Map Adventures: Lesson 1 — Nikki's Adventure

Substitute Teacher Lesson Plan (~45 minutes)

Objective

Students will listen to the story "Nikki's Adventure" and learn how the view of a place changes when seen from the ground versus from high up in the air (a "bird's eye view"). Students will identify tools used to find one's way (a map, a compass, and a telescope) and will practice map-related skills through a cut-and-color activity.

Materials

• "Map Adventures: Lesson 1" resource (story text, Illustration 1: Park Entrance, Park Hedge illustration, Hot Air Balloon illustration/example for teachers)
• Activity Sheet 1 (Cut and Color)
• Scissors (one per student)
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Glue or tape (if needed for the cut-out activity)

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Tell students they are going to hear a story about a girl named Nikki who has an unexpected adventure at a park.
2. Show students the Park Entrance illustration and the Park Hedge illustration from the resource. Ask them to look closely and guess what kinds of things might be inside the park (based only on what is visible in the illustrations).
3. Explain that in the story, Nikki will end up seeing the park in a very unusual way — from far above it.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Read the story aloud ("Nikki's Adventure") to the class, showing the illustrations at the matching points in the story:
2. Show Park Entrance and Park Hedge illustrations when Nikki arrives at the park.
3. Show the Hot Air Balloon illustration/example when Nikki climbs into the basket.
4. Pause after the part where Nikki finds the leather bag in the basket. Ask students: "What three items did Nikki find in the bag?" (A map of the park, a compass, and a telescope.) Write these three words on the board.
5. Continue reading to the part where the balloon rises. Pause and ask: "How does the park look different now that Nikki is high in the air?" Guide students to notice from the story that she can no longer see the sides of buildings — only the tops — and that the carousel roof looks like a "fancy pie" from above. Explain this is called seeing things "the way birds see it."
6. Finish reading the story to the end, where Nikki lands safely in the fenced pasture.
7. Distribute Activity Sheet 1 along with scissors and crayons. Have students color the sheet and carefully cut out the pieces as directed on the sheet.
8. Circulate around the room to help students who are having trouble cutting or need extra scissors/crayons.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

Have students answer the following on a blank sheet of paper (or answer aloud as a class if no paper is available):

1. Name one of the three tools Nikki found in the leather bag.
2. What did the carousel roof look like when Nikki saw it from high in the sky?
3. Was the ground easier to see from close up or from high in the balloon? Why do you think so?

Collect the papers (or have students share their answers aloud) before the end of class.

If Time Remains

Ask students to draw a quick picture of one thing from the park (the carousel, the barnyard animals, the bridge, or the flag) — first the way it would look from the ground, and then the way Nikki might have seen it from high up in the balloon, based on details from the story.