Visualizing Expansion Lesson 1: Introduction to Using Maps
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Dublin Core
Title
Visualizing Expansion Lesson 1: Introduction to Using Maps
Description
In this lesson, students will explore different kinds of maps and examine how the finished products reveal mapmakers' personal views, values, and biases. This lesson will set students up to successfully undertake analytical exercises in subsequent lessons in this unit, or it can be used to teach map analysis in the context of any other unit or study of geography.
Creator
Ellen Schneider
Lesson Plan Item Type Metadata
Duration
50 minutes
Objectives
How a map looks and what is included or excluded depends on its purpose
A map does not have to offer a direct, mathematically scaled image of the land to be valid or useful Two cartographers can create very different maps of the same place based on their personal biases
Evaluate visual sources for biases
Compare and contrast visual sources'
messages and biases
Connect how a map looks to its intended
use
A map does not have to offer a direct, mathematically scaled image of the land to be valid or useful Two cartographers can create very different maps of the same place based on their personal biases
Evaluate visual sources for biases
Compare and contrast visual sources'
messages and biases
Connect how a map looks to its intended
use
Materials
Projector or copies of the Lesson 1 powerpoint for each student
Copies of the Lesson 1 worksheet for each student
Blank paper
Markers or colored pencils
Copies of the Lesson 1 worksheet for each student
Blank paper
Markers or colored pencils
Lesson Plan Text
Introduction to Different Kinds of Maps: 20 minutes
• As a class or in small groups, brainstorm a list of the kinds of maps people use and what they are useful (and not useful) for. For example, a road map is great for driving across the state but terrible if you're trying to figure out where it is currently raining.
• Ask students to try to figure out who makes the maps that they listed—who is the cartographer?
• Introduce the terms Topological and Topographical
o Topological—a type of map that shows useful information and relationships
between places, but is not scale always to scale or very detailed.
o Topographical—a type of map that follows mathematical conventions of scale to
try and depict the land as it is from a scientific perspective.
• Show students the following maps and ask them to determine which is topological and
which is topographical. Prompt them to explain their answers using specific evidence on the maps (Use accompanying PowerPoint, or print it out and distribute the images to small groups)
o CTA map of Chicago "L" (Topological—not to scale)
o Map of Illinois, 1836 (Topographical—all ground features to scale)
o Post Office Map of US Air Mail Routes, 1928 (Topological: Mail Routes overlaid
over Topographical)
o Racial Characteristics of Chicago Elementary Schools, 1963 (Topological—focus
on human use)
o Map of Lunar Surface, 1969 (Topographical—ground features to scale)
• Revisit the initial brainstorming list and classify their entries as topological or topographical.
• Explain that often times, people tend to think of topographical maps as more "scientific," "objective," or "superior," but, as their list shows, they use both every day and need both for different purposes.
Unearthing Bias in Maps: 20 minutes
• Give students 15 minutes, or as much time as you can spare, and tell them to "draw a map of where you live." If they ask for more specific instructions, do not give them any. Creating this map could also be a homework assignment.
• Have students pair up and discuss the following questions, then share a few key findings with the whole group.
o When you were making your map, what kind of details did you include? What did you leave out? Why?
o What could someone learn about you from looking at your map? (At this point, students could switch papers and make inferences about their peers from their maps)
o How did you decide where to place things?
o Did you include a scale or a key? Why or why not?
o Is your map topological or topographical? How do you know?
• Explain that any cartographer includes and leaves out specific things because of their personal biases, knowledge, and purpose. When reading maps as a primary source, you must consider the cartographer's biases and use the map to learn about that person and the life they lived in the past.
Closing Activity: 10 minutes
• Project or pass out copies of missile range map and accompanying worksheet
o Background: This map was used in Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis meetings to
evaluate the threat posed to major American cities.
(https://catalog.archives.gov/id/595351)
• Encourage students to read this map like they did their own and consider what they
see/think we can learn about the time and cartographer based on this map
• The worksheet questions could be used to guide a class discussion, as an exit ticket, or for homework
• As a class or in small groups, brainstorm a list of the kinds of maps people use and what they are useful (and not useful) for. For example, a road map is great for driving across the state but terrible if you're trying to figure out where it is currently raining.
• Ask students to try to figure out who makes the maps that they listed—who is the cartographer?
• Introduce the terms Topological and Topographical
o Topological—a type of map that shows useful information and relationships
between places, but is not scale always to scale or very detailed.
o Topographical—a type of map that follows mathematical conventions of scale to
try and depict the land as it is from a scientific perspective.
• Show students the following maps and ask them to determine which is topological and
which is topographical. Prompt them to explain their answers using specific evidence on the maps (Use accompanying PowerPoint, or print it out and distribute the images to small groups)
o CTA map of Chicago "L" (Topological—not to scale)
o Map of Illinois, 1836 (Topographical—all ground features to scale)
o Post Office Map of US Air Mail Routes, 1928 (Topological: Mail Routes overlaid
over Topographical)
o Racial Characteristics of Chicago Elementary Schools, 1963 (Topological—focus
on human use)
o Map of Lunar Surface, 1969 (Topographical—ground features to scale)
• Revisit the initial brainstorming list and classify their entries as topological or topographical.
• Explain that often times, people tend to think of topographical maps as more "scientific," "objective," or "superior," but, as their list shows, they use both every day and need both for different purposes.
Unearthing Bias in Maps: 20 minutes
• Give students 15 minutes, or as much time as you can spare, and tell them to "draw a map of where you live." If they ask for more specific instructions, do not give them any. Creating this map could also be a homework assignment.
• Have students pair up and discuss the following questions, then share a few key findings with the whole group.
o When you were making your map, what kind of details did you include? What did you leave out? Why?
o What could someone learn about you from looking at your map? (At this point, students could switch papers and make inferences about their peers from their maps)
o How did you decide where to place things?
o Did you include a scale or a key? Why or why not?
o Is your map topological or topographical? How do you know?
• Explain that any cartographer includes and leaves out specific things because of their personal biases, knowledge, and purpose. When reading maps as a primary source, you must consider the cartographer's biases and use the map to learn about that person and the life they lived in the past.
Closing Activity: 10 minutes
• Project or pass out copies of missile range map and accompanying worksheet
o Background: This map was used in Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis meetings to
evaluate the threat posed to major American cities.
(https://catalog.archives.gov/id/595351)
• Encourage students to read this map like they did their own and consider what they
see/think we can learn about the time and cartographer based on this map
• The worksheet questions could be used to guide a class discussion, as an exit ticket, or for homework
Files
Citation
Ellen Schneider , “Visualizing Expansion Lesson 1: Introduction to Using Maps,” Native History Project, accessed July 11, 2026, https://native-history.sites.grinnell.edu/items/show/9.