Objectives
The students will learn picture symbols that can be used to express ideas.
Vocabulary
symbol
Materials Needed
post-it-notes with symbols for happy face, sad face,
no smoking, no parking, hospital zone, quiet please, airport, World Map
Lesson
(Pull down the World Map. You can have the students place the post-it-notes on the surface of the map.)
Explain to the students that they do not always have to be able to read a word to tell what something means. Sometimes we can use signs or symbols to express and idea and never say a word. Write the word symbol on the board. A symbol is a drawing, line, or dot that stands for something else.
Use the post-it-note symbols to show examples of symbols.
Have the post-it-note symbols ready to be placed on the map. Ask one student to find the happy face and sad face symbols and place them on the map. Do the same for the quiet please and no smoking symbols. Ask the students how they decide what each meant. The symbols discussed so far express an action or feeling. Tell the students that symbols can also be used to show where different things are located.
Have the school zone, airport, and hospital symbol ready for the students to use. Ask the students what the symbols mean. Have the students place the symbols on the map.
Explain to the students that since a symbol is a drawing or sign that stands for a real place or thing, symbols can be made for nearly everything.
Locate your city on the map, or a city close to you. Explain to the students that a map of the world shows a very large area. Mapmakers cannot draw a picture of each city. Mapmakers use symbols. Explain that a symbol is used to identify your city and the students will locate other cities in another lesson.
Lesson .pdf file (Printable Lesson)