Imagine you are a bird flying high above your school. What would you see? You would see the building, the playground, the gate, and the road -- all from the top! A map is a drawing that shows a place as if you are looking at it from above, just like a bird.
Maps help us find places. They show us where things are and how to go from one place to another.
A map is a drawing of a place seen from above. It shows buildings, roads, rivers, parks, and other things using simple shapes.
A map is not the same as a photograph. A photograph shows how a place looks from the front. A map shows how a place looks from the top.
For example, if you look at a table from the front, you see its legs. But if you look at it from the top, you see only a rectangle. On a map, a table would look like a rectangle.
Think about it: If you look at your school building from above, what shape would it look like?
To read a map, you need to know left and right.
Raise the hand you write with. If you write with your right hand, that side is your right. The other side is your left.
On a map, we use left and right to tell someone which way to go.
"Walk straight from the school gate. Turn left at the big tree. The post office is on your right side."
Think about it: If you stand at your classroom door and face the blackboard, what is on your left side?
Some places are near (close to us) and some places are far (a long way from us).
On a map, things that are close together are drawn near each other. Things that are far apart are drawn with more space between them.
Aarav lives in Jaipur. His school is near his house -- just two streets away. But his grandparents live in Chennai, which is very far from Jaipur.
A picture map uses small drawings to show places. Look at the picture map of a neighbourhood below:
| Place | Where It Is on the Map |
|---|---|
| School | In the centre of the map |
| Park | To the left of the school |
| Hospital | To the right of the school |
| Temple | Above the school (forward) |
| Market | Below the school (behind) |
| Post Office | Between the park and the temple |
Using this map, we can say: "The park is near the school. The hospital is on the right side of the school."
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Map | A drawing of a place as seen from above |
| Direction | The way you need to go to reach a place (left, right, forward, backward) |
| Left | The side opposite to your writing hand (for most people) |
| Right | The side of your writing hand (for most people) |
| Near | Close to a place; not far away |
| Far | A long distance away from a place |
| Picture Map | A simple map that uses small drawings to show places |
You can draw a simple map of your own classroom! Here is how:
Remember: On a map, everything is shown from the top view, not from the front.
Meera wants to go from her house to the library. She looks at the map of her neighbourhood. Her house is at the bottom of the map. She walks straight, turns right at the chai shop, and the library is on her left. The map helped her find the way!
On a map of India, Delhi and Gurugram are drawn very close together because they are near each other. But Delhi and Kanyakumari are drawn far apart because they are very far from each other.
A. Fill in the Blanks
B. True or False
C. Multiple Choice Questions
D. Answer in One Sentence
Draw a simple map of your classroom in the space below. Show the following things:
1. The door 2. The blackboard 3. The teacher's table 4. Your desk 5. The windows
Remember to draw everything as seen from the top, not from the front!
Now answer: What is on the left side of your desk? ______________________________
What is on the right side of your desk? ______________________________