Understanding Maps: Tools of History Lesson

1. CHAPTER 1 – The Tools of History Lesson 2: How Maps Help Us Study History (“Can I” questions answered)

2. 4. Can I describe the tools used by geographers to study Earth? 1. Geographers use both globes and maps represent Earth. 2. A globe shows the true shapes, locations and relative sizes of Earth’s landforms and bodies of water. 3. A map is a flat representation of the Earth. 4. A flat map is not as accurate as a globe. 5. Maps allow distances to be measured easier. 6. Maps have nine features to help you read and understand maps. The features are: title, compass rose, symbols, legend, lines of longitude, lines of latitude, scale, labels, colors. 7. A map projection is a way of showing the curved surfaces of Earth on a flat map. 8. The three most common map projections are: Mercator, Homolosine, and Robinson. 9. The Earth is divided into four halves called hemispheres.

3. 5. Can I describe the different types of maps geographers use? • There are three basic types of maps. • Political maps show features that people have created. • Physical maps show the landforms and bodies of water found in particular areas. 4. Thematic maps show a distribution or pattern.

4. 3. Can I trace how maps have changed? • The oldest surviving maps are carved on clay tablets by the Babylonians around 2300 BC. • The ancient Greeks made great advancements in developing maps. • During the Middle Ages, Arab and Chinese mapmakers drew accurate maps of parts of the world. 4. Today’s maps are made with the help of satellites.