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Map Skills Worksheets for 1st Graders

10 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Parts of a map, reading a town map, cardinal directions, a map grid, following directions, making a map and the United States and its neighbors.

Download the map skills worksheets

Parts of a map

A poster, a label page with a word bank, a cut and paste page and map words to match.

Read a map

Use the map key, the compass rose and the grid to answer questions about one town, then follow directions.

Make a map and the United States

Draw a park map from directions and label the United States and its neighbors.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these map skills worksheets

A map is a drawing of a place from above. In 1st grade, children move from simple room maps to reading a whole town: using a map key, finding places with north, south, east and west, and finding a box on a grid by its letter and number.

These map skills worksheets use one town map all the way through, so children get to know it well. They learn the parts of a map with a poster, a label page and a cut and paste page, then answer questions with the map key, the compass rose and the grid, and follow directions box by box.

Children also make a park map of their own and label the United States with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Pages print on US Letter or A4, and pages with right answers have an answer key on page 2.

Standards

  • C3 D2.Geo.2.K-2Use maps, graphs, photographs, and other representations to describe places and the relationships and interactions that shape them.
  • C3 D2.Geo.1.K-2Construct maps, graphs, and other representations of familiar places.
  • C3 D2.Geo.3.K-2Use maps, globes, and other simple geographic models to identify cultural and environmental characteristics of places.

How to use them

  1. Start with the parts of a map poster. Point to the title, the map key, a symbol and the compass rose on a real map too.
  2. Use the read the map page before the directions page, so children know where everything is.
  3. Teach the grid with your finger: go down from the letter and across from the number.
  4. On the follow the directions page, let children move a counter one box at a time.
  5. Finish with the make a map page and the United States page.

Teaching tips

  • On most maps north is at the top. Label the walls of your classroom with N, S, E and W to practice.
  • A sentence like “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” helps children remember the order of the directions around a compass rose.
  • Map symbols are small pictures that stand for real things. Ask children to invent symbols for their own map.
  • On the US map, Alaska and Hawaii are drawn small in boxes. Show children where they really are on a globe.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are the parts of a map?

A title tells what the map shows. Symbols are small pictures that stand for real things. The map key tells what each symbol means. The compass rose shows north, south, east and west.

How is this different from the kindergarten map pages?

Kindergarten pages use a bedroom map and a simple map key. These 1st grade pages use a whole town with streets, add a map grid and following directions, and add the United States map.

Are there answer keys?

Yes. Every page with right answers has an answer key on page 2. The make a map page has no key.