Bird’s-Eye Map

Draw a bird’s-eye view of neighborhood streets! Map the way from home to school.

• 1.

  Pretend you are a bird or in an airplane looking down on the street where you live or go to school. What do you see? Houses? Apartment roofs? Stores? Intersections? Join an adult or your teacher in a walk or bike ride around your neighborhood. Talk about the street signs and buildings you see. Then draw your own map.

• 2.

  Use Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils and a straight edge to draw your street. Add streets and intersections close to your home. Which ones do you travel on the way to school?

• 3.

  Draw the building where you live with Crayola Twistables. What would a bird see? Add details such as a swing set, fence, pets, steps, or patio.

• 4.

  Color in other buildings. Add details such as cars, stop signs, street lights, or people.

• 5.

  Identify your house and label the streets on your map. If friends used your map, could they find their way around?

Benefits

• Students, accompanied by an adult, walk around the neighborhood observing details about streets and buildings.
• Students observe and discuss the meaning of street signs.
• Students produce and label an accurate map of their home/school and the nearby surroundings and streets.

Adaptations

• Younger students and those with special needs may benefit from taking several neighborhood walks, each time looking for something different. Encourage them to make sketches each time.
• Ask families to draw these maps with their children. If possible, assemble them all in a gigantic neighborhood map.
• Draw a map of your school, indoors or out. Show the playground, gym, cafeteria, and other features.
• Build a 3-D model of your school, home, or other building with recycled materials.