A map is a drawing that shows where places are. Maps help us find our way. A map can show a small area, like your classroom or your neighborhood. Or a map can show a huge area, like your country or the whole world. Maps use symbols, colors, and labels to show real things – like roads, rivers, mountains, and cities. What is a map?

Directions help us describe where things are on a map. The four main directions are called cardinal directions. They are: North (N), East (E), South (S), and West (W). A good way to remember them is "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" (North, East, South, West). On most maps, North is at the top, South is at the bottom, East is on the right, and West is on the left. If you are facing North, which direction is behind you?

A compass rose is a symbol on a map that shows the directions. It usually shows North, South, East, and West. Sometimes it also shows Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest (the intermediate directions). The compass rose helps you figure out which way is which on the map. If the compass rose shows North at the top of the map, then what direction is at the bottom?

Maps use symbols to show real things. A symbol is a simple picture or shape that stands for something. For example, a small blue line might mean a river. A small black line might mean a road. A small triangle might mean a mountain. The map key (or legend) tells you what each symbol means. Without a map key, you would not know what the symbols represent! What does a map key (legend) do?

A map is much smaller than the real place it shows. The map scale tells you how much smaller the map is. For example, a map scale might say "1 inch = 1 mile." That means every inch on the map represents 1 mile in the real world. If two towns are 2 inches apart on the map, they are really 2 miles apart. A scale can also look like a line with marks showing miles or kilometers. What does a map scale tell you?

There are different types of maps for different purposes. A physical map shows natural features like mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, and forests. Physical maps often use colors to show elevation (how high the land is) – green for low land, brown for mountains, and blue for water. A political map shows human-made features like countries, states, cities, and borders. Political maps use different colors to show different countries or states. What type of map would you use to find the mountains and rivers in a place?

Let us practice reading a simple map! Imagine a map of a park. The playground is in the center of the map. The pond is East of the playground. The picnic area is West of the playground. The parking lot is South of the playground. The entrance is North of the playground. If you are at the playground and you want to go to the picnic area, which direction should you go?

A globe is a model of the Earth that is round – just like the real Earth. A globe shows the true shape of continents and oceans without any stretching. A map is flat. Because the Earth is round, flattening it into a map causes some distortion – some places look bigger or smaller than they really are, or shapes get stretched. The most famous flat map is called the Mercator projection. Which one is a more accurate model of the Earth's shape?

Maps and globes have special grid lines to help find exact locations. Lines of latitude run east-west (left to right) around the Earth. They measure how far north or south a place is. The Equator is the most famous line of latitude – it goes around the middle of the Earth. Lines of longitude run north-south (up and down) from the North Pole to the South Pole. They measure how far east or west a place is. Together, latitude and longitude give every place on Earth a unique address! Which line of latitude goes around the middle of the Earth?

Time for a map challenge! You are looking at a map of your town. The library is at the corner of Main Street and Oak Avenue. Your school is 3 blocks North and 2 blocks East of the library. If you are at the library, how would you get to the school? First go North 3 blocks, then go East 2 blocks. If each block is 1/10 of a mile, how far is the school from the library? (Hint: 3 blocks + 2 blocks = 5 blocks total. 5 × 1/10 mile = 5/10 mile = 1/2 mile.)