then finding it.
c. Students take turns picking a large index card, read the question (with teacher’s support if necessary) and say where they think the feature or object is, then find it.
5. Making group and individual tactile maps of the small familiar room:
a. Teacher places on the table the materials for making group and individual tactile maps of the small familiar room: large pieces of stiff white paper (11 by 17 inches or larger)–one for the group map and one for each individual student’s map, packages of 100 2 by 4 inch self-stick labels for writing braille and large print identification of features to be placed on the map, brightly-colored wickysticks, pipe cleaners, string, pieces of cloth, velcro, buttons, textured paper, wood, masking or plastic package tape, glue, etc. whatever is available, and maybe making raised lines with patternwheels, etc.
b. Teacher and students begin by talking about what features and objects in the room they want to put on the map, and where to put them on the map.
Teacher asks: What are the most important and interesting parts of the room? What should we put on the map?
Students take turns answering.
c. teacher and students work together, using materials such as packages of 100 2 by 4 inch self-stick labels for writing braille and large print identification of features to be placed on the map, brightly-colored wickysticks, pipe cleaners, string, pieces of cloth, velcro, buttons, textured paper, wood, masking or plastic package tape, glue, whatever is available, as tactile markings. The teacher shows the students how to put the tactile markings that represent the things that are facing south at the bottom of the map (the edge nearest our bodies), etc. the tactile markings that represent the things that are facing north at the top (the edge farthest away from our bodies), etc. the tactile markings that represent the things that are east on the right side of the paper, etc.
d. Then, teacher and students discuss making their own maps by themselves or in pairs, with whatever help they may need from the teacher.
Teacher says: Now you can make your own map of this room. You can put what you want on your map. And you can leave off what you don’t want on your map.
What parts of the room do you want to put on your own map? What parts of the room don’t you want to put on your own map?
Students take turns answering.
e. Then, students work by themselves or in pairs, with whatever help they may need. The teacher circulates to help students remember to put the tactile markings that represent the things that are facing south at the bottom of the maps (the edge nearest students’ bodies), etc. the tactile markings that represent the things that are facing north at the top (the edge farthest away from students’ bodies), etc. the tactile markings that represent the things that are east on the right side of the paper, etc.
6. Exploring and making group and individual tactile maps of a familiar larger room:
Teacher and students explore a familiar larger room and go through the same exploration, naming in English, writing and reading, finding and map-making process as in 1 through 5 above.
7. Exploring and making group and individual tactile maps of one floor of a familiar building
Teacher and students explore one floor of a familiar (but not too complicated or large) building, such as the student’s apartment building, training center, etc. and go through the same exploration, naming in English, writing and reading, finding and map-making process as in 1 through 5 above.
8. Exploring and making group and individual tactile maps of one floor of a larger familiar building:
Teacher and students together explore a larger familiar building, go through the same exploration, naming in English, writing and reading, finding and map-making process as in 1 through 5 above.
9. Exploring and making group and individual tactile maps of one familiar block:
Teacher and students explore one familiar block, etc. and go through the same map-making process.
10. Viewing tactile maps of the city, country, etc.
Teacher and students begin to discuss the city, country, etc. and examine and interpret tactile maps, and of course, a tactile globe too. Everyone explores the tactile maps and globe by touching, regardless of their vision status. Teacher helps students find relevant features if or when they have difficulty.
Some basic questions might be:
* What part of the city do you live in? Can you find that part on the map?
* If you lived in a different part of the city before you moved to your current home, can you find that part on the map?
* What part of the state do we live in? Can you find that part on the map?
* If you lived in a different part of the state before you moved here, can you find that part on the map?
* What state do we live in? Can you find this state on the map?
* If you lived in a different state before you moved here, can you find that state on the map?
* What part of the country do we live in? (East Coast, West Coast, Northeast, Southwest, Northwest, Midwest, South, etc.) Can you find that part on the map?
* If you lived in a different part of the country before you moved here, can you find that part on the map?
* What country do we live in? Can you find this country on the map?
* If you lived in a different country before you moved here, can you find that country on the map?
* What streets go from south to north in the city? What streets go from east to west in the city? etc. Can you find them on the map?
* What (river, lake, ocean, mountain, road, other state, other country, etc.) is (south, north, east, west) of the city, country, etc.? Can you find it on the map?
Copyright © 2003/2018 Kaizen Program for New English Learners with Visual Limitations