Year 1 Local to global: how can we identify special places? worksheet

“Annotating our school map” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 1 geography unit “Local to global: how can we identify special places?”, for children aged 5 to 6, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 32 to 35 of the year, 4 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Annotating our school map

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 1 · Geography · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can annotate a map with symbols that show how a place makes us feel.

A Look back3 min

1.
The top point on this compass is blank. Which direction goes there? Circle one.
northsoutheastwest
2.
Write each word in the right column.
treehillhouseshop
Physical features Human features
3.
Is the pond north or south of the house? Circle one.
northsouth

B Watch me, then you4 min

Mia makes a map of her school grounds. She draws a symbol by each place to show how it makes her feel.

Watch me

Mia's map shows the school grounds from above.

Her key: a sun means happy, a leaf means calm, a cloud means sad.

She likes the park, so she draws a sun by it.

Now you

1.
Zara uses Mia's key. She draws a leaf by the tree. Which feeling does the leaf show? Circle one.
happycalmscared

C Your turn6 min

Use the maps and the key from Mia's map to answer.

1.
Mia feels calm by the pond. Which symbol should she draw there? Circle one.
sunleafcloud
2.
Ali draws a cloud by the pond. Bea draws a sun by the same pond. Can both be right? Circle one.
Yes, both can be rightNo, only one can be right
3.
Join each symbol to the feeling it shows. Draw a line for each one.
sunleafcloud
sadhappycalm
4.
The shop is east of the park. Which way is the park from the shop? Circle one.
northsoutheastwest

Say it out loud: Does the same place always feel the same to everyone?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A quiet school garden with a bench under a tree

Ravi says: “Everyone feels happy in the garden, so draw a sun.”

1.
Is Ravi right? Explain why in your own words.

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Draw a symbol on this map for a special place near your house. Write the feeling it shows and why it is special.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Annotating our school map · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. north If your child says south, they may be starting from the bottom of the compass. Point to the top and say north.

2. Human features: house, shop · Physical features: tree, hill

3. north If your child says south, they may think the bottom of the map is north. Trace up from the house to the pond and say the direction.

B

1. calm If your child says happy, they may have picked the sun from Mia's map. Point to the key line and ask which symbol means calm.

C

1. leaf If your child picks sun, read Mia's key together. A sun means happy, and a leaf means calm.

2. Yes, both can be right If your child says no, they think each place has one right feeling. Explain that people can feel different things in the same place.

3. sun → happy; leaf → calm; cloud → sad If the sun is joined to sad, your child may be guessing. Read the key sentence from Mia's map together and join again.

4. west If your child says east, they may have read the sentence back to front. Put a finger on the shop, then look for the park.

D

1. Look for: Says Ravi is wrong because different people can feel different things in the same place. If your child only says yes, ask whether a quiet garden feels the same to a child who is tired and a child who is excited.

E

1. Look for: A named place, a symbol with a feeling, and a reason the place is special to the child.

Words to use

Say“Which place feels special to you? What symbol would you draw there, and why?”

Instead of“Tell them the right symbol for each place without asking how they feel.”

After the sheet

Walk round the garden or a park together. Choose two spots and sketch a rough map with a sun or a leaf by each, then compare your choices.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

3 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Finding Our Special Places(with a plan)
Amazing natural places(with a plan)
Famous buildings on a map(with a plan)

Every Year 1 geography worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

The full StudyDen plan adds the lessons themselves, marked as your child works, with the worksheets included. It is 7 days free, then £29.99 a month.

Get the worksheets Try the full plan free

Both start with a free account; you choose the plan when you sign up.