Read a Simple Map

A map is a drawing of a place from above. Empty squares are open paths. Dark squares might be walls or water you cannot cross. A flag or star often marks the goal.

A small arrow or person icon shows where you start and which way you face. If you skip the arrow, you might walk the right shape but end up facing a wall.

Open the step-flow animation. Watch a finger trace from start to goal while symbols change from picture to words.

Many maps include a legend: a tiny key that explains symbols. One line might mean one step on the grid. Check the legend before you guess what a blue square means.

Scale tells you how big the real place is. On our classroom grid, one square is one floor tile. On a park map, one square might be ten metres.

If two paths look equally short on paper, count squares. The path with fewer open squares between start and goal is usually shorter.

Good navigators trace the map first. Running straight away often means hitting the first wall and starting over.

Say the plan aloud: forward twice, turn at the tree symbol, forward once. If the words do not match the picture, fix the picture trace before you move.

Next you will hunt treasure on a grid in the robot lab. The map skills you built here become commands the robot runs.