Learning with maps

Maddie Lawson attended the School of Education, Roehampton, where she was introduced by Ed Bartram to the Jam Yesterday, Jam Tomorrow project's Market Garden Game. Now a qualified primary school teacher Maddie saw the opportunity to use the Jam project's resources for the children in her classes. She writes:

At the West London Free School Primary, we were extremely lucky to borrow the large map for our Geography Awareness Week. As the topic for the week was ‘The Power of Maps’, we thought that it would be a fantastic opportunity to use the interactive resource, in our classrooms. We used the map throughout the week in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. In each year group, we were able to use the map in a different way to engage the children and progress their understanding of maps.

In Year 2, the children focused on seeing if they could recognise places where they live or had visited before. In Year 1, the children focused on recognising key features on the map, such as the area names, train tracks and the river. They then thought about where train stations and houses might be placed and how places have changed over time. We were lucky enough to use the resources which came with the map, such as images of train stations and houses. This meant that the children were able to walk on to the map and place the different resources on the map. This was lots of fun for the children and really embedded their learning, as it was so interactive.

When using the map in the classroom there were lots of opportunities for cross curricular learning and all the children were extremely enthusiastic about their learning! The map really engaged the children in their learning and developed their understanding of the area and how maps are used. Most importantly, all the children and the adults had lots of fun using this fantastic resource!