Using Map Scales

Aim: How do we use scales in maps to find distances?

Course: Grade 7

Homework: Students identify local grocery stores and label them on a printed map of their neighborhood. Using an appropriate scale, they draw circles centered at each grocery store with a radius of 1 mile (for urban areas) or 10 miles (for rural areas). Stores outside these areas are considered food deserts, areas that are far from large grocery stores and have large numbers of low-income families who would have difficulty getting fresh food.

Task Rating (see the equity task rubric for details) 

  • Rigor: 2
  • Diversity: 2 
  • Identity: 2
  • Justice: 2 (this activity is part of a larger theme in which students learn about a problem in their community and propose concrete measures to address it)

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