1. Read aloud a poem about cardinal directions.

Engage students by reading aloud the poem “Geese on the Go” on the handout. Beforehand, ask students to listen for directional words. Ask them to raise their hands when they hear one. You can also give students a copy of the handout or project the poem. Invite the class to read aloud the last two lines of each verse in response to the question in the first two lines, which you will read.

 

2. Introduce the compass rose.

Write the word “rose” on the board and ask students what it is. Ask if it can be something besides a flower. Write “compass” before “rose” on the board. Explain that a compass rose is a symbol that shows directions on a map.

 

3. Explore the World Map.

Project the map, titled The World. Ask a volunteer to point to the compass rose and name the letters around it. Explain that the N stands for “north.” Write on the board what N represents, having students help to name the other directions for S, E, and W. You can help students remember the clockwise order of the directions on a compass rose with the phrase “Never Eat Soggy Waffles.”

 

Explain that this map shows the world. Earth is made up of large bodies of land and water. Ask: What is farthest south on this map? (Antarctica) Point out that Antarctica is a continent—a large body of land. Ask a volunteer to come to the board and point to and name the seven continents. Ask: Which continent is to the north of South America? (North America) Which continent is to the east of Europe? (Asia) Which continent is to the west of Australia? (Africa)

 

Ask: What is all the way to the west on this map? (the Pacific Ocean) Explain that an ocean is a very large body of salt water, and Earth has four of them. Have students name them. Ask: Which ocean is east of Africa? (Indian) Which ocean is north of all the continents? (Arctic)

 

4. Have students use the compass rose.

Give each student a copy of the Using a Compass Rose worksheet. Have them use the compass rose to determine the direction words for each blank line.

Informal Assessment

Check students’ worksheets for understanding. If students need more experience with the world map, have them create the shapes of the continents out of clay, place them on paper, and draw a compass rose. Have them write four sentences using a different cardinal direction in each sentence.

Extending the Learning

  • Show students the true cardinal directions using a compass app on a smartphone or tablet. Replicate the directions by drawing a compass rose in chalk on the classroom floor, or alternately on the playground blacktop. Review what N, S, E, and W represent. Have students refer to the drawn compass rose to follow oral directions, such as “Walk east and pull down the shade,” or “Hop three steps south and look to the left. What do you see?” Once they get the idea, invite volunteers to give the directions and call on classmates to follow them.
  • Have students create as a homework assignment their own 2-D or 3-D maps of the world using their choice of media, such as paints, clay, collage, tissue paper, or other art materials. Have them include a compass rose and label the continents and oceans.
  • Find your state in the collection of State MapMaker Kits. In small groups have students assemble their state and find the compass rose. Then as a whole class they can write or call out information on the relative positioning of different features in the state based on the compass rose directions.
  • Ask: Is the direction north always at the top of a map? Students may have the misconception that north is always at the “top.” Look for an example of an upside-down map of the world to show students. Challenge students to redraw a map of their state, their neighborhood, or the classroom including a compass rose where the south arrow points toward the top of the page.
  • Show students maps that include a north arrow instead of a compass rose. Ask: Why would a mapmaker choose to only show the direction north? How might a map reader determine the other directions?

Subjects & Disciplines

  • Geography
  • Social Studies
    • Civics

Learning Objectives

Students will:

  • use a compass rose to describe position and movement on a map
  • locate and name Earth’s continents and oceans

Teaching Approach

  • Learning-for-use

Teaching Methods

  • Discussions
  • Modeling
  • Visual instruction

Skills Summary

This activity targets the following skills:

Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practices

National Council for Social Studies Curriculum Standards

  • Theme 3:  People, Places, and Environments

National Geography Standards

  • Standard 1:  How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy

The College, Career & Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards

What You’ll Need

Materials You Provide

  • Art materials, such as paints, clay, collage, tissue paper, or others (optional)
  • Butcher paper (optional)
  • Clay (optional)
  • Compass or compass app (optional)
  • Pencils
  • Pens
  • Globe (optional)

Required Technology

  • Internet Access: Required
  • Tech Setup: 1 computer per classroom, Mobile data device (smartphone or tablet), Projector

Physical Space

  • Classroom

Grouping

  • Large-group instruction

Background Information

An understanding of a compass rose enables students to grasp the orientation of places on maps and to use maps to navigate from one place to another.

Prior Knowledge

  • cardinal directions

Recommended Prior Activities

Vocabulary

cardinal direction
Noun

one of the four main points of a compass: north, east, south, west.
compass rose
Noun

symbol indicating the cardinal directions (N, S, E, W).
continent
Noun

one of the seven main land masses on Earth.
direction
Noun

the way in which somebody or something goes, points, or faces.
map
Noun

symbolic representation of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface.
map skills
Noun

skills for reading and interpreting maps, from learning basic map conventions to analyzing and comprehending maps to address higher-order goals.
symbol
Noun

something used to represent something else.

Books

  • Sweeney, Joan. Me on the Map. Dragonfly Books: New York, 1998.
  • Leedy, Loreen. Mapping Penny’s World. New York: Square Fish, 2000.

Tips & Modifications

  • Credits

    Media Credits

    The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

    Researchers

    Lindsey Mohan, Ph.D.
    Audrey Mohan, Ph.D.

    Writer

    Anne Haywood, Program Consultant, Environmental & Geographic Education

    Editors

    Sean P. O'Connor
    Christina Riska Simmons, National Geographic Society

    Copyeditor

    Christina Riska Simmons, National Geographic Society

    Educator Reviewer

    Lydia Lewis, M.Ed., Grade 5 U.S. History/Geography Educator; National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C.

    Sources

    Adapted from National Geographic’s Map Essentials: A Comprehensive Map Skills Program

  • User Permissions

    For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

    Media

    If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

    Text

    Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

    Interactives

    Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.