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PlayOwl

Geography · Grade 5

Interpret Maps and Geographic Data

Maps and graphs look certain, but they are made by people who choose what to show. Learners check a map's title, key, units, source and date before trusting it; see how color classes, totals versus rates and a squeezed graph axis can change the message of the same data; separate claims the data supports from claims that go beyond it (a shared pattern is not proof of cause); and write a short data claim with evidence and a limit.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 90 minutes
  • Maps and data check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, highlight a text, pick map regions, match pairs, type a number and put in order
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What learners will discover

  • Read thematic maps, tables and graphs by checking the title, key, units, source and date before using them.
  • Explain how color classes, totals versus rates, and graph scales can change the message a map or graph sends.
  • Make claims the data supports and state their limits, including that two matching patterns do not prove that one causes the other.
  • Write a short data-based claim with evidence, reasoning and a limit.

Lessons

  1. Read before you trust 7 steps4 practiceabout 20 min
  2. Same data, different message 8 steps4 practiceabout 25 min
  3. Claims and their limits 8 steps5 practiceabout 23 min
  4. Write a data claim 7 steps4 practiceabout 22 min
  5. Maps and data check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Globe ExplorerSpin a real 3D globe, flip to the flat map, and find continents, oceans and countries.
  • Pin the PlanetDrag the pin onto wonders, cities and exact latitude and longitude points.
  • Mapmaker QuestFollow directions to make a map, then read its legend, compass rose and scale.

More 5th grade geography

Guide for grown-ups