Mapmaking with Children

Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years

Maintaining that there is no substitute for hands-on experience, David Sobel places the initial emphasis on local projects- projects that begin in students’ own backyards and communities, projects that provide a sense of place. Mapmaking, as Sobel uses it, has relevance across the curriculum. In addition to appealing to social studies teachers, this book will be of interest to science teachers, language arts teachers, and math teachers looking for new ways to invigorate the curriculum.

In the beginning, students stay close to home, mapping their known world. Gradually, they move on to their neighborhood, developing a sense of place, scope, and perspective. Eventually, once students are older, they explore the nation, the world, even the solar system, creating raised relief maps and contour maps to develop visual literacy and spatial reasoning skills. Vivid illustrations of the students’ work are provided throughout to let you observe each stage of development.

Author David Sobel is the director of Teacher certification programs in the education department of Antioch New England Graduate School. He is a frequent keynote speaker at environmental education conferences and serves as a consultant to school districts and environmental organizations.

164 pages

The Inside Scoop: Ever since we hosted David on a series of in-person workshops, we were hooked! Before adding this resource to our store, we tested it with hundreds of educators with rave reviews. His philosophy, approach and ideas are deserving of his world renowned reputation.