This 2-page 3rd grade social studies check fits every map skill on one page, with the answer key on page 2. Students write N, E, S and W on a compass rose, then read a small 3 by 3 map with a key for a tree, a house and a pond. They say what is at B2, give the square of the pond, work out how far the house is from the tree on a scale of one square side to one mile, and name the direction from the house to the pond.
“Label the four cardinal directions on a compass rose.”
Question 1 asks for N, E, S and W in the four boxes.
“Read a map key and a letter and number grid to find places.”
Questions 2 and 3 ask what is at B2 and which square holds the pond.
“Use a scale bar and a compass rose to find distance and direction on a map.”
Question 4 uses one square side as one mile, and question 5 asks for the direction from the house to the pond.
A small compass rose with four empty boxes and a word bank of North (N), East (E), South (S) and West (W). Students write one letter in each box.
A 3 by 3 map with columns A to C and rows 1 to 3. The tree is in A2, the house in B2 and the pond in B3, with a dotted line joining the tree and the house. A scale bar says one square side equals one mile. Four questions go with it, in answer boxes.
The four box labels on the compass rose and the answers to questions 2 to 5: the house, B3, 1 mile and south.
Exit ticket
Hand it out in the last ten minutes of a map skills lesson. Five questions are quick to mark, and a wrong answer to question 4 usually means the scale bar was skipped.
Pre-unit baseline
Give it before the unit and again after. The compass rose, grid and scale are all on one page, so the change is easy to see for each student.
Small group catch-up
Use it with students who missed a lesson. Start with the dotted line between the tree and the house, and have them count one square side against the scale bar before they write.
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