From Here to There , written by Margery Cuyler, is a simple, yet beautifully illustrated, book that shows where a little girl, Maria, lives with her family. It illuminates the concept that we are all part of a world that is bigger than our own home, town, and state.
Curriculum Connections: From Here to There is a good book for teaching the concept that we are all part of the solar system we live in, as seen in the beautiful pictures of the progression of where her home fits into this world. It starts at her home, then moves to her town, her county, her state, then country, hemisphere, planet, solar system, galaxy, and beyond. Geography SOL 1.4
Additional Resources:
This website provides instructions on setting up a lego station so that children can work as a team to build a community by constructing roads and prominent buildings, such as fire stations, their school, grocery store, etc. This is a good idea to continue reinforcing the idea of maps and the use of map symbols.
This website offers instructions on how to teach children about maps. It starts with making a map of the classroom, then a map of the school, then the community, and so forth. You can make this activity reach as far as you want it to, based on the level of your students…just like the book!
This website is an interactive website that could be done independently, or collectively as a class, projected onto the board or screen. It is a simple map with questions that help teach basic map symbols, how to follow a map, and use of the compass rose.
General Information:
Book: From Here to There
Author: Margery Cuyler
Illustrator: Yu Cha Pak
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd.
Pages: 32
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN: 0-8050-3191