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Image: Annie Spratt/Unsplash
This week is National Map Reading Week, an event run by Ordnance Survey (OS) which aims to encourage people of all ages to understand the importance of map reading and how this vital life skill can unlock the outdoors and keep people safe.
The Society champions the importance of map skills for all, and our series of online educational map resources help students to develop their skills from primary to secondary level. We also have a subject knowledge animation for teachers who want to brush up on their map skills which covers symbols, grid references, scale, contours and OS maps. Alongside these resources we run a regular programme of courses in partnership with OS, training hundreds of teachers on using the OS’s Digi Maps for Schools collection of online mapping at various scales from across Great Britain.
Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Society, Steve Brace, said: “Following the blue dot on a screen is invaluable in helping us travel from A to B. However, by reading maps in more detail we can develop both our spatial awareness and better understand the places through which we travel. The geography National Curriculum requires pupils to regularly use OS (and other maps) and to practice the use of mapping skills such as direction, scale, and coordinates.”
See our map resources.
Find out more about National Map Reading Week.