Mapping Landforms

Background Information for Teachers

Landforms and bodies of water are natural features of the Earth's surface. They have developed over billions of years through the movements that occur inside Earth and on its surface. Wind, weather, or erosion turned rocks into tiny sand particles, glaciers or rivers carved huge canyons out of mountains, and deposits of sand formed beaches and sand dunes. These are just some examples of how the landscape has been shaped across the planet. The table below lists and describes some more common landforms.

Each place on Earth is characterized by its own specific combination of landforms and bodies of water. We interact with some of these landforms almost every day when we swim in a lake or river, climb up a hill, or hike down a mountain. We can use distinguishing landforms such as mountains or lakes to orient ourselves, for example when we are hiking in nature. We can also orient ourselves by using a map. A map is a representation of a specific location on a piece of paper. It can show where things such as roads, bodies of water, or mountains are located. Some maps include representations of all the landforms in a specific area and thus can give a snapshot of distinct landscapes anywhere in the world.

Each landform or body of water can be represented on a map, as shown in Figure 1. On a physical map, different colors often indicate a different landform; blue indicates water, brown indicates mountains or hills, and green indicates forests or grassland. Most maps include map symbols or a legend, which are small icons, lines, dots, or colors that describe how to read the map.

Image Credit: Wikimedia commons user Hk_kng / Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Figure 1. A map showing different landform features on an island. (Image source: Map of Efate Island EN by HK kng is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

In this lesson, students will create representations of specific landform features by building three-dimensional play dough models from pictures that show various landforms and bodies of water. As they analyze and compare their different models, students will realize that there are many different types of landforms and bodies of water on Earth. Based on their playdough models, students will discuss how various landforms and bodies of water can be represented on a map.

Additional Background Links

• List of landforms, from Wikipedia
• Landform, from National Geographic
• Map, from National Geographic

Prep Work (10 minutes)

• Print out the example landform images. Then fold over the titles so they are not visible.
• Print out the landform pictures and cut them out.
• Print out one copy of the island map.

Engage (15 minutes)

1. Tell students that today's lesson is about landforms and bodies of water. Ask if they know what a landform or body of water is.

   Do you know what a landform or a water body is?

   Have students share their ideas. Use their responses to define a landform as a "natural feature on the Earth's surface" and a body of water as a "large collection of water on the Earth's surface". Mention that there are many different types of landforms on our planet.

2. Show students the different example landform pictures (don't show the titles). With each picture ask,

   What kind of landform or body of water do you think this is?

   Listen to students' responses. Then, for each picture, reveal the title and name the landform that is shown on the picture ("This picture shows a mountain.").

3. When you are finished with all the pictures, tell students that each picture shows a different type of landform. Explain the difference between bodies of water and landforms that are part of the solid surface of the Earth.
4. Have students come up with as many other landforms or bodies of water as they can think of.

   What other landforms do you know?

   Make a list of all the landforms students mention. Then let them draw different landforms in their worksheet.

Part 1: Play Dough Models

Explore (30 minutes)

1. Tell students that today they will use play dough to make models of different landforms and bodies of water to find out how they differ from each other.
2. Assign each student a partner and explain that each group will get to choose one picture from a different location on Earth. Their task is to make a model of the landscape shown on the picture using play dough. They can use different colors of play dough to model water, hills, mountains, or other landforms.
3. Place all the landform images on a table and let students choose one picture for their model. Have students first discuss briefly within their groups,

   What types of landforms or bodies of water do we see in the picture?

   How can we model this landform or body of water with play dough?

4. Note: If you don't have time to let the students choose their own pictures, randomly assign one picture to each group.
5. Place the play dough on a table that is accessible to everyone and have students come up to the table to take what they need as they build their model. Alternatively, provide play dough to each group individually.
6. Give students 15 minutes to build their landscape model. Check-in with students while they are building and ask them about the landforms or bodies of water that they are modeling.
7. Once all the groups have finished, ask each group to place their picture next to their model. Then allow students to walk around the classroom to look at the pictures and corresponding models from the other groups. While they look at the other landscape models, ask students to think about,

   How are the landforms different or similar between models?

8. Note: It might be important to emphasize that nobody is allowed to touch another group's play dough model. Students can only look with their eyes, not with their hands!

Reflect (15 minutes)

1. After 10 minutes, gather all students and discuss as a whole group:

   What types of landforms and bodies of water did you observe when looking at the different pictures and play dough models?

   How were they similar or different?

   Have students share their observations. If students have difficulties naming the different landforms, refer them back to the landform list that you made in the beginning.

2. Next, discuss how students were representing different landforms in their models.

   What was difficult or easy about making your play dough model from the picture?

   How did you represent certain landform features such as lakes, mountains, the desert, etc. in your play dough model?

   How did you make each landform different?

   Listen to students' replies. Let them explain how they represented specific landform features with play dough. Elicit responses that mention how they used different play dough colors or shapes to differentiate between the different landforms.

Part 2: Make A Map

Explore (30 minutes)

1. Point out that each of their play dough models represents a different location on Earth. Tell students that another way to represent different locations on Earth is with a map. Ask students if they have seen a map before.

   What do you usually see on a map?

   Guide students to conclude that maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and types of land and water in any area, just like they did in their play dough models.

2. Show students the island landform image and ask,

   How could we turn this island picture into a map?

   Collect students' ideas.

3. Then draw a map from the image with the help of your students (a suggested map is shown in Figure 2). Prompt students by asking questions such as

   How would you represent the water, the forest, or the sand on a map?

   What color or shape could they be?

Image Credit: Svenja Lohner, Science Buddies / Science Buddies
Figure 2. Graphical representation of an island (right) based on an island picture (left)

4. Once your map is finished, ask students to go back to their play dough models and pictures. Have them draw a map of their play dough model into their worksheet just like you did for the island picture. Students can also use their original pictures if they need help drawing their map. Remind them of the questions that you asked about the island picture, such as how they could represent each landform or body of water using different shapes, colors, etc.
5. Give each group about 15 minutes to draw their maps.

Reflect (15 minutes)

1. Gather all groups and have them bring their maps. Select one or two groups to present the map they have drawn. Have them explain what landforms or bodies of water are shown on the map and how they represented them.
2. Then show students a real map (island map). Discuss briefly how the real island map is similar or different to the island map that you have drawn earlier.

   How does the real map differentiate between different landforms?

   Explain to students that on a map you can recognize different landforms by their different colors, and you can also identify different bodies of water. As you speak, point out the oceans, lakes, and rivers on the map and identify the symbols/legend, which are the key to reading the map.

3. Emphasize that maps are also great for identifying patterns of land and water in a given area; for example, an area may have many small bodies of water while another area might have many different types of landforms that come in different shapes. Ask,

   Do you see any patterns of land and water on the island map?

   Have students share their ideas and point to the areas of the map that students describe.

4. Finally, ask students,

   How would you describe the area you live?

   What landforms or bodies of water are found in our surrounding area?

   Encourage students to use words they have learned which describe different landforms such as mountains, hills, lakes, rivers, etc.

Make Career Connections

Discussing or reading about these careers can help students make important connections between the in-class lesson and STEM job opportunities in the real world.

Geographer

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Career Profile

Geographers collect information from photographs or other sources to develop maps. They could, for example, create maps that show how landforms have changed over time on Earth or that show landforms of other planets. Read more

Mapping Technician

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Career Profile

Mapping technicians spend a lot of time outdoors to collect data that is needed to create maps. For example, they could take the exact measurements of a lake. They also use aerial photographs to create maps or convert paper maps into digital maps. Read more

Lesson Plan Variations

• Have children draw a map or make a play dough model of their local environment.
• Show children a variety of maps and have them point out how landforms or bodies of water are represented in these maps.
• Ask different groups to merge their play dough models to build a bigger landscape. Then have them draw a map of the larger landscape model.
• Find more pictures of landforms or bodies of water that haven't been discussed in the activity yet, and have children describe their unique features.
• Research how individual landforms have developed on Earth.
• Discuss how people have changed natural landscapes and created new artificial landscapes such as cities, roads, agriculture fields, etc.