Map Detective

Draw conclusions from a physical map: why towns grew along rivers, and how mountains slowed travel.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 14

Maps help us explain why things happened where they did. Look at all the cities along rivers!
Long ago, rivers were like highways. Boats carried people, crops, and goods. Rivers also gave fresh water for drinking and farming. So towns grew up along them.
Mountains made travel hard. The tall Rocky Mountains were much harder to cross than the lower Appalachians. The flat Great Plains were easier.
Be a map detective: find a city, look at what's around it, and ask, "Why here?"

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS3G1 — Locate major topographical features on a physical map of the United States.
MGS.7 — Map and Globe Skill 7: use a map to explain impact of geography on historical and current events (developing in Grade 3)
MGS.8 — Map and Globe Skill 8: draw conclusions and make generalizations based on information from maps (introduced in Grade 3)